Skip to content

For trades

Is Checkatrade worth it?

It can be. It depends on what a job is worth to you, how many leads you would win, and how much of your work already comes from people who know you. Here is how to work it out, from the published figures, and the job your own website does whichever way you decide.

We sell websites to trades, so read this with that in mind. We don't sell leads, and nothing here says Checkatrade is a bad choice: for some trades it clearly pays.

What does Checkatrade cost?

Checkatrade's join page doesn't list prices. You get a price for your trade and your area when you talk to them. The page does say that fixed-plan memberships are for 12 months, and when we read it in October 2026 it offered the first two months free on those plans.

Independent reviews fill in the rest:

  • an entry “Approved” plan at £30 a month plus VAT, which keeps your vetted profile but doesn't put you in Checkatrade's standard search results;
  • lead plans advertised “from £59 a month”, priced by trade and area;
  • members reporting bills of £80 to £500 a month.

Those three come from Local Ladder's Checkatrade review (updated 30 September 2026). Local Ladder sells websites to trades, as we do, and says so. Check the current price with Checkatrade before you decide.

Work out whether it pays for you

One sum does most of the work: the monthly fee divided by what a typical job leaves you after materials.

An example, not a quote

Say membership costs £150 a month and a typical job leaves you £100. You need two jobs a month from Checkatrade to cover it, or 24 across the 12 months, before it makes you anything.

Then ask three questions:

  • How many leads does Checkatrade expect for your trade in your postcode, and how many would you win?
  • Are you short of work, or short of the right work? Leads help the first more than the second.
  • Would those customers have found you anyway, through someone they know?

How homeowners actually find a tradesperson

Citizens Advice asked 3,438 people who had used a trader for repairs in the last 18 months how they found them.

  • 36%a referral from someone they knew
  • 27%a trader they had hired before
  • 16%a recommendation site such as Checkatrade or TrustATrader
  • 11%social media

Most work still comes from people who know you or have used you before. But they check: in a separate survey for CIPHE, 55% of homeowners said they rely on online reviews when choosing who to hire, and 44% look for photos of previous work online.

Checkatrade and your own website do different jobs

Many trades use both. It helps to be clear what each one is for.

A recommendation site

  • Puts you in front of people searching on its site or app, on the paid plans
  • Vets you and shows a badge homeowners recognise
  • Collects reviews on its platform
  • A monthly fee, on a 12-month membership

Your own website

  • The page a recommended customer finds when they look you up
  • Your area, your prices and photos of your own work, set out your way
  • On a domain in your name, whatever you spend on leads next year
  • No lead fees; it won't send you strangers on its own

Reviews are worth thinking about too. Reviews on your free Google Business Profile stay with you whichever directories you join or leave.

A website in your name, looked after for you

Tell us about your work in a chat on our site or on WhatsApp: the jobs you want more of, your area, how you price. We write the words, make the photographs and draw two logo designs, and you approve the site before it goes live on your own domain.

After that, a change is a message. A new call-out price, another postcode, a holiday week: send it, and we make the change and put it live. Enquiries come straight to your email.

£29 for the first page, paid once, or £74 for four pages. Hosting and changes are £15 a month after a free first month, with no contract. What a website costs sets out every option, and websites for trades shows what yours should say.

See my website price or ask us on WhatsApp ↗

Questions trades ask about Checkatrade

Is Checkatrade worth it?
It can be. It pays when the jobs it brings in, after materials, cover the membership with room to spare over the twelve months. Work out how many jobs a month you need to cover the fee, and ask Checkatrade how many leads it expects for your trade and postcode. If most of your work already comes from people who know you, the case is weaker.
How much does Checkatrade cost?
Checkatrade’s join page doesn’t list prices: you get one for your trade and area when you talk to them. Independent reviews put its entry “Approved” plan at £30 a month plus VAT and its lead plans “from £59 a month”, and members report paying between £80 and £500 a month. Fixed memberships run for 12 months.
Can I cancel Checkatrade?
Checkatrade’s join page says fixed-plan memberships are for 12 months. Read your own agreement for the notice period and what happens at renewal before you sign.
What is the alternative to Checkatrade?
Other recommendation sites work in a similar way. Whatever you choose, two things work alongside them: a free Google Business Profile, where customers leave reviews that stay with you, and a website of your own, the page people check when someone recommends you.
Do I need a website if I’m on Checkatrade?
Not to be on Checkatrade. But most homeowners find a trader through someone they know, and over half check online reviews before they hire. A page of your own, with your area, prices and photos of your work, is what they find when they look you up.

Where these figures come from