A BetterUp alternative for organizations that run their own coaching
By Martijn Mauritz · Last updated 2026-08-24
BetterUp is a large, well-known coaching platform whose core is a global network of external coaches it supplies to your people. Exantur is a different model, and it is worth being clear about the difference up front: Exantur is software to run your own coaching, whether that is your internal L&D coaches or your own coaching business, not a marketplace that provides you with a pool of external coaches.
So this is not a like-for-like swap. If you specifically need a vendor to supply a global external coach network, that is BetterUp's model and Exantur does not replace it. If you already have your own coaches and want a platform to run, structure and measure the program, with your data and your coach relationships staying yours rather than intermediated by a vendor, that is exactly what Exantur is for.
Where BetterUp is genuinely the stronger fit
It is only honest to say this plainly. BetterUp's strength is scale and supply: a large, curated network of external coaches across many countries and specialisms, on demand. If your requirement is "give us access to vetted external coaches worldwide and handle the sourcing", a coach-network vendor like BetterUp is built for that and Exantur is not. Exantur assumes you bring the coaches; it gives you the platform to run them well.
Where Exantur fits instead: own your coaches and your data
Exantur is for organizations that already have coaching capacity, internal L&D coaches, an external coaching business you contract directly, or your own coaching firm, and want to run it on their own platform. The coach relationships are yours, not intermediated by a vendor, and you keep and control your own data with row-level security, MFA and a DPA. You are not renting access to a network; you are running your own program on infrastructure you control.
Coaching-practice depth and measurement
Underneath, Exantur is a real coaching platform: sessions, structured notes, goals, accountability and between-session check-ins, inside programs. On top of that sit the enterprise pieces an organization needs, 360-degree feedback with coach-defined competency frameworks, and a sponsor ROI dashboard with engagement analytics, cohort trending and CSV or PDF export. Sponsor reporting is k-anonymous: any cohort under five people is suppressed, so measurement never exposes an individual.
Price transparency and owning your program
Enterprise coaching platforms often price by opaque enterprise quote. Exantur's plans are published, see the pricing page, so you can budget without a sales cycle to learn the number. That transparency, together with keeping your own coaches, coach relationships and data, makes Exantur straightforward for procurement, IT and compliance to evaluate: you can see what it costs and know that the program and its data stay yours. Exantur is EU-hosted under the GDPR as well.
| Feature | Exantur | BetterUp |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Software to run your own coaching | External coach network (marketplace) |
| Supplies external coaches | No, you bring your own coaches | Yes, this is their core strength |
| You own the coach relationships | Yes | Intermediated by the vendor, check their terms |
| EU data residency | Yes, EU-hosted | Optional EU or US hosting (their choice) |
| GDPR DPA available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing transparency | Published plans, see /pricing | Enterprise quote |
| 360 feedback (own frameworks) | Yes | Yes (their own model) |
| Sponsor ROI dashboard (k-anonymous) | Yes | Varies |
| Global external coach scale | No | Yes |
Frequently asked questions
- Is Exantur a BetterUp replacement?
- Only for part of what BetterUp does. BetterUp supplies a global network of external coaches; Exantur does not. Exantur is software to run your own coaching program with your internal or contracted coaches, where you keep your coach relationships and your data. If you need a vendor to provide the coaches, that is a different model.
- Does Exantur provide coaches?
- No. Exantur is a platform, not a coach marketplace. You bring your own coaches, internal L&D coaches or your own coaching business, and run the program on Exantur.
- Where is data hosted?
- In the EU, with row-level security and MFA, and a DPA is available. Your data and your coach relationships stay yours rather than being intermediated by a vendor.
- Can we prove ROI to sponsors?
- Yes. A sponsor ROI dashboard surfaces engagement analytics and cohort trending with CSV or PDF export, and is k-anonymous: any cohort under five people is suppressed, so individuals are never exposed.
- What does it cost?
- Plans are published on the pricing page, no enterprise quote needed to see the number. Prices are not hardcoded here so this page never goes stale.
Run your own coaching, EU-hosted
Talk to sales about running your coaches on a platform you control.