Top Free Life Coach Certification Online

Last updated on July 16, 2024

While many may aspire to become a life coach, the pursuit of becoming an expert requires a commitment to professional excellence, dedication to honing one’s skills, and proof of credibility to earn clients’ trust—and that’s why you need a certification.

Yet coaches often face the challenge of finding accessible and affordable certification options. Fortunately, there are numerous options for free life coach certification online that can help you start your coaching career without spending a dime—or at a cost of just a nominal fee. Read on to find out about the best free coaching courses that can jumpstart your career. 

• Oxford Home Study – Best for Variety of Courses 
• Life Coach Training Institute – Best Comprehensive Option
• Udemy: Introduction to Life Coaching – Best for Deciding Whether Life Coaching Is for You
• Udemy: Life Coaching 101 Complete Guide to Becoming a Life Coach – Best for Beginners and Experienced Coaches
• Udemy: Blueprint For Successful Life Coaching – Best for Marketing and Growing a Business
• Alison Professional Life Coach – Best for Affordable Certification
• The Open University – Best for Career Coaching

Do You Need a Life Coach Certification?

If you’ve been researching a career as a life coach, then you may already know that there is no governing body that demands that you obtain a certification. You can freely begin a coaching career without any credentials. So, why then enroll in a certification program?

The coaching industry is growing, and more people are navigating toward this rewarding and profitable career. If you want to differentiate yourself and woo clients, having a certification is a huge advantage, as it acts as proof of your expertise.

What’s more, certification courses have a structured learning process, and you’ll be able to accumulate knowledge and tools for successful coaching within a short time frame. 

How Much Does a Life Coach Certification Cost?

The cost of certification depends on numerous factors, including course duration and accreditation. If a certification program is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF)—the leading coach training organization—you can expect a fee of several thousand dollars. One of the reasons behind the higher cost is the mentor training and coaching experience that ICF accreditation demands.

However, there are more affordable options as well, and you can earn a certification for less than a hundred dollars. If you’re interested in inexpensive programs, check out our list of the best affordable life coaching certifications. 

Best Free Life Coach Certification Online

Variety of Courses Option: Oxford Home Study

Oxford Home Study generously offers several courses to aspiring coaches free of charge. The courses are self-paced, so you can enroll at any time and learn on your own terms.

The available programs include:

• ​​Life Coaching (Short Course)
• Diploma in Life Coaching
• Certificate in Life Coaching

These programs tackle the intricacies of life coaching and are well-suited for beginners. All of the courses are CPD (Continuing Professional Development ) approved, which will earn you credibility points with potential clients. 

Once you successfully finish your free online certification course, you can choose from three distinct types of certificates, available for an affordable fee.

• Certificate of Achievement endorsed by the Quality Licence Scheme
  • Diploma – £120
  • Certificate  – £85
  • Short Course – £45
• CPD Accredited Certificate
  • PDF (Diploma, Certificate, Short Course) – £30
  • Hard Copy (Diploma) – £95
  • Hard Copy (Certificate) – £75
  • Hard Copy (Short Course) – £30
• Certificate of Completion from Oxford Home Study College
  • PDF: (Diploma, Certificate, Short Course) – £10
  • Hard Copy (Diploma, Certificate, Short Course) – £25

Comprehensive Option: Life Coach Training Institute

Known for its affordable courses, Life Coach Training Institute also offers a Life Coach Training Mini Course that is free for everyone. The course comes with a certificate option and boasts a comprehensive curriculum.

It includes 10 life coach training video modules, training activities for coaching competency, and invitations to LCTI’s free workshops. The course offers a flexible learning experience so you can progress at your own speed.

Introductory Option: Udemy Introduction to Life Coaching

If you’re still on the fence about whether you’d like to become a life coach or not, we suggest Udemy’s free introductory course on life coaching. The course will address common questions that aspiring coaches have, such as what life coaching entails, what it takes to be a successful life coach, and what methods are used in life coaching.

They will also discuss how much life coaches earn, the coach’s responsibilities, and necessary skills, so you can decide whether life coaching would be a good fit. This course doesn’t come with a certificate, as the purpose of the course is to get a better idea of life coaching as a career. 

Beginners and Professionals Option: Udemy Life Coaching 101

Life Coaching 101: Complete Guide to Becoming a Life Coach is another course from Udemy, but this one is designed for both coaching beginners and those who want to grow their existing coaching business. The curriculum is more robust and covers relevant topics like the future of life coaching, accreditation, ethics and boundaries of life coaching, and more. 

On top of that, they explain the advantage of niche life coaching and introduce you to the most popular life coaching tool: the Wheel of Life. The icing on the cake is learning about how to attract clients and effective marketing strategies—topics that even experienced coaches can benefit from. 

As with any free Udemy course, you won’t get a certificate upon completion, but you’ll gain valuable insight into how to establish and grow your practice. 

Marketing and Business Growth Option: Udemy Blueprint For Successful Life Coaching

The last free Udemy life coaching course we’d like to mention is the Blueprint For Successful Life Coaching. This is a highly informative course, and its focus is not on the fundamentals of life coaching but rather on the business aspect of coaching.

We included this course in our list as it tackles the essential steps of setting up a successful practice: creating the initial strategy, professional website, social media marketing, networking, podcasts, and making a YouTube channel (among other things). Rarely does a course go into so much depth about entrepreneurship and how to market yourself, so this is an impressive and extremely valuable curriculum (and it’s free!). 

Affordable Certification Option: Alison

The Professional Life Coach course from Alison is a CPD-accredited coach by Dr. Elisaveta Pavlova, a personal development and life coach. The course aims to teach you everything you need to become a professional life coach.

The topics it delves into are successful life coaching strategies, creating an effective action plan, common coaching questions, conquering negative beliefs, strategies for overcoming setbacks, and essential steps to starting a coaching business.

You can enroll and complete the course for free, but if you’d like to get a certificate, there’s a small charge:

• Digital Certificate – €21.00
• Printed Certificate – €27.00
• Framed Certificate – €37.00
• Digital Certificate – €65.00
• Printed Certificate – €96.00
• Framed Certificate – €115.00

Career Coaching Option: The Open University

Do you want to become a career coach? Are you open to considering this niche (or would you be if it were free)? The Open University has an Exploring Career Mentoring and Coaching course that requires no charge and includes a certificate of completion.

The course offers 24 hours’ worth of materials, and you can learn at your own pace. You’ll learn the fundamentals, such as defining career coaching, the difference between mentoring and coaching, and the importance of listening and questioning. However, you’ll also get into practical things like person-centered coaching, cognitive behavioral coaching (CBC) methods, the Grow Model, and coach training. 

Conclusion

The thirst for knowledge should be more important than your budget. Even if you can’t afford a paid life coaching certification, you can begin your journey with one of these free options. 

After you learn more about life coaching through a free course, you may decide that you are ready to invest in a certification program that requires payment. For that, our top picks are the budget-friendly Transformation Academy or the robust and ICF-accredited Coach Training Alliance. Get an overview of these courses and our other top picks in our review of the best life coaching certification programs.

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