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Four Corners Coaching

The coaching industry

Is being a great coach enough to build a successful coaching business?

ICF and PwC · September 2025 · Registration required

2025 ICF Global Coaching Study

ICF’s sixth global study, conducted with PwC, estimates 122,974 coach practitioners worldwide and $5.34 billion in annual coaching revenue, with many coaches already earning from work beyond coaching itself.

Also listed under Grow your coaching business.

Why we picked it

This is the industry’s most cited size-and-shape study. ICF and PwC received 10,035 responses from 127 countries.

The study estimates 122,974 coach practitioners globally and $5.34 billion USD in annual revenue. ICF’s accompanying release also says coaches offer other services besides coaching: 60% training, 57% consulting, 55% facilitation and 49% mentoring.

That last point is why the editorial question is about the business, not only the profession. Growth in coaching does not automatically mean growth for every independent practice.

What this could mean for your coaching business

More coaches and more revenue can sit together. They can also mean more competition for the same organisational budgets.

If a large share of practitioners already combine coaching with training, consulting or facilitation, ‘just coach’ may be a positioning choice rather than a complete business model.

59% of coaches in the ICF release expected higher revenue next year from more clients and sessions rather than higher fees. That is a useful prompt: if you cannot or will not raise prices, where does additional work actually come from?

Read the study at ICF (opens in a new tab)

This is an external source. Four Corners Coaching did not produce the original report.

Related resources

The coaching industry · Free to read

What are other coaches actually changing in their businesses?

Passmore, Saraeva, Money, Diller and Mitchell, with EMCC Global · August 2025

A 2025 open-access study of 556 coaches across 52 countries, conducted with EMCC Global, finds coaches adding digital, team and group work while remaining cautious about AI, with fees varying by service, funder and country.

Why we picked it. It is one of the more grounded practitioner surveys on what coaches are adding, avoiding and charging.

Read our notes

The coaching industry · Free to read

What might the coaching industry look like in 2036?

ICF Thought Leadership Institute · January 2026

ICF’s first futures report uses strategic foresight, not prediction, to explore five drivers of change and four possible futures for coaching by 2036.

Why we picked it. It is more useful as a set of scenarios than as a forecast, especially on technology, access and professional standards.

Read our notes

Grow your coaching business · Registration required

Can thought leadership help an independent coach win corporate clients?

Edelman and LinkedIn · June 2025

The seventh annual Edelman–LinkedIn study looks at how thought leadership reaches both visible buyers and the quieter internal voices that can help or halt a deal.

Why we picked it. It shows why useful thinking can help a lesser-known coach become easier to take seriously inside a buying group.

Read our notes