The short answer
Business coaching in Australia usually costs $100 to $600 a session, or $500 to $3,000+ a month. What you pay for, and how to tell if it’s worth it.
In short: Most business coaches in Australia charge somewhere between $100 and $600 a session, and monthly programs usually run from about $500 to $3,000. Executive or high-end programs can go well past that. The price matters less than what you walk away with: if nothing in the business changes, even the cheap option was expensive.
Prefer to watch? The 60-second version is on YouTube.
When I started Elephant, I was a mortgage broker sitting in a co-working space in Chadstone with about 40 other mortgage brokers. I thought they were all my competition. I kept my little systems to myself. It took me two years to work out they could actually be my allies, and that the cheapest advice I’d ever get was from other owners who’d already hit the same problem.
So when owners ask me what a business coach costs, I always want to answer two questions: what’s the price, and what are you actually buying?
How much does a business coach cost per session?
Across Australian pricing guides and coaching directories, most small-business coaches charge $100 to $300 an hour, and one-on-one sessions often land between $200 and $600. In Sydney and Melbourne you’ll see $175 to $300 an hour quoted a lot. Some people charge $50, some charge $1,000+.
A session is usually 60 to 90 minutes, weekly or fortnightly.
How much is a business coaching program per month?
Most coaches package sessions into a monthly fee or a 6 to 12 month program. Roughly:
What you’re buying | Typical cost (AUD) |
Group coaching or online program | $100 to $500 a month |
One-on-one, fortnightly | $500 to $1,500 a month |
One-on-one, weekly, with some support between sessions | $1,500 to $3,000 a month |
Executive or “premium” coaching | $3,000 to $10,000 a month |
These are market ranges, not quotes. Ask for the full 12-month number before you sign, because that’s the real decision.
What are you actually paying for?
A good business coach asks sharp questions, helps you set priorities and keeps you to your word. That’s genuinely useful for some owners. I break it down on our business coaching page.
But here’s the bit people miss. The work between sessions is still yours. You leave with a list: build a cash forecast, fix your pricing, hire someone, get a weekly rhythm going. If you don’t have the time to build those things, the next session is mostly a conversation about why it didn’t happen.
Now, most founders already know what’s broken. As I say in this Short, “they’re just not willing to stare them in the mirror.” Accountability can help with that. It just doesn’t build the fix.
Is a business coach worth the cost?
Let’s work it out with numbers.
Say you pay $600 a month for fortnightly sessions. That’s $7,200 a year. Now say you run a services business doing $40,000 jobs, and the one thing that’s really wrong is that you’re 10% underpriced. Fix pricing on 20 jobs a year and that’s $80,000 extra, mostly straight to profit.
So, $7,200 to get $80,000? Worth it, every day of the week. But only if the pricing actually gets fixed. If it’s still on your list in month eight, you’ve spent $4,800 and got nothing.
That’s why I’d never judge help by the hourly rate. Judge it by what changes in the business.
What’s the hidden cost of business coaching?
Your time. And the time the business sits stuck.
In my experience, the cost isn’t the invoice. It’s the six months where nothing moves. I talk about this with systems: “you halt, and you have a year of a pause or a six-month of a slowdown.” Same thing happens when you’re paying for advice and nobody has the capacity to act on it.
I’ve been there myself. I’ve jumped from one system to the next, paid for things I didn’t implement, and told myself next month would be different. Very, very expensive lesson.
Are there cheaper options than a business coach?
Yes, and some of them are free.
Other business owners. My best advice still comes from calling another owner and saying “Hey, I’ve got a problem. How did you deal with it?”
Your accountant. Ask them to walk you through your margin by service line and your cash cycle. Most owners never ask.
Government programs. Many states run subsidised small-business mentoring. Worth a look before you pay full price.
A free diagnosis first. A free diagnostic call shows what’s actually holding your business back. Start there, then decide what kind of help you need.
Coach, mentor or operator: which is better value?
They do different jobs. A coach gives you questions and accountability. A mentor shares what worked for them. An operator builds the fix with you, inside the business. I go through all three in business coach vs mentor vs operator.
I’m not a coach. I run five businesses and work inside other owners’ businesses as an operator. So I’m biased, and I’ll say it straight: if your business is under $5M and every decision still lands on you, paying for more accountability probably isn’t the fix. You need the system built. That’s what the Elephant Reset does: four weeks, one constraint, built live in your business, and if it isn’t working you get your money back.
But if you know exactly what to change, you have the time, and you just need someone to keep you honest? A good coach can be great value. It’s your call.
What should you ask before you pay?
Four questions I’d ask anyone, coach or not:
What will I have at the end that I don’t have now?
Who does the work between sessions?
Have you run a business like mine recently?
What happens if it doesn’t work?
More on these on our business coaching page.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a business coach cost per hour in Australia?
Most charge between $100 and $300 an hour, with one-on-one sessions often $200 to $600. A small number charge under $100 or over $1,000.
How much is business coaching per month?
Usually $500 to $3,000 a month for one-on-one, depending on how often you meet and what support you get between sessions. Group programs can be under $500 a month.
Is business coaching tax deductible in Australia?
Often it can be, when it relates to running your current business, but it depends on your situation. Check with your accountant before you claim it.
Is a business coach worth it for a small business?
It can be, if your problem is clarity or follow-through and you have time to do the work. If the business is stuck because the systems, pricing or structure don’t exist yet, you’ll usually get more value from someone who builds them with you.
What’s the difference between a business coach and an operator?
A coach asks questions and holds you accountable while you do the work. An operator works inside the business with you and builds the fix: the forecast, the pricing change, the rhythm, the role.
How do I know what kind of help I need?
Name the one constraint first. A free 30-minute diagnostic call with us shows what’s holding the business back.
Key takeaways
Typical range: $100 to $600 a session, or $500 to $3,000+ a month on a program.
You’re paying for questions and accountability. The work between sessions is still yours.
The real cost is your time, not the invoice. Twelve months of sessions with nothing built is the most expensive outcome.
Before you pay anyone, name the one constraint you want fixed and ask what you’ll have at the end.
Last updated: 2 November 2026.
Leader of the herd. Shehan's career has spanned professional services, finance, banking, and strategy. He started Elephant to connect busy, ambitious people with the proactive financial advice they need to make great life decisions. He built the kind of firm he always wished existed - and then showed up in trackie-dacks to run it.
