Compare BetterUp Coaching vs. Marlee: Transform your career

What is BetterUp coaching?

BetterUp, co-founded by CEO Alexi Robichaux in 2013, calls itself "The People Experience Platform." It offers research-rich insights, a proprietary assessment, and online one-on-one and group coaching. Their coaching supports leadership development, mental health, and belonging in the workplace.

BetterUp is headquartered in San Francisco. Its mission is to "unlock greater potential, purpose, and passion." The company focused on mental fitness and launched its BetterUp Care offering.

What is Marlee?

Headquartered in Sydney Australia, Marlee is a collaboration and performance AI that helps individuals and teams bring out the best in each other. Marlee's innovative AI technology provides personalized insights in just minutes, making connecting, motivating, collaborating, and developing easy, right in the flow of work.

Marlee was founded in 2020 by Michelle Duval, who helped found the field of professional coaching in Australia. When Duval realized that having a coach was a privilege of a few, she wanted to do something about it. Duval launched Marlee to bring virtual personalized coaching to everyone, not just the elite.

The Marlee experience begins with an evidence-based assessment (the Motivational analysis). It provides a free report of your unique work styles across 48 motivational traits. Motivations influence your communication style and ways of working.

Everything Marlee does is driven by its mission to make coaching accessible to everyone. This is why Marlee offers free access to an in-depth motivation analysis and AI-powered Coach, Marlee.

BetterUp coaching features

• Whole Person Assessment: Based on its proprietary Whole Person Model, the assessment takes 15-20 minutes to complete and was developed in-house.
• ‍One-on-one and group human coaching: Informed by your Whole Person Assessment results, BetterUp uses AI technology to match you with the best coaches. From there, you can select which coach you'd like to meet with via live video chat.‍
• Data: Measure employee progress in the BetterUp dashboard. This will tell you things about your team's resilience, productivity, work-life balance, and more.‍
• BetterUp Care: A mental health care offering designed for employers who want to care for their workforce's well-being. BetterUp Care focuses on improving mental fitness. It also provides employees with coaching and other resources to support them through thick and thin.‍
• BetterUp Labs: BetterUp Labs launched in 2018 and conducts behavioral research. The aim is to make new discoveries that help people reach peak performance and thrive at work.‍
• Mobile app: BetterUp has a mobile app for both iOS and Android for mobile-based professional coaching.

Marlee features

• Free evidence-based assessment: Based on 20+ years of research, the Marlee Motivational Analysis delivers a detailed report. The report shows how you score on 48 motivational traits and what that means for your work and life. You'll uncover your blind spots and strengths, which will help guide your coaching goals. You can take the initial analysis to get a baseline, then take it regularly (such as once a year) to see how you grow and change.‍
• People analytics: You'll receive powerful data insights based on the analysis. These tell you how your motivations align with your teammates. They also reveal how to harness the power of your differences, providing you with greater clarity.‍
• Free AI-powered coaching: The Coach Marlee app provides free personalized online coaching programs. You can complete them at your own pace. Coaching programs can help you boost self-esteem, develop emotional intelligence, or achieve a specific goal. Whatever your goals, Coach Marlee has your back!‍
• Human coaching for individuals and groups: If you need support beyond the Coach Marlee programs, Marlee will match you with a human coach to give you the edge you need.‍
• Track progress in your dashboard: Throughout your coaching journey, you can check your progress in the Marlee dashboard. You can even write in a journal to reflect on what you've learned so you can reference these notes later.‍
• Benchmarking: You can compare your results to the working population in many different cultures. You can also see how you stack up against successful entrepreneurs, business builders, and even your teammates.‍
• Ranking talent: Marlee took its groundbreaking research and created a tool that ranks top talent based on proven success factors. These help you to make smarter hiring decisions. You can view candidates through the "lens" of your choosing. Select Business Builder to see candidates with the most potential for scaling an existing business. Select Entrepreneur to see candidates who would do best in a high-growth venture.‍
• Culture map: A game-changing feature for global companies. The Marlee culture map analyzes the unique culture of each team and office.

👉 NEW: Boards to compare generations

Marlee has recently launched a groundbreaking new global study, Gen Z at Work, A Generational Impact Study 2024 (Download the Gen Z at Work Study). The report reveals illuminating generational differences in workplace motivations, but that's not all – Marlee also launched new app features to help you dive into the insights.

BetterUp coaching cost

I couldn't find exact prices on the BetterUp website. The closest information I could find was this answer to "How does pricing work?"

"We offer monthly subscriptions to BetterUp, which include 1:1 coaching sessions, an on-demand content library, goal-setting features, and more. We have several pricing options based on how often you want to meet your coach."

However, there are rumors that pricing starts at US$499 per month.

Marlee cost

Marlee takes the democratization of coaching to the next level—it's free for almost everyone.

That's right. There's no charge to take the detailed, science-backed analysis. Participating in your first AI-powered online coaching program is also free.

Small teams (up to three team members) can use all the advanced teaming features for free.

For teams of four or more, it costs US$15.99 per month (per user). Visit pricing for details on plans.

Schedule a demo with the Marlee team for human coaching and more extensive, customized enterprise packages.

BetterUp coaching reviews

Before you book a session with a BetterUp coach, you can review their profile, including reviews from their clients.

Here are just some of the reviews I found for the coaches that were matched with me:

• "I have had the fortune of being one of Antonio's clients during my transition into an administrative role. His non-judgmental, professional, yet approachable style fits well with what I was looking for, and our sessions have been extremely valuable."
• "One of the most valuable experiences I have had with Frances is that as we worked on a desired outcome she made me more dependent on myself. She has worked with me to help me access inner wisdom and calm confidence."
• "It was like riding a bullet train. Everything was happening so fast in my development that I mentally had to change to catch up. The learning curve was the key factor, I was learning but not executing in parallel. That made me change my attitude and my approach."

Marlee coaching reviews

For each Marlee online coaching program, you can read reviews from people who have taken it. Below are just a few:

Vital Wellbeing

• "This well-being program blew my expectations. At first, I thought the program was just going to help me with weight loss, but as I went through, I got so much more. This program has helped me shift my entire thinking and attitude about myself, helping me to prioritize my health and well-being. I feel amazing!"
• "This program helped me kickstart my journey to well-being. Never could I have imagined an AI coach being this good - as if you're talking to a real human and how Marlee made me accountable to my goals. Super awesome experience that you definitely got to try!"

Attention to Detail

• "Great experience overall! The 'Attention to Detail' coaching program really helped me a lot as it opened up a new way for me to see things. This is very useful in my approach to work."
• "With attention to detail program, I learned a whole new way to see and approach projects."

Big Picture Thinker

• "I discovered I need to be conscious of where I want to go - to get there."
• "I learned how to chunk up and see the bigger picture before turning to the details."
• “I learned to manage my stress about details.”

Increase EQ

• "Marlee really helped me to understand how to cue in on body language and tone when speaking with others, in order to connect on a deeper level."
• "This coaching program has helped me improve the way I connect, relate and communicate - deepening my relationships with others and also with myself."

Personal Power

• "I really struggled with the idea and concept of my own power and it was getting in the way of my work, my relationships and my happiness. This program with Marlee has helped me understand why, develop a deeper relationship with my own power and as a result, I'm feeling more confident and competent as ever!”
• “Personal power program was great for me to gain confidence and knowledge on approaching my new leadership role.”

What's the ROI of coaching?

Whether it's employee coaching, life coaching, or transformational coaching, everyone wants to know: What's the true ROI of coaching? Below are some statistics from both BetterUp and Marlee:

• Companies that use Marlee see a 752% return on investment in one year.
• By the time they finish their first coaching program, more than 90% of Marlee users have achieved their goals.
• 76% of BetterUp users rate coaching sessions as "life-changing" or "amazing."

BetterUp coaching jobs

To become a BetterUp coach, you must submit an online application, including a resume and your coach credential certificate.

There are four areas you can go into as a BetterUp coach:

1. Dedicated coaching: Clients meet with you one-on-one to focus on personal growth areas.
2. Specialist coaching: Clients come to you for help with specific challenges like sleep or diversity and inclusion.
3. Group coaching: Multiple people receive coaching from you at one time on focused topics.
4. BetterUp Care coaching: You'll be a wellness expert providing one-on-one support to people needing it most.

Marlee coaching jobs

Marlee often recruits candidates for online coaching jobs. Marlee is looking for any coaching professional who wants to learn the Marlee coaching method and implement it with companies around the world.

Marlee is frequently looking for coaches with experience in methodologies such as meta-coaching, the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and more. A wellness background, such as a nutritionist, life coach, or personal trainer, would also serve you well.

Bottom line: BetterUp coaching vs. Marlee

Both BetterUp and Marlee leverage AI technology and behavioral science experts to provide online coaching and encourage personal and professional development.

Both online coaching platforms offer evidence-based assessments to users. Both do an excellent job of providing personalized coaching alongside data-driven insights.

Yet, there is a clear distinction between each platform's coaching focus and cost. Currently, BetterUp focuses on one-on-one live video coaching for a fee.

Marlee focuses more on equitable access and scalability. The platform makes professional coaching available to everyone through a free AI-powered app with self-paced programs.

The Marlee programs are designed to fit busy lifestyles. Sessions are quick, taking around 15 minutes a week, but are incredibly effective. The coaching sessions give you a 90% chance of achieving your goals in four to nine weeks.

Marlee's AI-powered online coaching programs are the best fit if you want evidence-based coaching with high returns in just weeks. You can pick up where you left off anytime—and they're totally free. That's tough to beat.

Take advantage of free personalized coaching at your own pace. Try Marlee today!