If you are an online coach or aspiring coach, having tools readily available to you makes all the world of a difference when it comes to leveling up your business as an educator.
The online coaching industry can be extremely lucrative, with the market projected to be worth $4.5 billion by 2028. Having the right resources at your disposal will help you stand out from your competition and scale your business to the next level.
No matter what kind of coaching business you offer – life, career, spiritual, health, financial, or executive coaching (the possibilities are truly endless) – you’ll want to have some valuable tools in your back pocket. Better yet, having quick access to high-quality free tools will allow you to invest your time and resources in other important areas of your coaching business.
We have done the research and crafted a comprehensive list of the best free coaching tools out there that will help you provide value to your clients. These tools will allow you to enhance creativity, productivity, and drive real and actionable results for your clients.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the top 20 free coaching tools that are applicable to any kind of coaching business.
Continue reading or skip ahead:
Related: 20 Best Online Coaching Platforms and Tools for 2024
Types of coaching
As we explore the top 20 free coaching tools to use in 2024, you’ll notice that while most tools are very broad, some activities are best used within specific coaching industries.
Here is a brief overview of the different kinds of coaches out there. If you are just starting to pursue your passion of coaching, these are a few options to explore:
- Life coaching – Helps clients improve their overall life satisfaction and focus on areas of personal growth, life balance, overcoming barriers, and goal setting
- Career coaching – Geared towards clients wanting to focus on career development, improving job search strategies, and learning tips for interview preparation
- Mindfulness coaching – Assist clients with a deeper understanding of themselves and the world, helping develop mindfulness practices like gratitude
- Executive coaching – Focuses on leadership development, the adoption of strategic tools, and performance improvement
- Wellness coaching – Helps clients improve their physical and mental health, developing habits that promote overall well-being
- Performance coaching – Enhances practices and specific skills in sports, music, arts, and other niche areas
- Financial coaching – Expands on strategies and best practices for being financially responsible and building wealth
- Spiritual coaching – Helps clients seek spiritual enlightenment and define their purpose in life
- Relationship coaching – Works towards improving personal and professional relationships, communication, and conflict resolution
There are many more niche coaching specialities within these few categories. The world is really your oyster when it comes to choosing a coaching specialty!
Related: How To Get 10 New Coaching Clients In The Next 90 Days
Growing your coaching business
Coaching is essentially a business based on personal guidance within a specific and defined timeframe. No two coaching businesses are the same – each coaching business is as unique as the person providing their expertise.
Once you have your coaching business established, you will want to work on improving your client experience and make sure each and every client is receiving value from your guidance.
Providing value to your clients will naturally grow your business through referrals (never underestimate the power of word of mouth). If a client has a transformative experience with your coaching, you will forever have their loyalty.
Coaching tools will help you ensure that your clients have actionable strategies to use in their lives, which provides immense value. The key to growth is to choose the most effective and relevant tools to your specific coaching business.
Why coaching tools will elevate your business
The best way to make sure that your clients achieve their desired outcomes is to incorporate many different kinds of learning and self-discovery tools into your sessions that facilitate personal and professional development.
These tools act as a catapult for client change, which is the ultimate goal of coaching. Coaching tools provide a structured framework – from goal setting, self-reflection, planning, and assessment – coaches can utilize tools to keep clients accountable and work towards improving their well-being.
Leveraging free coaching tools will not only financially benefit your business, these tools will help facilitate greater client self-awareness, empower clients to overcome obstacles and challenges, and foster transformative growth.
Related: How To Start a Coaching Business From Scratch
Top 20 free coaching tools
Below we have shared a carefully crafted and reviewed list of the best online free coaching tools – including exercises, templates, forms, worksheets, and more – that will make life a little easier when it comes to running your own coaching business.
Top 20 free coaching tools:
- Wheel of life
- SMART action recording coaching template
- ABCDE coaching model
- Eisenhower Matrix
- Core values list
- Habit formation worksheet
- Cognitive distortions list
- Resilience building journal
- Circle of control worksheet
- Kindness bingo
- Gratitude worksheet
- 21 questions to extraordinary goal-setting
- Wingfinder by Red Bull
- Coaching intake session checklist
- Big Five personality test
- Escaping the comfort zone worksheet
- Tolerations coaching form
- Letter to your inner critic
- Johari Window
- Wrap-up session questions
Related: How to Start an Online Coaching Business (Ultimate Guide)
-
Wheel of life
The wheel of life is one of the most broad coaching tools out there that is applicable to various kinds of coaching businesses. It can be a great starting point for clients during initial coaching sessions, as this highlights important areas for growth.
This exercise prompts clients to rate the different areas, or categories, of their life on a scale from 1-10, with 10 representing complete fulfillment. Clients then shade in each segment up to the line on the wheel. This tool is a visual exercise that allows clients to contemplate different areas of life, focusing on the parts that need more attention.
This self-development tool helps clients engage in introspection and achieve balance by establishing a sense of prioritization. Eight different categories are outlined, with the original template focusing on the areas of environment, work, community, health, relationships, finance, growth, and leisure.
The Coach Space offers different variations of the wheel of life, such as classic and customizable templates, that are free for anyone to use.
Best for: Life and spiritual coaches
-
SMART action recording coaching template
The SMART action recording coaching template is a structured goal setting technique. This template outlines objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound – a.k.a. SMART goals!
Clients often benefit from having an actionable plan in place that keeps them accountable for positive change and growth. This helps with motivation and focus, allowing clients to set realistic goals that are met with a sense of accomplishment.
The SMART action recording coaching template acts as an accountability system for both the coach and the client. As a coach, you can easily track client progress and make sure your clients end up achieving their desired outcome with your services.
Check out this free SMART action recording coaching template that is brandable and customizable.
Best for: Performance, business, career, and executive coaches
-
ABCDE coaching model
Stemming from the ABC technique, the ABCDE coaching model is an impactful coaching activity that seeks to modify a client’s unhelpful beliefs and replace them with new, positive ways of thinking. This model is used collaboratively to explore the different stages of learning new thinking patterns.
The ABCDE coaching model has five stages:
A – Activating event or situation
B – Beliefs
C – Consequences
D – Disruption of beliefs
E – Effective new approach
This is an effective and powerful exercise that is based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Because of this, we recommend this specific coaching tool to more experienced coaches. The ABCDE coaching model is a transformative tool that requires some skill along with a trusting client relationship.
Best for: Mindfulness and life coaches
-
Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix is a great tool for coaches looking to help their clients with productivity and time management in any area that needs it. Almost everyone struggles with prioritization at one point or another, which is why this is a beneficial free coaching tool to have up your sleeve.
This worksheet categorizes tasks based on urgency and importance. Clients can fill out the matrix by deciding what needs to be done now, what needs to be scheduled, and what can be delegated or deleted. This is a great tool for relieving unnecessary stress and helping clients lead a more organized life.
Here are some free Eisenhower Matrix templates for you to consider using in your coaching business.
Best for: Business, life, and career coaches
-
Core values list
A core values list is as simple as it sounds – it’s where a client groups all of their essential guiding principles and personal ideals together. This is a powerful self-discovery tool that coaches can use to help clients recognize what is important to them. Sometimes, it’s hard to realize what our values are until we are made to actively reflect on them!
Core values are typically driving factors behind behaviour, and revealing them allows clients to see how their values may be influencing their day-to-day lives. Values impact all aspects of an individual’s life, which is why this is a useful and applicable tool to engage clients in within any kind of coaching business. For example, by communicating your values, you are more likely to connect with the right career opportunities or life partners.
Check out The Coach Space for their comprehensive core values list that is made up of 285 values that are grouped by theme.
Best for: Mindfulness, career, spiritual, business, health, relationship, and life coaches
-
Habit formation worksheet
Building new habits sets the foundation for change, which is why this worksheet should be in any coaching toolbox.
Identifying habits helps keep you aware and accountable for daily, weekly, and monthly habits, which all add up to create your current reality. For those looking to change their current reality – which is the case for most individuals who seek specific coaching – building new, sustainable habits is a great place to start.
This free worksheet from Mindful Coaching Tools helps clients identify maladaptive patterns and brainstorm new goals for habit formation that will help them reach their goals.
Best for: Mindfulness, wellness, performance, career, and life coaches
-
Cognitive distortions list
A cognitive distortions list helps clients identify patterns of thinking that are holding them back from their highest selves. When this happens, people often do not reach their full potential due to limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns.
People often get so caught up in self-sabotaging behavious – such as all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, and catastrophizing – that they don’t even realize their irrational thoughts are creating their reality. By helping clients identify these patterns through awareness and reflection, they can begin to reframe limiting thoughts.
This activity is grounded in psychological theory, with the goal of increasing overall well-being and encouraging personal growth. Identifying cognitive distortions is also an activity that is geared towards more experienced coaches who have an established relationship with their client.
Check out this free handout from the Coaching Tools Company to see the top 10 common cognitive distortions out there.
Best for: Mindfulness, wellness, performance, career, and life coaches
-
Resilience building journal
Journaling is a self-reflective activity that many people find to be cathartic. A structured journal practice where a client is held accountable by their coach helps gradually build awareness and provides mental clarity.
Resilience building journaling uses specific questions that encourage clients to respond in written form. This reflective journaling can be essential to planning and moving forward.
These questions follow a sequence such as:
- What are my thoughts?
- What makes me think this way?
- What does it mean?
- How important are those thoughts?
Use this free coaching template from The Coach Space as journal prompts for your clients.
Best for: Mindfulness, wellness, career, and life coaches
-
Circle of control worksheet
The circle of control worksheet is a tool that highlights things that are within a client’s control compared to what is not in their control. This is an activity of recognizing accountability and letting go of control all at the same time, making it an effective self-development tool.
This worksheet involves three sections:
- Things you can control
- Things you can influence
- Things that are out of your control
This exercise is helpful for clients as it shifts feelings of guilt that may be caused by trying to control things that ultimately cannot be controlled. It’s also a mindfulness technique that pushes clients to acknowledge the control they do have over their own lives.
This free worksheet from Mindful Coaching Tools can be used by coaches to help their clients develop healthy coping mechanisms for things that are out of their control.
Best for: Mindfulness, relationship, career, and life coaches
-
Kindness bingo
Kindness bingo is an interactive activity that promotes positive behaviours, helping clients lead more fulfilling lives through acts of kindness and empathy. This is a simple and effective way for clients to experience how the act of doing something kind makes them feel, which can result in profound realizations.
This activity has a positive influence on healthy social interactions and can also improve one’s mood and outlook on life. The insights gained can be used for reinforcing positive lifestyle changes.
Using this free coaching tool, you can provide customized bingo cards to your clients and encourage them to complete a row by your next meeting (or maybe even an entire card).
Best for: Mindfulness, relationship, and life coaches
-
Gratitude worksheet
A gratitude worksheet can be a valuable tool in coaching to help instil positive change in clients.
The science behind practicing gratitude shows both physical and mental health benefits. Not only does showing gratitude increase one’s happiness and positive mood, it also leads to better sleep and overall life satisfaction. A daily or weekly gratitude worksheet that clients fill out and reflect on in coaching sessions can help clients rewire unhealthy habits and allow them to be more optimistic about their future.
This tool can be used as an activity in almost any kind of online coaching. Check out this free template from Mindful Coaching Tools that is easily editable and allows you to add your own branding.
Best for: Mindfulness, wellness, career, and life coaches
-
21 questions to extraordinary goal-setting
One of the main components of coaching is to help clients set goals that will lead to their desired outcomes. Many coaching sessions begin by asking clients what they want to accomplish by the time their coaching sessions come to an end.
An extremely useful tool for this is using targeted questions, such as the 21 questions to extraordinary goal setting worksheet, that pushes clients to think about what they want and need from their coaching sessions. This also provides clarity to you as the coach, so you know what key areas to focus on with your clients.
This free coaching tool from The Coaching Tools Company contains 21 questions that will help your clients reflect on their goals and work towards achieving positive outcomes.
Best for: Wellness, business, performance, career, and life coaches
-
Wingfinder by Red Bull
Wingfinder is a free coaching assessment tool developed by Red Bull that helps clients identify their strengths. This tool is based on 30 years of psychological research that pinpoints components of employability and career success for knowledge-based jobs.
Wingfinder outlines four key areas of professional success:
- Connections – Looks at how you manage relationships and how you manage your own self
- Creativity – Measures your adaptability and the creative means to which you seek out new information or experiences
- Thinking – Analyzes how you engage in solving abstract and complex problems
- Drive – Measures your levels of motivation, self-discipline, and ambition when it comes to pursuing your goals
This 30 minute online test is one of the best free career coaching tools that provides a full feedback report outlining strengths. This tool also includes a tailored coaching plan with strategies, providing clients with direction on how to maximize their strengths.
Give the Wingfinder by Red Bull test to clients so that they can learn how to better succeed in their professional lives.
Best for: Business and career coaches
-
Coaching intake session checklist
Running a coaching business can be overwhelming at times, which is why it’s imperative to stay organized. Having a coaching intake session checklist handy can be a lifesaver when it comes to preparing for initial client coaching sessions.
First impressions are everything, especially in the coaching industry, so you will want to appear like you have everything in order for your clients. Having a plan in place makes it a whole lot easier to consistently deliver high-quality coaching sessions.
This coaching intake session checklist can help prepare you for your sessions and make sure you’ve covered everything. This free coaching tool also allows you to write down client impressions and initial thoughts.
Best for: All types of coaches
-
Big Five personality test
Surely you’ve heard of the “Big Five,” which is one of the most popular personality assessments out there, frequently used by psychologists. This is a 10-20 minute test that provides insights to different personality traits, which are more or less fixed over a person’s lifespan.
This model describes five broad dimensions of personality that are on a spectrum from extreme high to extreme low ends:
- Openness – Spontaneous and scattered vs. inflexible and narrow-minded
- Conscientiousness – Perfectionism and workaholic vs. rash and irresponsible
- Extraversion – Sociable and attention seeking vs. withdrawn and detached
- Agreeableness – Selflessness and submissive vs. callous and aggressive
- Neuroticism – Fearlessness and shamelessness vs. anxious and pessimistic
This is a useful coaching tool to see where clients fall on the spectrum and how this might influence personal and professional lives. The Big Five personality test can be eye-opening for clients to reflect on.
Best for: Business, career, wellness, and life coaches
-
Escaping the comfort zone worksheet
Change usually accompanies discomfort, which means that fear and personal growth go hand-in-hand.
The escaping the comfort zone worksheet is a transformative coaching tool to use with clients. It touches on comfort zones, fear zones, learning zones, and growth zones, illuminating the process of how to move from one zone to another.
This worksheet helps clients identify their personal borders, highlighting what will happen if they choose to never move past their fears. This is a great tool for getting clients to reflect on the actions they can take to step into a learning and growth zone.
Best for: Business, career, wellness, relationship, and life coaches
-
Tolerations coaching form
The tolerations coaching form is a free business or career coaching tool that helps clients communicate their frustrations with their work.
When clients are feeling overwhelmed, this tool can be used as an outlet to communicate things that may be draining their energy levels at work, especially when it’s used in the heat of the moment. Clients can then refer back to this list when emotions aren’t as high, collaboratively working with you as their coach to find proactive solutions.
This form can put into perspective the things clients tolerate, showing how these tolerations affect their productivity and well-being. The tolerations coaching form is a useful coaching tool as it can illuminate actions to take to resolve these issues and alleviate any negative feelings.
Best for: Business and career coaches
-
Letter to your inner critic
A letter to your inner critic is a self-reflective technique used to show that sometimes the biggest barrier we face is actually ourselves.
Your inner critic can hold you back from reaching your full potential by whispering feelings of doubt and inadequacy into your ear – this activity helps squash that negative voice though acknowledging it and then taking its power away. The goal isn’t to completely get rid of your inner critic, rather the goal is to bring awareness to when this voice is holding you back from personal growth.
Coaches can use this activity to build up client confidence by helping them identify their internal criticisms and challenging them. This process brings forth more self-compassion and fosters an environment of empowerment.
Use this template by Mindful Coaching Tools for getting your clients to write a letter to their inner critic and overcome those negative emotions that are unsupportive.
Best for: Mindfulness, wellness, career, and life coaches
-
Johari Window
The Johari Window exercise goes beyond self-reflection by asking others what they think of you. While introspection can bring about profound realizations, we might not even realize how funny or personable we are in the eyes of others. Imagine believing that you don’t have a good sense of humor or that you are awkward in front of others, when the opposite is true!
This exercise involves asking friends, family, and even colleges a question that may never be brought up otherwise. The Johari Window is a powerful tool for coaches to use with their clients when they need to build trust or bring clarity to a situation. It can also be used in coaching teams to improve communication or develop personal development goals.
This free coaching template of the Johari Window involves having your client select a few words that they feel best describes them. Then, they can send the link to whoever they want to contribute words they associate with the client.
Best for: Relationship, wellness, career, and life coaches
-
Wrap-up session questions
Just like having an intake session checklist, it’s equally important for coaches to have some sort of plan that allows their clients to reflect on their growth. Providing wrap-up questions helps consolidate learning while also demonstrating the value coaching has brought to your clients’ lives.
This activity is mutually beneficial – when clients share their transformations, this allows for coaches to get a better understanding of what techniques were effective for their clients. Following a template for post-session wrap-up questions can help coaches identify areas of progress and obtain consistent feedback on how well sessions went for each client.
Check out these free wrap-up session questions to use during your next coaching session.
Best for: All types of coaches
Related: How To Improve Your Coaching Skills: 10 Proven Methods
Conclusion
There you have it, our list of the top 20 free coaching tools out there in 2024!
These tools will not only provide more value and drive desirable outcomes from your clients, they will also help you build up your coaching business and allow you to operate your business more seamlessly.
Take what resonates and leave what doesn’t, but remember to bookmark this list of free coaching tools to easily refer back to as your coaching business evolves!
