Leadership Development

Best DDI
alternatives.

For HR and People leaders comparing manager training and leadership development providers on format, coaching, pricing, and measurement.

12 min readPublished October 26, 20268 alternatives compared

The main DDI alternatives for manager training and leadership development are CCL, FranklinCovey, Dale Carnegie, Harvard Business Impact, Hone, Sounding Board, BetterUp, and Boon. They differ from DDI, and from each other, on four points: whether managers can enroll on their own or only through a company subscription, whether the program includes 1:1 coaching, how it is delivered (classroom, live online, self-paced, or coaching), and how it measures results.

Boon runs five coaching programs: Scale (1:1 coaching), Grow (cohort-based manager development), Exec (executive coaching), Together (team workshops), and Adapt (AI change management), with 300+ ICF-accredited coaches and 110+ customers. Scale is billed per completed session with no per-seat fees, and Grow averages +23% competency growth across six-month Grow programs.

A disclosure: this page lives on Boon's website, and Boon is one of the providers compared, judged by the same criteria as everyone else. Weigh our view accordingly. Details for other providers come from public sources, including their own websites and Zendikt buyer data, and where a provider does not publish something, we say so. If you find something inaccurate, let us know.

The Short Answer

What are the best DDI alternatives?

The right alternative depends on what you want to change from DDI's model. Start with the situation closest to yours.

Best for an intensive program for individual frontline managers: CCL
A 20-hour intensive inside a five-month journey, with a 360 assessment and three hours of 1:1 coaching, at a published open-enrollment price.
Best for one management vocabulary across a multilingual workforce: FranklinCovey
The All Access Pass licenses its full content library live in person, live online, and on demand in 24 languages.
Best for an open-enrollment class near your managers: Dale Carnegie
Leadership Training for Managers runs in person or live online through local offices, with published prices.
Best for on-demand management content for a large population: Harvard Business Impact
Harvard ManageMentor is a self-paced library of management content, videos, and tools, with blended cohort programs for companies.
Best for live cohort training with AI practice between classes: Hone
Live virtual classes in public or private cohorts, with AI Lessons, AI Roleplays, and a 24/7 AI coach in Slack and Teams.
Best for leadership cohorts with program measurement software: Sounding Board
Leadership Labs and Leadership Studios cohorts, with dashboards for participation, goal progression, and ROI.
Best for human and AI coaching from one vendor: BetterUp
BetterUp Manage for people managers, BetterUp Lead for leaders, and BetterUp Grow, AI coaching that escalates to a human coach.
Best for leadership programs measured on your own competencies: Boon
Boon Grow measures competencies before and after on the customer’s own framework, and averages +23% competency growth across six-month Grow programs.

Comparing pricing models?

See how Boon prices each program, including Scale billed per completed session.

See Pricing

Published Differences

Why teams look for a DDI alternative.

DDI and its alternatives publish different approaches on 5 points. These are the usual places a buyer's requirements and DDI's model can diverge.

Enterprise subscription only

DDI sells its Frontline Leader Program through a Leadership Development Subscription, with no individual enrollment. CCL and Dale Carnegie run open-enrollment programs with published prices, FranklinCovey runs a public manager course alongside its All Access Pass, Hone runs public peer cohorts as well as private company cohorts, and Boon bills Scale per completed session.

1:1 coaching

1:1 coaching is not part of DDI’s frontline program, which is course-centered. CCL’s manager program includes three hours of 1:1 coaching, BetterUp and Sounding Board deliver 1:1 coaching, Hone offers human 1:1 and group coaching as premium add-ons, and Boon runs 1:1 coaching through Scale and cohort-based manager development through Grow.

Format

DDI combines in-person and virtual courses with microlearning and practice tools. Dale Carnegie most often runs classes as seven weekly sessions or three consecutive days, FranklinCovey’s public manager course is two half-day live online sessions, Harvard Business Impact offers a self-paced library with blended cohort programs, and Hone runs live virtual classes with AI practice between them.

Assessment and measurement

DDI is known for leadership assessment and research, including its Global Leadership Forecast, with 360s, simulations, and impact evaluation dashboards. CCL includes a 360 assessment, Sounding Board offers dashboards with surveys based on the Kirkpatrick and Phillips models, BetterUp uses its Whole Person assessment, and Boon measures competencies before and after on the customer’s own framework.

AI practice

DDI’s AI Leadership Series is four virtual courses on leading through AI change, each with practice in an AI-powered web app. Hone adds AI Lessons, AI Roleplays, and a 24/7 AI coach in Slack and Teams, BetterUp offers BetterUp Grow, AI coaching that escalates to a human coach, and Boon offers an AI practice space for scenario roleplay between sessions, tied to coaching goals.

When to Stay

When DDI is the right choice.

DDI has an extensive assessment toolkit and a large research base, and for some buyers its published strengths are exactly the requirements. It is likely the better fit when:

You want assessment-led skills courses rolled out across a large enterprise.
You want an extensive assessment toolkit, including 360s and simulations.
You want impact evaluation dashboards and a large research base, including the Global Leadership Forecast.
You want assessments, courses, microlearning, and practice tools under one subscription.
You want a modular AI curriculum for frontline leaders, with scenario practice built into the sessions.

Evaluation Framework

What to compare across alternatives.

These 6 questions apply to every provider in this guide, DDI included.

Training, coaching, or both

Training providers teach skills in courses and workshops. Coaching providers work 1:1 or in small groups on each person’s real situations. Some programs combine both. Ask how much of the program is instruction and how much is practice with a coach.

Enrollment model

Some providers sell only company-wide subscriptions. Others run open-enrollment classes that one manager can join, or private cohorts for a company. Match the model to how many managers you need to reach and how fast.

Pricing model

Open-enrollment programs charge per person per program. Subscriptions license a content library for a company. Coaching providers price per seat, per completed session, or by custom contract. Compare the cost per participant who finishes the program, not only the list price.

Measurement

Course completion shows attendance. Look for growth on specific competencies, behavior change over time, and a way to connect results to retention and engagement data. Ask which framework the provider measures against and whether it can use your own competencies.

Practice between sessions

Skills stick when managers practice them on real situations. Ask what happens between classes or sessions: coaching, AI roleplay, nudges in Slack or Teams, or nothing until the next course.

Language and delivery

For a multinational rollout, check which languages the courses and coaches cover, and whether delivery is in person, live online, or on demand.

At a Glance

DDI and its alternatives compared.

"Custom quote" and "Not published" mean the provider quotes prices and does not publish them. DDI is included as the reference point.

Provider	Type	Format	Pricing	Measurement
DDI	Training provider	Subscription of courses, microlearning, and assessments	Custom quote	Assessments, 360s, simulations, impact evaluation
CCL	Training provider	In person or live online, with a 360 and 3 hours of 1:1 coaching	US$4,400 per person (open enrollment)	360 assessment and self-assessments
FranklinCovey	Training provider	Live online public course; All Access Pass library	US$479 per person (public course); All Access Pass is custom quote	Impact assessments on its platform
Dale Carnegie	Training provider	In person or live online classes; seven weekly sessions or three consecutive days	Set by local office	Not published
Harvard Business Impact	Training provider	Self-paced library (Harvard ManageMentor); blended cohorts	Custom quote	Self-tests and admin dashboards
Hone	Live training and AI	Live classes, private cohorts, AI roleplay, AI coach	Annual per-learner subscription	Impact Analysis in its training operations tools
Sounding Board	Coaching platform	1:1, leadership cohorts, mentoring	Quote-only, per cohort or per program	Dashboards with Kirkpatrick and Phillips-based surveys
BetterUp	Coaching platform	Human 1:1 coaching (Manage, Lead) and AI coaching (Grow)	Per seat (custom quote)	Whole Person assessment baseline, Reflection Point every four months
Boon	Coaching platform	1:1, cohort, executive, team, AI change management	By program; Scale per completed session, no per-seat fees	Grow: competencies measured before and after on the customer’s own framework

Details come from public sources and are not independently audited. Boon pricing is described on the pricing page.

The Alternatives

Provider-by-provider breakdown.

Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)

CCL is a nonprofit leadership research and training organization founded in 1970. Its program for first-level managers, Maximizing Your Leadership Potential, is a 20-hour intensive inside a five-month journey, delivered over three days in person or five half-days live online, with a 360-degree assessment and three hours of 1:1 coaching.

Strengths

+Deep research base; CCL pioneered 360 feedback and the 70-20-10 model
+Includes a 360 assessment and a small amount of 1:1 coaching
+Published open-enrollment price

Limitations

-Premium per-seat price for an individual program
-Coaching is capped at a few hours inside a fixed program window

Best for: Individual frontline managers who want an intensive, research-based program with a 360

FranklinCovey

FranklinCovey’s manager program, The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team, runs publicly as two half-day live online sessions. Companies can license its full content library through the All Access Pass, delivered live in person, live online, and on demand in 24 languages. Coaching is sold separately.

Strengths

+Widely known frameworks that give a whole company a shared management vocabulary
+Many formats and 24 languages through one subscription

Limitations

-The core manager course is short, so practice depends on what happens afterward
-Coaching is sold separately as an add-on

Best for: Companies that want one management vocabulary across a large, multilingual workforce

Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie’s Leadership Training for Managers is built for new and mid-level managers, delivered in person or live online, most often as seven weekly sessions or three consecutive days. Local offices set prices and run the classes. 1:1 coaching is a separate offering.

Strengths

+More than a century of management training and a large network of local offices
+Open enrollment with published prices

Limitations

-Event-based classroom training, with coaching sold separately
-Price and delivery vary by local office

Best for: Individual managers or small teams that want an open-enrollment class near them

Harvard Business Impact

Harvard Business Impact (formerly Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning) offers Harvard ManageMentor, a self-paced digital library of management content, videos, and tools, along with blended cohort programs and learning sprints for companies. Individual managers can also enroll in Harvard Business School Online’s self-paced Management Essentials course.

Strengths

+Harvard and HBR brand with a very large content library
+Reaches a large population quickly at low cost per person

Limitations

-Core offering is self-directed, so completion depends on the learner
-No 1:1 coaching listed

Best for: Companies that need on-demand management content for a large population

Hone

Hone combines live virtual leadership training, AI practice, and a 24/7 AI coach in a cohort-based model. Its core is a catalog of live online classes led by ICF-accredited facilitators, run as public peer cohorts or private company cohorts. Hone AI adds AI Lessons, AI Roleplays, and an AI Coach in Slack and Teams. Human 1:1 and group coaching are premium add-ons.

Strengths

+Live virtual classes in public peer cohorts or private company cohorts
+A 24/7 AI coach in Slack and Teams, plus AI Lessons and AI Roleplays between classes
+Classes for individual contributors, first-time managers, experienced managers, and senior leaders
+Training operations tools: assigned paths, due dates, automations, and Impact Analysis

Limitations

-Cohort-led training is closer to instructor-led learning than personalized 1:1 coaching
-Human 1:1 and group coaching are premium add-ons, not the core delivery model
-Less depth in executive coaching or ongoing 1:1 engagements
-Annual per-learner subscription with no public rate card

Best for: Companies running cohort-based manager training with AI practice between live classes

Sounding Board

Sounding Board is a leadership coaching and mentoring platform built around structured cohort programs, 1:1 coaching, and program-delivery software. Its Dynamic Leader Development Suite builds, matches, tracks, and measures 1:1, group, and mentoring programs, including programs run by internal coaches and mentors. Coaches hold IAC, EMCC, CCE, or ICF credentials and bring 7+ years of leadership experience on average. Founded in 2016, Sounding Board is now part of BTS, which pairs it with a combined network of 700 credentialed coaches.

Strengths

+Leadership Labs and Leadership Studios for emerging-leader and senior-leader cohorts
+Mentoring as a full module, with the option to run internal coaches and mentors on the same software
+Configurable dashboards for participation, goal progression, and ROI, with default surveys based on the Kirkpatrick and Phillips models
+A BTS parent with strategy-execution consulting and a combined network of 700 credentialed coaches

Limitations

-Quote-only pricing, typically per cohort or per program; Zendikt buyer data cites a median of about $320K a year for 20 to 100 cohort participants
-Individual Contributor and on-demand modules exist, but Zendikt’s 2026 ranking reads the product as leadership-cohort first
-Intact-team workshops and coaching-led change are not part of its named core set

Best for: Companies running leadership cohorts for a defined bench of emerging and senior leaders, with program measurement software

BetterUp

BetterUp offers BetterUp Lead for leaders, BetterUp Manage for people managers, BetterUp Grow, AI coaching for the wider workforce that escalates to a human coach, and BetterUp Ready for resilience. Members take a Whole Person assessment after onboarding and are nudged to complete a Reflection Point, a pulse review of the assessment, every four months.

Strengths

+A dedicated product for people managers
+Human and AI coaching in one product line
+A baseline assessment and a regular four-month reassessment cadence

Limitations

-Measurement is built on BetterUp’s own Whole Person Model; mapping its dimensions to your company’s competencies is offered at a certain partnership level
-Per-seat pricing by custom quote

Best for: Large enterprises that want human and AI coaching from one vendor

Boon

Boon is a coaching platform with five programs: Scale (1:1 coaching), Grow (cohort-based manager development), Exec (executive coaching), Together (team workshops), and Adapt (AI change management). Together they cover every level of an organization, from individual contributor to C-suite. 300+ ICF-accredited coaches are matched to each person by role, industry, and context, and 110+ customers use Boon.

Strengths

+Priced by program: Scale is billed per completed session with no per-seat fees, Grow is a flat fee per participant or per session set by contract, and Exec, Together, and Adapt are quoted per engagement
++23% average competency growth across six-month Grow programs, measured before and after on the customer’s own competency framework
+89% session attendance and an NPS of +87
+An AI practice space for scenario roleplay and conversation rehearsal between sessions, tied to coaching goals
+Managers see team development themes, and session content stays confidential
+Scale, Grow, Exec, Together, and Adapt launch within a week

Limitations

-Smaller coach network (300+) than BetterUp or CoachHub
-Less brand recognition than BetterUp in the Fortune 500 segment
-Primarily English-language coaching; not as multilingual as CoachHub

Best for: Mid-market and enterprise companies that want coaching at every level, with measured competency outcomes and Scale billed per completed session

See Scale for 1:1 coaching billed per completed session, Grow for cohort manager development measured on your own competencies, and Exec for executive coaching.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What are the best DDI alternatives?

The main DDI alternatives are CCL (an intensive manager program with a 360 and some 1:1 coaching), FranklinCovey (a shared management vocabulary in 24 languages), Dale Carnegie (open-enrollment classes through local offices), Harvard Business Impact (a self-paced management library), Hone (live cohort training with AI practice), Sounding Board (leadership cohorts with program measurement software), BetterUp (human and AI coaching from one vendor), and Boon (five programs from 1:1 to team coaching, with Scale billed per completed session). The right one depends on whether you want courses, coaching, or both, and whether managers need to enroll on their own.

What is DDI known for?

DDI is known for leadership assessment and research, including its Global Leadership Forecast. It sells assessments, in-person and virtual courses, microlearning, and practice tools through a Leadership Development Subscription, and its AI Leadership Series adds four virtual courses on leading through AI change.

Does DDI include 1:1 coaching?

Not in its frontline program. DDI’s Frontline Leader Program is course-centered and sold through a Leadership Development Subscription of assessments, courses, microlearning, and practice tools, and 1:1 coaching is not part of it.

Can an individual manager enroll in a DDI program?

DDI sells through an enterprise subscription only, with no individual enrollment. CCL, Dale Carnegie, and FranklinCovey run open-enrollment manager programs with published prices, and Hone runs public peer cohorts.

Which DDI alternatives include coaching?

CCL’s manager program includes three hours of 1:1 coaching. BetterUp offers BetterUp Manage for people managers and BetterUp Grow, AI coaching that escalates to a human coach. Sounding Board combines 1:1 coaching with leadership cohorts and mentoring, and Hone offers human 1:1 and group coaching as premium add-ons. Boon runs 1:1 coaching through Scale, billed per completed session with no per-seat fees, and cohort-based manager development through Grow.

Which DDI alternatives offer AI practice?

Hone adds AI Lessons, AI Roleplays, and a 24/7 AI coach in Slack and Teams between live classes. BetterUp offers BetterUp Grow, AI coaching that escalates to a human coach. Boon offers an AI practice space for rehearsing conversations between sessions, tied to coaching goals.