FAQ for online coaches considering CoachingPortal

No. You can start on the permanent free plan without a credit card for up to 5 clients, with all features included. If you want to test the paid features, the 14-day trial on a paid plan requires a card, but you are not charged until the trial ends, and you can downgrade or cancel anytime from your account settings.

You get full access to all features for 14 days. A credit card is required to start the trial, but you will not be charged until the trial ends. After the trial, you can choose a paid plan or continue on the permanent free tier, which supports up to 5 clients at no cost with all features included. There are no contracts - cancel or downgrade anytime from your account settings.

CoachingPortal offers a permanent free plan for up to 5 clients. Paid plans start at $19.99/month for up to 10 clients (Grow) and $49.99/month for unlimited clients (Professional). All plans include white-label branding, the full meal plan builder, and the exercise program builder - there are no add-on fees for core features.

The free plan supports up to 5 active clients with no feature restrictions. When you need more, paid plans support 10 clients (Grow, $19.99/month) or unlimited clients (Professional, $49.99/month). There are no per-client fees on any plan - you pay a flat monthly rate for your tier, so your cost does not climb as your roster grows.

No - and CoachingPortal does not take a transaction fee on client payments either. Most online coaches charge clients through Stripe, PayPal, or their existing accounting setup, and use CoachingPortal for the coaching delivery itself: training programs, meal plans, check-ins, messaging, and analytics. This is a deliberate scope choice. Some competitors monetize the payments path - TrueCoach applies a 5% transaction fee, FitPros.io applies 10%, and Trainerize charges a separate monthly fee for payment processing. CoachingPortal stays out of that flow so 100% of what your clients pay reaches your business.

Yes. Your logo, colors, and a custom subdomain (yourname.coachingportal.io) are included on every plan, including the free tier. Clients see your brand - not CoachingPortal’s - in invite emails, workouts, meal plans, and the client app. There is no separate white-label fee at any tier.

Every CoachingPortal account - including the free plan, includes a branded subdomain (yourname.coachingportal.io), custom colors, logo upload, and your business name throughout the client experience. Clients see your brand, not CoachingPortal's. You can update colors, logos, and social links at any time from your settings. There is no additional fee for white-label branding.

Yes. CoachingPortal is fully usable as a nutrition-only platform. You can focus entirely on meal plans, macro tracking, weekly check-ins, and client messaging without assigning any training programs - the meal plan builder, food database, and client check-in tools work independently of the exercise side. Many nutrition coaches use CoachingPortal without the exercise features enabled at all. The white-label branding, compliance analytics, and client messaging tools all apply equally to nutrition-only coaching businesses.

The meal plan builder includes access to over 1 million verified foods from the FatSecret database, 17,000+ searchable recipes with full nutrition data, custom food and recipe creation, a barcode scanner for packaged foods, automatic macro calculations, a BMR/TDEE calculator, and auto-generated grocery lists. Coaches can build full weekly meal plans for clients and clients can log meals directly through the app.

CoachingPortal includes native nutrition - a meal plan builder backed by 1M+ foods and 17,000+ recipes, macro tracking, and a barcode scanner - on every plan. TrueCoach has no built-in meal-plan builder (clients sync calories from MyFitnessPal), and Everfit treats meal plans and recipe books as paid add-ons on top of its per-client tiers. So for a nutrition-first coach, CoachingPortal bundles in the base price what those tools either lack or charge extra for.

Auto-periodization (US spelling) or auto-periodisation (UK spelling) means the platform automatically adjusts training load, intensity, and volume over time based on the client's performance data - rather than requiring the coach to manually update every program every week. CoachingPortal uses RIR (Reps In Reserve) based autoregulation: clients log how close to failure each set felt, and the system uses that data to adjust weights for the next session. It also monitors for fatigue patterns and can insert deload weeks automatically when performance drops across multiple sessions.

Yes. The exercise program builder supports any rep and set scheme, including percentage-based loading, RPE, RIR, and fixed weight protocols. Coaches working with powerlifters can build peaking blocks with precise load prescriptions and track competition attempts. Bodybuilding coaches can use hypertrophy-focused templates with weekly volume tracking per muscle group. The auto-periodization system can be used as-is or bypassed entirely - you remain in full control of how programs are structured for each client.

CoachingPortal includes a fully customizable weekly check-in system. Coaches can configure which sections are visible to each client - including body weight logging, progress photos, subjective wellbeing ratings, nutrition adherence, sleep, and free-text notes. Check-in data feeds directly into the analytics dashboard, and coaches receive compliance scores showing which clients are submitting check-ins consistently.

Yes. CoachingPortal has a self-coaching mode designed for individual athletes or coaches who want to use the platform for their own training and nutrition. You get the full exercise program builder, meal plan builder, workout tracking, and check-in system - all accessible without needing a separate coach account.

Yes. CoachingPortal is optimized for phones and tablets, and clients can use the iOS app, Android app on Google Play, or mobile web experience to access workouts, meal plans, check-ins, and messaging.

On iOS, step counts sync automatically from Apple Health. On Android, steps sync from Health Connect. Clients do not need to manually enter step data - the app reads from their phone's health platform once they grant permission during onboarding. Step data appears in the client's daily log and surfaces in the coach analytics dashboard alongside weight and nutrition data. This feature requires the native iOS or Android app and is not available in the mobile web version.

Largely, yes. CoachingPortal includes a bulk invite feature to onboard your whole roster at once via email, and the exercise library is searchable with most common movements pre-loaded, so rebuilding programs is fast rather than line-by-line. Most coaches keep both tools active for a short overlap so clients can move over without losing access. The step-by-step migration guide and the feature-by-feature comparison walk through the details.

Yes. CoachingPortal includes a bulk invite feature to onboard multiple clients at once via email. For program content, the exercise library is searchable and most common exercises are pre-loaded, so rebuilding programs is straightforward. If you have specific migration questions - particularly around data from Trainerize or TrueCoach - email support@coachingportal.io and the team can advise on the best approach for your setup.

CoachingPortal and Trainerize target the same audience but differ in three core ways. Pricing: CoachingPortal is a flat $19.99/month for up to 10 clients or $49.99/month for unlimited clients, while Trainerize uses per-client tiers that scale up as your roster grows. Feature inclusion: native nutrition with a 1M+ food database, white-label branding, and auto-periodization (RIR-based load progression with automatic deload weeks) are included on every CoachingPortal plan - Trainerize charges add-on fees for nutrition and white-label, and does not offer auto-periodization. Positioning: CoachingPortal is built around integrated training and nutrition delivery for fitness and nutrition coaches, while Trainerize is broader business-management software covering payments, lead capture, and franchise tooling. See the full feature-by-feature breakdown at https://coachingportal.io/vs-trainerize.

CoachingPortal and TrueCoach overlap on workout programming but diverge on nutrition and pricing structure. Pricing: CoachingPortal is a flat $19.99/month for up to 10 clients or $49.99/month for unlimited clients with no transaction fees, while TrueCoach uses per-client tiers and adds a transaction fee on client payments processed through the platform. Feature inclusion: TrueCoach has no native nutrition - clients sync calories from a MyFitnessPal integration - and white-label branding is limited on lower tiers; CoachingPortal includes a native meal plan builder with a 1M+ food database and 17,000+ recipes, full white-label branding on every plan including the free tier, and auto-periodization (RIR-based load progression) which TrueCoach does not offer. Positioning: TrueCoach is built for 1:1 personal trainers who want a fast manual workout builder; CoachingPortal is built for fitness and nutrition coaches who need integrated training plus meal planning delivered in one client experience. See the full comparison at https://coachingportal.io/vs-truecoach.

CoachingPortal and Everfit both position as all-in-one coaching platforms, but bundle features and price them differently. Pricing: CoachingPortal is a flat $19.99/month for up to 10 clients or $49.99/month for unlimited clients with every core feature included, while Everfit uses per-client tiers and charges separately for meal plans, automation (Autoflow), and reserves white-label branding for Enterprise customers. Feature inclusion: CoachingPortal includes native nutrition (1M+ food database, 17,000+ recipes), white-label branding, client automation, and auto-periodization on every paid plan - Everfit treats nutrition and automation as paid add-ons and does not offer auto-periodization. Positioning: Everfit emphasizes community and forum features alongside broad wellness coaching; CoachingPortal is focused on integrated training and nutrition delivery with research-backed RIR autoregulation and automatic deload scheduling. See the full comparison at https://coachingportal.io/vs-everfit.

If you cancel a paid plan, your account downgrades to the free tier, which supports up to 5 active clients. Clients above that limit are not immediately deleted - you can choose which clients to keep active on the free tier. All client data, programs, meal plans, and check-in history is retained and remains accessible. CoachingPortal does not delete client data upon plan changes, and you can re-activate a paid plan at any time to restore full access.