Is Checkatrade worth it, and what are the alternatives?
Trade directories solve a real problem: a homeowner who does not know anyone wants someone vetted, with reviews, quickly. The platforms sell that trust to you. The question is how much you pay for it, and how much of the trust you build stays with you rather than with the platform.
This guide is for UK tradespeople. Prices and models below come from each platform’s own pages, checked on 18 October 2026. Several sites block automated reading, so treat the figures as a starting point and confirm them on the platform before you sign anything.
How do trade platforms charge?
| Model | How you pay | Who uses it | Works best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership | A monthly or yearly fee, leads included or not | Checkatrade, TrustATrader | You win a steady flow of jobs in a small area |
| Pay per lead | A fee each time you contact or are shortlisted by a customer | MyBuilder, Bark | Your workload is uneven and you want to switch on and off |
| Your own presence | Your time, plus optional tools | Google Business Profile + your website | You already have happy customers who could review you |
None of these is right for everyone. A new electrician with no reviews may need a directory for a year; a roofer with fifteen years of local customers may find most of his work already comes through Google and recommendations.
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What does Checkatrade cost and include?
From Checkatrade’s own pages (18 October 2026):
- Price: a monthly membership with no joining fee. The price depends on your trade, your area and how many leads you choose. Its join pages showed prices “from £59/mo” with VAT included; older Checkatrade blog posts mention lower starting prices, so ask for a quote for your trade and postcode.
- Options: an “Approved” membership is offered for listing and reputation without leads.
- Vetting: Checkatrade says it runs up to 12 checks, including photo ID, trading address, qualifications and county court judgment checks, before a profile goes live.
- Rated People: Rated People is now part of Checkatrade Group. According to Rated People’s own blog, its memberships ended and tradespeople now join through Checkatrade.
The vetting badge is the real product: homeowners who do not know whom to trust pay attention to it. Whether it pays depends on your area, your trade and how many competitors share your leads.
Sites like Checkatrade: how do the alternatives compare?
| Platform | How it charges | Key points from its own site |
|---|---|---|
| Checkatrade | Monthly membership | Price by trade, area and leads; vetting with up to 12 checks |
| TrustATrader | Yearly membership | No commission, no charge for leads; limited places per trade and area; insurance and qualifications checked |
| MyBuilder | Shortlist fee per job | No joining or membership fee; you pay only when a homeowner shortlists you; fees typically £2 to £35 depending on job size |
| Bark | Credits per lead | Free to join, no monthly fee; credits to contact customers, £1.80 per credit in the UK per its help centre; credits valid 3 months |
| Rated People | Now part of Checkatrade Group | Tradespeople join through Checkatrade |
| Google Business Profile | Free | Reviews show on Google Search and Maps; you can ask every customer for one |
TrustATrader also says negative reviews are published after 14 days, giving the trader time to respond; Bark offers an optional Elite Pro subscription with discounted credits. These details change, so check each platform’s current terms.
How do you work out whether a platform pays for you?
Forget the number of leads. What matters is the cost of each job you actually win, and the margin on it. Take twelve months of figures (or three, if you are new):
- Add up everything you paid the platform: membership, lead or shortlist fees, extras.
- Count the jobs you won from it, not the enquiries.
- Divide the first figure by the second: that is your cost per job won.
- Compare it with your average margin per job.
- Ask honestly how many of those customers would have found you anyway, through Google or a neighbour.
| Example | Figure |
|---|---|
| Platform cost over 12 months | £1,200 |
| Jobs won from the platform | 20 |
| Cost per job won | £60 |
| Average margin per job | Your own figure |
The example uses round numbers to show the method, not a market average. If your cost per job won is a small slice of your margin, the platform earns its place. If it eats most of it, or most of those customers would have come anyway, it is time to look at alternatives.
Platform reviews or Google reviews: which ones do you own?
Reviews are the heart of every trade platform, and the part tradespeople most often forget when they renew. A review on a directory lives on that directory. If you stop paying, it no longer works for you in the same way. A review on your Google Business Profile stays on your profile, shows when someone searches “electrician near me” on Google Maps, and costs nothing.
- Ask every customer for a Google review when you finish a job, with a direct link or QR code
- Send a short email the same day or the next, with the link
- Reply to every review, good or bad, within a few days
- Never offer a discount for a review: Google prohibits it, and since 6 April 2025 UK law bans concealed incentivised reviews
- Add photos of finished work to your profile regularly
Our guide on Google reviews for tradespeople covers what to say and when, and our review request email templates include one written for the end of a job.
Do you need your own website if you are on a platform?
A homeowner who sees your van, gets your name from a neighbour or finds you on Maps will usually look you up before calling. A simple website answers the questions they have at that moment: what you do, where you work, examples of jobs, reviews, and how to get a quote.
| Page or block | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Services and areas covered | Customers check you do their job, in their town |
| Photos of finished work | Proof that a directory badge cannot give |
| Reviews | Your Google reviews, shown honestly with their source |
| Quote request form | Jobs come in while you are on site, without a lead fee |
| Insurance, accreditations, company details | The trust signals a directory would otherwise provide |
Our guide to a tradesperson website goes through each page, and our page on displaying Google reviews on your website covers the rules.
Leave the platform, or use it alongside your own presence?
For most trades the answer is not all or nothing. A sensible plan over six to twelve months:
- Keep the platform that brings the best cost per job, and drop the others.
- Ask every customer, wherever they came from, for a Google review.
- Put your own quote link on your van, invoices, business cards and Google profile.
- Track each month where your jobs come from: platform, Google, website, word of mouth.
- Review at renewal: if the platform’s share keeps falling while your Google reviews grow, you may no longer need it.
Before cancelling, check your contract length, notice period and what happens to your profile and reviews when you leave.
What about tradespeople in Ireland or outside the UK?
The platforms above are built for the UK market. In Ireland and elsewhere, the same reasoning applies: cost per job won, reviews you own, and a profile customers find on Maps. A Google Business Profile works the same way in every country, and the advice on asking for reviews, replying and adding photos of your work is identical.
If you trade in France, our guides on a tradesperson website and Google reviews for tradespeople each have a French version that covers the French rules on quotes and insurance.
The steps at a glance
Steps for a tradesperson to judge Checkatrade or a similar platform against building their own reviews and website.
- Total the cost. Add up 12 months of membership, lead and shortlist fees.
- Count jobs won. Count the jobs actually won from the platform, not the enquiries.
- Work out cost per job. Divide the total cost by the jobs won and compare with your margin.
- Build your Google reviews. Ask every customer for a Google review with a direct link or QR code.
- Add a quote form. Put a website with a quote request form on your van, invoices and Google profile.
- Decide at renewal. Keep the platform only if its cost per job still makes sense.
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Sources
The rules quoted in this guide come from these official pages, checked on October 18, 2026.