Business
A 2026 breakdown of what you're actually paying — subscription, commission, processing fees, and everything in between.
Platform costs are easy to undercount. You see the subscription line in your bank statement and think that's what you're paying. But for most coaches, the subscription is just the floor — commissions, processing fees, and marketplace charges stack on top in ways that aren't always visible until you add them up.
This is a factual breakdown of what major coaching platforms cost for a coach earning $3,000/month in lessons. All figures are based on publicly available pricing. Where commissions are involved, we use the published rate.
* Commission platform costs assume $3,000/month gross lesson revenue at published commission rates. MINDBODY range reflects Starter vs. higher-tier plans. Processing fees (Stripe 2.9% + $0.30/transaction) excluded from all figures — these apply on top.
The insidious thing about the commission model is that your platform cost scales with your success. The more you grow, the more you pay — not for any additional service, but because the percentage applies to a larger number.
A flat-fee platform costs the same whether you're doing $1,000/month or $12,000/month. The table below shows what that gap looks like across different revenue levels:
* Annual figures. CoachCore cost is fixed at $948/year regardless of revenue.
At $12,000/month in lessons, a coach on a 20% commission platform is paying $28,800/year — essentially a month of income — to the platform. CoachCore costs $948/year at that same revenue level. The gap widens as you grow.
Most commission-based platforms charge between 15% and 20% on every lesson. The table below uses a 17.5% average — midpoint of that range. The "you keep" column reflects what you'd retain by switching to CoachCore Basic at $59/month (founding rate) instead.
* "You keep" = annual commission savings minus $708/yr (CoachCore Basic at $59/mo founding rate). Students cover Stripe processing fees separately.
The honest answer is inertia. Commission platforms handle discovery — they surface your profile to potential students who are already searching. For a coach building a client base from scratch, that visibility has real value, and the commission is the cost of that service.
The calculation changes once you have an established student base. At that point, you're paying a significant ongoing fee for a discovery service you no longer need — your students already know you. Every renewal, every package purchase, every new referral from an existing student runs through the platform and gets taxed at the same rate.
It's worth being specific about what you're paying for. Commission-based platforms typically provide:
The actual infrastructure cost of those services — processing aside — is a fraction of 17.5%. The margin funds the platform's marketplace and growth. You're subsidizing their customer acquisition whether or not it benefits you.
The breakeven point on a $59/month flat subscription versus a 17.5% commission is around $337/month in lesson revenue. Below that, the commission model is cheaper. Above it, a flat subscription saves money every single month.
The more relevant question isn't whether to switch — it's whether the platform's discovery value is worth the ongoing cost to you specifically. If most of your new students come from referrals, word of mouth, or your own outreach rather than the platform's marketplace, you're paying for something you're not using.
Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. On a $100 lesson, that's $3.20. Commission platforms typically bundle this into their commission rate — which means you're paying 20% and the platform is pocketing the spread between 3% and 20%. Flat-fee platforms that use Stripe Connect let you pass this fee to the student directly, so your payout is the full lesson amount.
Some platforms require background checks for coach verification, charged to the coach. These range from $20 to $60 and may require periodic renewal. Not universal, but worth asking before you sign up.
Commission platforms control the money flow. Some hold funds for 7–14 days before releasing to coaches. That's cash you've earned sitting in their account earning interest for them. Stripe Connect platforms (including CoachCore) settle on Stripe's standard schedule — typically 2 business days.
When your students book through a commission platform's marketplace, the platform owns that booking relationship. Moving students off-platform is often against terms of service. Your student list — names, contact info, booking history — may not be exportable. If the platform raises rates or shuts down, you start over.
SaaS platforms raise prices. MINDBODY has done this multiple times. When your platform is also taking a commission, a price increase means both your subscription and your per-transaction cost go up simultaneously. Flat-fee platforms with founding pricing lock in your rate.
CoachCore charges a flat monthly subscription. No commissions on any lesson transaction. No marketplace fees. No per-student charges.
Founding coaches who sign up early lock in $59/month for life. Students cover Stripe's processing fee at checkout, so your payout is the full lesson price.
For more on how the platforms stack up feature-by-feature, see the full comparison page. For specific head-to-head breakdowns: CoachCore vs. TeachMe.to, CoachCore vs. CoachUp, CoachCore vs. MINDBODY.
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