Guides · Websites

Checkatrade vs Your Own Website: Which Gets Tradespeople More Work?

Lead sites like Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Rated People and Bark can bring in work, but they cost money every month. How they compare with your own website.

By Sachin Shah · 16 October 2026 · 7 min read

Quick answer: Lead and directory sites can bring in work quickly, but you pay for it every month and you often compete with other trades for the same job. Your own website and Google profile take longer to build up, but the enquiries are yours and come without a fee per lead. Many tradespeople do best using both, then relying less on paid leads over time.

If you’re a plumber, electrician, builder or any other trade, you’ve probably been offered a listing on Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Rated People, Bark or similar. They promise a steady flow of jobs. So do you still need your own website?

This guide compares the two honestly, including when a lead site is worth paying for.

How lead and directory sites work

They don’t all work the same way. Broadly, there are two models:

• Membership directories, where you pay a regular fee to be listed and vetted, and customers contact you directly
• Pay-per-lead sites, where customers post a job and you pay to contact them or to be shortlisted

Some sites mix the two. Prices change often and vary by trade and area, so always check each platform’s current rates before signing up.

The pros of lead sites

• Fast start. You can get enquiries in your first weeks, before your own website has built up any presence on Google.
• Trust badge. A well-known name and vetting process can reassure customers.
• Reviews in one place. Customers are used to leaving reviews on these platforms.

The cons of lead sites

• You pay every month, whether the work is good or not.
• Shared leads. On many pay-per-lead sites, the same customer is contacted by several trades. You can pay for a lead and still lose it to whoever rang first or quoted lowest.
• You don’t own the customer relationship. Your reviews and reputation live on someone else’s platform. If you leave, they stay behind.
• Price pressure. When customers compare several quotes side by side, it often becomes a race on price.

Your own website and Google profile

	Lead sites	Your own website + Google profile
Speed to first enquiry	Usually fast	Slower to build up
Ongoing cost	Monthly fee and/or per lead	Hosting and domain, plus any updates
Competing for the same lead	Often	No, the customer contacted you
Who owns your reviews and content	The platform	You
Works if you stop paying	No	Yes

Your own website takes longer to start working. But once it’s ranking for searches like “electrician in Croydon” and your Google Business Profile is set up properly, enquiries come to you directly, and nobody else is quoting for that job at the same moment.

How to work out what a lead really costs

Don’t judge a platform on the cost per lead. Judge it on the cost per job won.

1. Add up everything you paid the platform over the last three to six months.
2. Count how many jobs you actually won from it.
3. Divide the first number by the second.

Then compare that with the average profit you make on a job. If the platform costs you a big chunk of your profit per job, it may be time to rely on it less.

The approach that works for most trades

For many tradespeople, the answer isn’t either/or. It’s a plan:

1. Use a lead site while you need work coming in.
2. Build your own website with a page for each service and each area you cover.
3. Set up your Google Business Profile properly and collect reviews there too. Our Google reviews guide shows you how.
4. Track where every job comes from. Ask every new customer “How did you find us?”
5. Cut back on paid leads as your direct enquiries grow.

Want to rely less on paid leads?

We build websites for tradespeople designed to bring in direct enquiries from your local area. Start with a free website check and we’ll show you where your jobs are coming from now and where the gaps are.

Sachin Shah, founder of SS Consultancy Group. Sachin started his career making cold calls and has spent more than ten years helping businesses grow their sales. He now builds websites and sales systems for small businesses in London and across the UK.