What Should I Charge for Nutrition Coaching?

Working as a nutrition coach is a rewarding way to make an impact in the health and wellness field. A good coach uses a client's strengths, evaluates their challenges, and provides individualized strategies and plans for making real, positive changes. So, what is that worth to clients - how much should a nutrition coach charge?

What is a Nutrition Coach?

A nutrition coach is a trained professional who works with clients to improve their health through dietary changes. There are several things these coaches can do for their clients:

• Educate them about nutrition and food and how these relate to health and fitness

• Provide individualized tips for shopping and preparing healthy foods

• Help set and achieve health habits and wellness goals

• Interpret and simplify confusing health and nutrition information

• Motivate them to make important, lasting changes and habits for better health

If you love working with people and have a passion for good nutrition and food, this could be the right career for you (similar to a health coach or wellness coach). These are valuable services that can be life-changing.

But how much does a nutrition coach make? Deciding what to charge your nutrition coaching clients can be difficult. Do some research, find out what competitors charge, consider the value you provide, and avoid underselling yourself.

What about prescribing a meal plan or giving nutrition tips for chronic conditions? Learn more about what nutrition advice personal trainers can offer.

How Much is a Nutrition Coach Salary?

If you're just considering getting into this career, it's important to understand the current state of the industry. Health and nutrition careers are growing rapidly throughout the U.S. as more people take an interest in making lifestyle changes (1).

Salaries, though, can vary quite a lot by location and based on other factors: credentials and education, experience, and services offered. Ziprecruiter.com reports that online nutrition and health coaches earn an average of $48,377 per year, while Payscale.com reports an average hourly salary of $24.57 (2, 3).

Averages are useful, but they represent a wide range of actual salaries. To really nail down an appropriate price for your services, keep these figures in mind but also consider all the individual factors.

Not totally sure nutrition coaching is the job for you? Here's a rundown of what these coaches actually do to help you decide.

How Much Should a Nutrition Coach Charge? Avoid This One Big Mistake

What is the biggest mistake new coaches make? They undercharge. It is difficult for most people to charge what they are really worth. You're not alone if you struggle to do this. Comparisons to competitors are so important in deciding your worth to clients.

Use local coach fees as a baseline, but don't be afraid to charge more if you think you have more to offer: better credentials, nice services or a greater variety of services, a more hands-on approach, or more years of experience.

Even if you're new to the industry, avoid the instinct to undercharge. You earned your credentials; you are a nutrition expert; and you provide a valuable service. A free initial evaluation is reasonable and can help get new clients in the door, but then charge a fair price for services going forward.

Price out Your Nutrition Coaching Expenses

Everything else here is important to consider, but you absolutely must earn enough to make a living, right? So, the first thing you should do when pricing your services is consider what you actually need to earn. List all your expenses:

• Advertising and marketing costs

• Rental space in a gym or your own facility

• Any software you use to work with clients

• Educational materials for your nutrition certification and beyond

With all your expenses lined up, ask yourself how much you want to make. Do some math to figure out what you need to charge clients and how many clients you need to earn that salary.

Learn more: What's the best online nutrition coaching certification program?

What Should I Charge for Nutrition Coaching Compared to Competitors?

Doing your research is truly the key to finding the right rate for your health coaching services. Compare your offerings to competitors and find a balance between what you offer and what clients will pay. Consider competitors, your credentials, your target market and location, and services you'll offer.

Do Your Research on Health Coach Competitors

Sit down at your computer and search for nutrition coaches as if you were a prospective client. Search for the websites of individual coaches, search through social media, and look at local gyms and spas that hire nutrition professionals.

If their sites don't list their fees, email or call to find out. Ask questions, but don't feel like you have to pretend to be a client. You can be honest. Other coaches will most likely be happy to give you a few minutes to discuss how they price services.

As you do this research, keep in mind the distinction between coaches and registered dietitians/nutritionists. A registered dietitian is generally a more credentialed professional. They probably have a four-year degree and some type of licensing. Their fees will be higher than yours, so the comparison isn't valid.

Research Your Local Nutrition Coaching Market Too

By researching other coaches in your area, you will start to get a better sense of the target market. Who are those other coaches targeting? Local gyms can also be a source of information about the kinds of people interested in building a healthy diet. Are they busy working moms? People with weight loss goals? Seniors? Young professionals trying to build a healthy lifestyle? The people you target will partly determine what you can charge.

Compare Your Credentials and Offerings to Competitors

Use the average fees you see nutrition coaches charging in your area as a baseline for your own service fees. Scale that number up or down based on what you have to offer compared to those competitors. If you have more credentials, charge more per coaching session. If you have additional services or experience in related jobs, charge more. If you are new and have no experience with a health coaching business yet, charge less, but not too little.

Do You Offer Extra Services?

If all you offer is basic nutritional coaching, service pricing will be simple. But if you offer other coaching services, you will have to determine if you want to charge for those separately or include everything in one package. If you can show clients that your basic fee includes more than what the competitor offers, you can charge more.

Working for a Company vs. Starting a Coaching Business

Setting your prices for consulting as a certified nutrition coach applies to freelancing or starting your own business. While this is the route many coaches take, you can find work as an employee. Some of the benefits of this option include job stability and benefits. On the downside, you don't get to set your rates. It's up to the company to do so. Employers that hire nutrition coaches include:

• Weight loss companies

• College and university athletic departments and health centers

• Spas, gyms, and wellness centers

• Large companies of any type that have employee wellness programs

• Community and public health organizations

Offering and Pricing Nutrition Coaching Packages

A smart way to offer services is to bundle sessions into an extended coaching package. You should have a set rate for individual, hour-long sessions as well as package deals, which will naturally cost less per session. For example:

• $100 per hour for one session

• $540 ($90 per hour) for a package of six sessions

• $960 ($80 per hour) for a package of 12 sessions

You will earn less per hour with a bundle, but it's usually worth it. When a client pays for a month or more of services, you have a set source of income for that period of time. Hour-by-hour clients may drop out at any time, along with your salary. Another way to bundle, if you're also a personal trainer, is to offer a discount for nutrition coaching and training together.

Pricing for Online Nutrition Services

Many coaches offer online services, either in addition to in-person coaching or as the focus of their business. There are some benefits to working online, including low operating costs and a bigger reach. But pricing can be a little complicated as your market expands.

Working as an online coach, it's a good idea to focus your target market since location is not a limitation. For instance, maybe you will target new moms trying to stay fit amidst their new lifestyle change or clients looking to lose weight and learn healthy eating habits. When you have a niche, pricing will be easier because you will be able to better determine what that ideal client is willing to pay. In general, fees for online coaching are less than for in-person services, as in the same with online personal training vs in-person.

Starting an online coaching business isn't as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of pitfalls. We can help you avoid them and start a thriving online nutrition consulting business.

Want to Charge More? Get Certified as a Nutritionist

If you were seeking out services from a fitness or health professional, or any type of professional, would you pay the same price for a certified as a non-certified coach? Of course you wouldn't. Certification and other credentials prove that an individual has been educated and trained to provide a particular service. People will pay more for that assurance.

To earn more helping clients make better, healthier food choices, consider getting certified in nutrition. Learn everything you need to know and get support starting your business with the ISSA's Nutritionist Certification Program.

References

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Dietitians and Nutritionists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dietitians-and-nutritionists.htm (visited September 30, 2022).

2. Online nutritional health coach salary. Ziprecruiter. (2022, October 13). Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Online-Nutritional-Health-Coach-Salary

3. PayScale. (n.d.). Average Nutrition Coach Hourly Pay. Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Nutrition_Coach/Hourly_Rate