How much does an executive coach cost in Vancouver?

Most Vancouver executive coaches who publish their rates charge between $125 and $350 CAD an hour. The International Coaching Federation's fee data puts the North American average at US$272 for a one-hour session, and coaches who mainly work with executives charge the most.

Key takeaways

Key takeaway

1. Vancouver executive coaches who publish rates mostly charge $125 to $350 CAD an hour, but senior leaders usually buy retainers or fixed-term packages. Judge value by what changes in 90 days and how much access you get between sessions.

The catch is that few coaches who work with senior leaders sell single hours. You will usually be offered a monthly retainer or a three to six month package, and the real price depends on how often you meet and how much access you get between sessions. My own private coaching starts at $2,500 CAD a month, and I'll be plain about what that buys further down.

What do executive coaches in Vancouver actually charge?

On 26 October 2026 I checked Noomii, a coaching directory where coaches list an hourly range on their profiles. This is what Vancouver coaches who list executive coaching published:

Coaches in the same city who focus on life, career or relationship coaching listed lower, between $70 and $150 CAD an hour.

That's a small, self-reported sample, so treat it as a feel for the market and nothing more. Plenty of coaches who work with senior executives don't publish a rate at all.

The best wider benchmark is the ICF Global Coaching Study. The 2023 edition, which reported 2022 data, put the global average fee for a one-hour session at US$244 and the North American average at US$272. It also found that coaches whose clients are mainly executives charge the highest hourly fees.

The 2025 edition counted a record 122,974 coach practitioners worldwide and US$5.34 billion in industry revenue. The ICF says that growth came more from extra clients and sessions than from coaches raising their fees. The 2025 fee breakdown sits behind a sign-up form, so I haven't quoted it here.

I also looked for a current Canadian coaching fee survey and couldn't find one published openly. If one exists, I'd rather you read it at the source than take a number from me.

How is executive coaching priced?

There are four common models. Most coaches use one or two of them.

Hourly or per session

You pay for each session. It's the easiest to compare and the easiest to stop. The downside is that hourly pricing quietly encourages you to save the coach for emergencies, and one call a month rarely changes how you operate.

To put the hourly rates above into monthly terms: one session a week at $125 to $350 works out to roughly $500 to $1,400 a month, before anything between sessions.

Monthly retainer

You pay a flat fee each month for an agreed rhythm of sessions plus some access in between. A lot of the value of coaching shows up on a Tuesday afternoon when something goes sideways, and a retainer is built for that. Retainer prices are rarely published, so ask for the number and exactly what it includes.

Three to six month packages

A fixed term, paid up front or monthly, built around a defined outcome. Minimum terms exist for a practical reason. Habits and leadership patterns take longer than a month to change, and both of you need enough runway to see whether the work is landing.

Corporate-sponsored

Your company pays, often for a set number of sessions, and HR or your board may want some reporting on progress. This is common for executives inside larger organisations. Get clear up front on what stays between you and the coach and what gets shared. If you own the business and plan to pay through it, ask your accountant how to treat the expense.

Comparing the models

What drives the price of an executive coach?

Who the coach works with matters most. The ICF data backs up what you'd expect: coaches whose clients are executives charge more than coaches working with individuals on personal goals.

Experience comes next, and I mean the kind you can check. A credential such as one from the ICF tells you a coach has been trained and assessed. Operating experience tells you something else, that they've made payroll, hired badly, fixed it and carried the weight you carry. Ask which kind you're paying for.

Access changes the price more than people expect. A coach who answers a message the same day before your board meeting is selling something different from a coach you see once a month on a scheduled call.

Scope moves it too. Some coaches only work on leadership. Some only work on health. Combining them takes more time and a wider skill set, so it costs more.

Format has a smaller effect. In-person sessions in Vancouver take more of the coach's time than video calls, and some coaches price that in. I've written about in-person versus online executive coaching if you're weighing that up.

Then there are extras. Assessments, 360 reviews, stakeholder interviews or time with your leadership team usually sit on top of the base fee.

What does Dai Manuel's private coaching cost?

My private coaching starts from $2,500 CAD a month, with a three-month minimum, plus applicable taxes.

It's one-to-one. We agree the cadence of sessions together, in person in Vancouver or online anywhere in Canada, and you have support between sessions. We work on your health, your business and your leadership together, because when you're the person carrying the company those three don't stay in separate boxes. A bad quarter shows up in your sleep. Poor sleep shows up in how you run the Monday meeting.

I come at this as an operator. I was COO of Fitness Town for years as it grew from three locations to eight, and the hardest lesson was that our growth outran our managers. We tracked payroll as a percentage of revenue every week, and I still think a leader should know their handful of numbers that well. Today my wife Christie and I co-own and run CrossFit BC in Vancouver, with coaches on payroll. I've also worked the 60 to 70 hour weeks that a lot of owners are working now. There's more about me and on how I approach business coaching.

It's application only and deliberately small. Before anyone pays anything, we have a free 20-minute call to see whether it's a fit. If you'd rather test how I work on one real problem first, a one-hour paid working session is $300, and if you go ahead with private coaching it's credited toward your first month.

The health side of this is coaching, not medical advice.

How do you judge whether a coach is worth the money?

Price is easy to compare. Value takes a few more questions. Before you sign with anyone, me included, ask:

• What should be different in 90 days, and how will we both know?
• How often do we meet, for how long, and what access do I get between sessions?
• Have you run a business or led a team yourself, and what did you get wrong?
• What happens if it isn't working after the first month?
• What stays confidential, especially if my company is paying?

Then look at what you're comparing it against. A cheaper coach you see once a month for a year can cost more in total than a focused three months that changes how you operate. The number on the invoice matters less than whether the work changes your decisions, your calendar and your health.

A good coach should answer every one of those questions without hedging. If they can't tell you what success looks like, keep looking.

If you're unsure whether you need an executive coach or something more health-focused, this piece on executive health coaching versus executive coaching lays out the difference.

Next step

If you're a founder, owner or executive in Vancouver and you're weighing up coaching, book a free 20-minute call. We'll talk about what you're carrying, and I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right fit.