The two budgets at a glance
This budget is for one coach working alone with a small email list (under 250 subscribers in the lean version, up to 500 in the comfortable one), up to 20 new clients a month, and paid one-to-one sessions. Prices are US dollars before tax, from each vendor's pricing page. The lean column uses free plans wherever they cover the job. The comfortable column pays for fewer limits and less manual work.
| Item | Lean version, year 1 | Comfortable version, year 1 | Year 2 change |
|---|---|---|---|
| .com domain at Namecheap | $11.28 sale price [1] | $11.28 [1] | Renews at $18.48 [1] |
| Mailbox | Namecheap 1-mailbox plan, renews at $14.88 a year [2] | Google Workspace Business Starter, $7 per user per month, $84 [3] | Same |
| Email marketing | MailerLite Free, $0 (up to 250 subscribers) [4] | MailerLite Comfort 500 tier billed annually, $10.80 a month, $129.60 [4] | Rises if the list passes 500 |
| Scheduling | MailerLite Bookings on Free (1 product or booking), $0 [4] [5] | Calendly Standard billed yearly, $10 a seat a month, $120 [7] | Same |
| Intake automation | Make Free, 1,000 credits a month, $0 [8] | Make Core 10,000 credits billed annually, $12 a month, $144 [8] | Same |
| Total | $26.16 | $488.88 | Plus $7.20 for the domain renewal |
Domain and mailbox: the renewal is the real price
Namecheap listed a one-year .com registration at $11.28 (marked down from $14.98) on 2026-10-30, with renewal at $18.48 a year. It also advertised a new-customer price of $6.48 for the first year, limited to one domain purchase per user or household, and free lifetime privacy protection. [1] Budget the renewal price from year two onward. A coaching brand tends to keep its domain for years, so the renewal matters more than the first-year sale.
For the mailbox, Namecheap's smallest business email plan includes 1 mailbox with 5 GB and 10 aliases, a free first month, and renewal at $14.88 a year. Its 3-mailbox plan renews at $41.88. [2] Google Workspace Business Starter is listed at $7 per user per month with 30 GB of pooled storage. For new customers, the page showed a 3-month 50% introductory discount and a 14-day free trial. [3] Choose Workspace if you want Google Docs, Meet and Drive under your business domain. Choose the single mailbox if you only need email on your domain.
Email platform and booking: one tool or two
MailerLite Free covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 automations and 1 digital product or booking. Comfort starts at $12 a month, or $10.80 billed annually, for up to 500 subscribers, with 50 automations and 5 digital products and bookings. [4] MailerLite Bookings requires a connected Stripe account. It syncs with Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, can create a Google Meet link, and lets you choose which customer fields appear on the checkout form. [5] MailerLite advertises 0% MailerLite commission on digital product sales, with only Stripe's processing fee. [6] Its Bookings help page describes Stripe handling payments but does not mention reminders. One conflict to check before relying on the lean version: the pricing page lists 1 digital product or booking on Free, but MailerLite's Stripe help article names only Comfort and Power accounts as able to sell with Stripe. [4] [11] Confirm that paid bookings work on your Free account before you announce them.
Calendly Free includes one event type and one calendar connection. Payments through Stripe or PayPal, automated reminders and the HubSpot and Mailchimp connections need Standard or higher. Standard is $12 a seat per month billed monthly, or $10 billed yearly. [7] A coach with one session type and no need for reminders can stay on MailerLite Bookings or Calendly Free. A coach offering a discovery call, a paid session and a package should budget for Calendly Standard or MailerLite Comfort's 5 bookable products.
Make credits for intake: count the checks, not just the clients
A typical intake scenario starts when a client books or submits a form. It then creates a client folder, adds a row to a client tracker, adds the person to a MailerLite group, and sends you a notification. That is a trigger plus four actions. Most Make apps use 1 credit per operation, so each new client costs about 5 credits. [9] Twenty new clients a month is about 100 credits, well inside Make Free's 1,000. [8]
The trap is the trigger schedule. Trigger modules use 1 credit per run even when they find no new data. [9] Make Free lists a 15-minute minimum interval between runs. [8] A trigger that checks every 15 minutes runs 2,880 times in a 30-day month, almost three times the Free allowance, before a single client arrives. Use instant triggers such as webhooks where your form or booking tool offers them, or check once an hour (720 runs a month). If you need minute-level checks, Make Core lists $16 a month billed monthly or $12 billed annually for 10,000 credits. [8]
The line most budgets miss: payment fees
Stripe's standard US rate for domestic cards is 2.9% plus 30 cents per successful transaction, with 1.5% extra for international cards and 1% extra when currency conversion is needed. [10] A $150 session costs $4.65 in fees. At 10 sessions a month, that is $46.50 a month, or $558 a year: more than the whole comfortable software stack. MailerLite Bookings and Calendly payments both go through Stripe, so the fee applies either way. [5] [7]
Selling packages instead of single sessions reduces the fixed 30-cent part: one $600 four-session package costs $17.70 in fees instead of $18.60 for four separate payments. The percentage part stays the same.
Who should pick which version
Pick the lean version if you are starting out, have one session type, and can live with manual reminders and a list under 250. Revisit it when you add a second paid offer or cross 250 subscribers, because MailerLite Free locks sending above that.
Pick the comfortable version if you run several session types, want automated reminders, or collaborate in shared documents. Skip any line you already pay for elsewhere. For example, an existing Google Workspace account removes the $84 mailbox line.
- Before buying: price the domain renewal, not just the first year.
- Decide whether bookings live in MailerLite or Calendly; do not pay for both.
- If you plan to take paid bookings on MailerLite Free, confirm Stripe selling works on your plan first; MailerLite's Stripe help article lists only Comfort and Power. [11]
- Set Make triggers to instant or hourly before going live, then check credit usage after the first week.
- Budget payment fees as a percentage of revenue, separate from software.
Questions before you decide
Can I take bookings without paying for Calendly?
Yes, within limits. Calendly Free allows one event type and one calendar connection and excludes Stripe or PayPal payments and automated reminders. MailerLite Bookings needs a connected Stripe account, syncs with Google or Outlook Calendar, and the pricing page lists one digital product or booking on Free. MailerLite's Stripe help article names only Comfort and Power for selling with Stripe, so confirm paid bookings work on Free before relying on them.
Will Make Free cover client intake automation?
Often yes for a low-volume coach. Make Free includes 1,000 credits a month. An intake scenario with a trigger and four actions uses about 5 credits per client, so 20 new clients is about 100 credits. Scheduled checks also cost 1 credit each, even when nothing new arrives.
What does a .com cost after the first year at Namecheap?
Namecheap listed a one-year .com registration at $11.28 on sale and renewal at $18.48 a year on 2026-10-30. A new-customer promotion advertised $6.48 for the first year, limited to one domain per user or household. Privacy protection is listed as free.
Do I need Google Workspace, or is a cheaper mailbox enough?
A single mailbox is enough if you only need email on your domain. Namecheap's 1-mailbox plan renews at $14.88 a year with 5 GB. Google Workspace Business Starter is listed at $7 per user per month with 30 GB pooled storage and includes Google's office apps.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- Namecheap .com domain registration pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Namecheap business email pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Google Workspace pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: Bookings Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite: Sell digital products Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Calendly pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make pricing and FAQ Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make Help Center: How features use credits Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Stripe pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to sell digital products through MailerLite using Stripe Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.