ICF coach training · published tuition, two schools
Symbiosis Coaching vs Erickson Coaching International
Erickson is the closest structural match to Symbiosis in this category: it bundles the mentoring and the evaluation an ICF application needs rather than selling them alongside. So the usual argument does not apply here. What separates the two is price per accredited hour, who supplies the coaching hours, and who you are.
Erickson tuition is quoted for online training and excludes taxes. Erickson prices in multiple currencies; the figures here are the US dollar equivalents shown on its pricing page.The 25% veteran discount is applied above to Erickson's published tuition at both levels to show its effect: $4,300 becomes $3,225 and $8,300 becomes $6,225. Eligibility and scope are set by Erickson and should be confirmed with it directly. The youth subsidy for ages 22 to 26 is advertised without a published amount and is therefore not quantified.Erickson includes the ten mentor coaching hours and the performance evaluation in both its Level 1 and Level 2 bundles, as does Symbiosis Coaching. At Level 2 Erickson uses a PCC oral assessment in place of a recorded evaluation.All tuition figures are the schools' own published prices, verified August 20, 2026, pay-in-full, US dollars, before promotional codes.Background details — founding dates, graduate numbers, credentials awarded, class format — come from each school's own public company materials rather than the tuition pages linked below. Promotional descriptions have not been reproduced; where a school does not publish a detail, this page says so rather than inferring it.
The full analysisThis page compares two schools. The complete study puts six ICF-accredited providers side by side on the same basis — tuition, accredited hours, what each package includes, cost per training hour, standalone options and payment terms — with a source link behind every figure.
Compare all six schoolsThe short answer
Which one should you choose?
Choose Symbiosis Coaching
Choose Symbiosis if cost per accredited hour matters and if you want the ICF coaching-hour requirement solved rather than assigned to you. At Level 2 the difference is $4,147 against $8,300 for a package carrying more accredited hours, and Symbiosis Credentium supplies the 500 logged hours a PCC needs, 450 of them paid — which Erickson leaves to the graduate.
Cost is where this comparison starts, not where it ends. Erickson bundles the mentoring and the evaluation an ICF application needs, and so does Symbiosis — on that point the two are level, and it is worth saying so. What Symbiosis adds beyond it is four accelerators that come with the program at no extra cost and stay with you free for life after you graduate.
The structure is yours to choose. Take a single certification at $1,599 and start practising, or build a Level 1 or Level 2 pathway across two, three or four core programs, reaching up to 325 accredited hours. Classes are live and instructor-led at 10am, 2pm and 8pm New York time, so a working schedule almost anywhere in the world can accommodate one.
- Ten mentor coaching hours and the ICF performance evaluation
- Coaching hours the ICF counts as paid, through Symbiosis Credentium
- Ten full-length ACC or PCC practice tests
- Live instructor-led classes at 10am, 2pm and 8pm New York time
- Standalone certification or a full pathway — 65 to 325 accredited hours
- Four accelerators, free for life after graduation
Choose Erickson
Choose Erickson if you belong to a group it discounts, or if its reach matters to you. Founded in 1980 by Marilyn Atkinson and built on a Solution-Focused methodology set out in her Art & Science of Coaching series, it has trained coaches in more than 125 countries and quotes tuition in multiple currencies. Its discount structure is also genuinely better than Symbiosis Coaching's: a 25% veteran discount and a youth subsidy for ages 22 to 26 are real money, and Symbiosis offers nothing aimed at a particular group. The discount narrows the gap rather than closing it, though. Twenty-five percent off brings Erickson to $3,225 at Level 1 and $6,225 at Level 2, both still above the $2,623 and $4,147 Symbiosis charges every student without an eligibility test.
Included, not sold separately
Four accelerators, no extra fee
Training hours are the part every school prices. What happens between finishing a course and being good enough — and credentialed enough — to charge for it is where the packages actually diverge. These come with a Symbiosis Coaching program and are not an upsell after enrollment.
Questions
Common questions
Which is more cost effective, Symbiosis Coaching or Erickson?
Symbiosis, at both levels. The ACC pathway is $2,623 against $4,300, 39% less. At Level 2 it is $4,147 against $8,300, 50% less — and the Symbiosis Level 2 package carries 135 to 190 accredited hours against Erickson's 125. Per accredited training hour the comparison is $21.83 to $40.35 against $66.40 to $71.67.
Does Erickson include the mentoring and evaluation the ICF requires?
Yes, in both its Level 1 and Level 2 bundles — as does Symbiosis Coaching. This is worth stating plainly, because two other schools in the wider comparison do not, and their headline prices look lower than their true cost as a result. Against Erickson, the bundling argument is not available.
Which one helps with the coaching hours an ICF credential requires?
Only Symbiosis Coaching. A PCC application needs 500 logged coaching hours, 450 of them paid; an ACC needs 100, with 75 paid. Erickson teaches the training hours and leaves the client-finding to the graduate. Symbiosis includes Symbiosis Credentium, where sessions are bartered coaching that the ICF counts as paid.
Does Erickson offer discounts Symbiosis Coaching does not?
Yes, and they are substantial. Erickson runs a 25% veteran discount and a youth subsidy for students aged 22 to 26; Symbiosis offers a $75 package discount per additional program and nothing aimed at a particular group. The discount narrows the gap without closing it. Applied to published tuition, 25% off brings Erickson to $3,225 at Level 1 against $2,623 at Symbiosis, and to $6,225 at Level 2 against $4,147 — so a qualifying veteran still pays $602 more for an ACC pathway and $2,078 more for a PCC pathway. Per accredited training hour the discounted figures are $53.75 and $49.80, against $21.83 to $40.35 at Symbiosis. The youth subsidy amount is not published, so it is not quantified here.
Is Erickson tuition quoted in US dollars?
Erickson quotes in multiple currencies and the figures used here are for online training, excluding taxes. Symbiosis Coaching prices in US dollars. Check the current figure in your own currency before comparing, since exchange rates and local taxes both move.
Can I get certified without committing to an ICF credential pathway?
At Symbiosis Coaching, yes. Every core program — Certified Life Coach, Executive Coach, Organizational Development Coach and NLP Coach — is sold standalone at $1,599 and carries 65 to 95 ICF training hours with a certificate. Erickson sells its Essentials course only within the Level 1 package, so there is no standalone accredited unit below $4,300.
Next stepSymbiosis Coaching publishes full tuition for every pathway and every standalone program, with instalment options shown at checkout — no quote request and no call required to see a price. Compare it against what Erickson Coaching International lists before you decide.