Checkatrade vs Your Own Website: Which Brings Cheaper Jobs for UK Trades?

Checkatrade's own pricing page lists a free profile at £0, Approved at £30 a month, and Growth at "from £59/mo", which includes £100 to £200 of credit to appear higher in search results. It also says memberships are for 12 months. Its own cost guide says the basic plan starts "from £30 + VAT per month", so check whether VAT is on top for you.

The catch is what the £30 gets you. Checkatrade's Approved product terms say your profile "will only appear on the Platform when a user searches for your business by name". Turning up for your trade in your postcode needs a paid plan on top, and that price is quoted to you rather than published.

What trades say they pay is higher. Digital Tradies (which sells trade websites) reports £199 to £399 a month. TradeBlitz (which also sells marketing) reports about £70 to £150 a month plus VAT on lead plans, and £200 to £400 for busy trades in competitive areas. Those are reported figures, not Checkatrade's. The AI Till has a plain breakdown of how much Checkatrade costs if you want the detail.

Enquiries aren't jobs

A homeowner can contact several trades at once. TradeBlitz, quoting Checkatrade's terms, says several trades can unlock the same job on its Opportunities Board, and that the terms give no guarantee on the number or quality of leads. So you're often quoting against two or three others.

Work it out with your own numbers

Four lines to copy into your phone:

1. Monthly fee (plus VAT if it's added and you're not VAT registered).
2. Enquiries in a normal month.
3. How many of those you win. Be honest.
4. Profit per job after materials, fuel and your time.

Cost per won job = monthly fee divided by jobs won.

An example with made-up numbers, not real data: a £250 fee, 10 enquiries, and you win 3. That's about £83 for every job you win. If your profit on a typical job is £150, that's over half of it gone before you've picked up a tool.

SEO Pages makes a fair point: the fee comes out of profit, not turnover, so you need more jobs than it first looks.

Plenty of trades do well on it, mainly when:

• You're brand new with no reviews, and the tick stands in for a reputation you haven't built yet.
• You do emergency or reactive work (plumbing, electrics, heating, locks) in a busy town.
• You can answer a lead within minutes, not at teatime.
• You do lots of quick jobs, so one extra job a week covers the fee.

• Bigger, researched jobs. Re-roofs, kitchens and rewires get looked into properly. People read websites, look at photos and check Google reviews before they ring.
• You already get word of mouth. People who hear your name still search for it. They need to find something convincing that's yours.
• Quieter patches. Fewer platform searches, same fee.
• It's free to start. Google says creating a Business Profile is free. My guides to setting up your Google Business Profile and getting into the Google Maps 3-pack walk you through it.
• The enquiry is yours. Someone who rings off your own site chose you, not a list of four.

Your Checkatrade reviews stay with Checkatrade

Checkatrade's 2021 membership terms say that when membership ends, "Your right to use the Marks or Reviews shall cease immediately and You must remove the Marks, Reviews and any reference to Your Membership from all Your Business Materials without delay." Trade Verdict, which read the current terms in September 2026, reports they say the same, and that "Business Materials" covers your website, social media, vans and equipment. Terms change, so check the version on your own contract.

Checkatrade's renewals page adds that if you cancel, your profile comes off public listings on your renewal date, and if you rejoin later "only a limited number of your previous reviews may be republished".

Renewal is automatic

Memberships renew every 12 months. To cancel, you have to speak to Checkatrade's team during your renewal window, which opens about a month before your renewal date. Replying to the renewal email doesn't cancel it, and cancelling your Direct Debit doesn't end the contract. Trade Verdict also reports that the current terms say notice can't be given more than 35 days before renewal, so ringing too early doesn't count.

Do this today: put your renewal date in your phone, with a reminder five weeks before.

A Checkatrade website isn't yours either

Checkatrade may offer Approved members a website. Its terms say it decides how the site is designed and "may update, change, suspend, remove or replace the website at any time", and may take it down if your membership ends. A site on your own domain stays yours.

1. Week 1: ask every new customer "how did you find us?" and jot it down in a notebook. Track jobs won, not enquiries.
2. Weeks 1 to 2: finish your Google Business Profile properly: services, towns, photos, hours.
3. Every job: ask for a Google review too, as long as the platform's own rules allow it. The AI Till has a guide on how tradesmen get more Google reviews.
4. Months 1 to 2: get a simple site on your own domain. A page for each main service, the towns you cover, real photos and a phone number that's easy to tap. My post on whether tradesmen need a website covers what it needs, and my websites page shows what I build.
5. Stop missing calls. The AI Till's missed-call text-back tools guide and my automations page cover the options.
6. Keep in touch with past customers. Repeat work and referrals cost nothing. A short email twice a year, something like "booking winter servicing now", to customers who've agreed to hear from you or already used you, with an unsubscribe link at the bottom. A tool like GetResponse (affiliate link) can send those and set up a simple welcome email series. It has a 14-day free trial, so check its pricing page before you commit. See also following up a quote without being pushy.
7. Month 3, before the renewal window: run the worksheet again. Keep it, drop to a cheaper plan, or leave.

• Upfront cost. Checkatrade: the free profile costs nothing, and paid plans are 12-month memberships. Your own: a Google profile is free; for a website, see my website cost guide.
• Monthly cost. Checkatrade: Approved £30, Growth from £59, lead plans quoted to you. Your own: hosting and upkeep, and your time.
• Who owns the reviews. Checkatrade: they do, and the reviews come off your materials when you leave. Your own: Google reviews stay on your profile.
• Shared enquiries. Checkatrade: often, yes. Your own: no, they ring you.
• How fast it starts. Checkatrade: can be quick once you pass the checks. Your own: takes months to build up.
• When you stop paying. Checkatrade: your profile comes off listings and the reviews can't be used. Your own: your Google profile and your site stay yours.

For more on getting enquiries direct, see my lead generation and SEO pages, or my guide to what local SEO costs.

I'm James, the local tech guy in Heywood. I build websites for trades around Heywood, Bury, Rochdale and Middleton. If you want a second pair of eyes on whether Checkatrade is paying for you, or what a simple site of your own would look like, get in touch. No hard sell. Have a look at the websites I build too.