Comparison · Lead platforms · UK 2026
Checkatrade vs MyBuilder vs Rated People
Three lead platforms charged three different ways, plus the fourth option none of them mention: a site that is yours. Weighed on the things that decide whether the money comes back.
The three big lead platforms all sell the same promise, work without the wait, but they charge for it in three different ways, and the way they charge changes everything. Checkatrade leans on a monthly membership before you see a lead. MyBuilder takes nothing until a homeowner picks you. Rated People sits in between with a small monthly fee and a charge per job. Pick wrong for how you actually work and you can spend £400 in a month and win one job.
This is a straight four-way look: the three platforms against each other, and all three against the option they would rather you forgot, a website that sends every enquiry to you and costs the same whether you win one job or twenty. No platform is a con. But they suit very different trades, and only one of the four leaves you owning anything.
Checkatrade is mainly a monthly membership (about £60 to £150 plus VAT) with per-lead fees; MyBuilder charges only when a homeowner shortlists you (roughly £2 to £35 a job); Rated People charges about £3 to £8 per lead plus around £15 a month. All three rent you shared leads you do not own. Your own website is a flat £50 to £100/month, with every enquiry yours and an asset you keep.
The four options on the table
Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Rated People are three ways to rent shared leads; your own website is the one route that sends every enquiry only to you and costs the same no matter how many it brings.
The three platforms, in a line each
Checkatrade is a vetted directory you pay a monthly membership to be listed in, usually with lead fees on top. MyBuilder is a job marketplace where homeowners post work and you pay only when one shortlists you. Rated People is a lead service where you buy leads to bid on, with a small monthly fee to keep the profile live. Different mechanics, same core deal: access to other people's enquiries, for a price.
The fourth option they leave off the list
Your own website is not a place you bid for strangers' jobs; it is a shopfront that earns enquiries directly. It ranks on Google for your trade and town, takes a deposit, shows your reviews, and sends every message straight to you with no rival reading it too. It needs a few weeks to find its feet, and then it is yours. We weighed it head to head against the directory model in Checkatrade vs your own website.
Side by side on cost, leads and lock-in
MyBuilder is usually cheapest if you bid selectively, Rated People sits in the middle, and Checkatrade costs most because of its standing membership; a website beats all three on predictability because the fee never changes.
| What matters | Checkatrade | MyBuilder | Rated People | Your site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost model | Membership + leads | Pay when shortlisted | Monthly + per-lead | Flat fee |
| Typical spend | £60 to £150+/mo | £2 to £35 a job | ~£15/mo + £3 to £8/lead | £50 to £100/mo |
| Who gets the lead | Shared | Shared shortlist | Shared | You only |
| Pay before you win? | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Reviews you keep | No | No | No | Yes + Google |
| You own it | No | No | No | Yes |
How each one charges, in real numbers
Checkatrade membership runs around £60 to £150 plus VAT a month before leads, with the three-year sum broken down in what Checkatrade costs over 3 years. MyBuilder reportedly charges between £2 and £35 per shortlisted job depending on size, and its fees have risen sharply in 2026. Rated People charges roughly £3 to £8 a lead, a £5 setup and about £15 a month. On a flat website you pay £50 to £100 a month whatever happens, which is the one number on the table that does not move.
Shared leads are the common thread
On all three platforms you compete for the same enquiry. MyBuilder softens it slightly, you pay only once a customer shortlists you, but you can still spend on jobs that go elsewhere. The race to reply first, and the tyre-kicker leads you pay for either way, are the reasons trades start looking for a route off them, which we cover in getting leads without Checkatrade.
The hidden costs and lock-in on each
Every platform shares a quiet cost beyond the fee: the reviews and reputation you build on it stay on it, so leaving means starting your social proof from scratch.
The reputation you cannot take with you
Whichever of the three you use, the reviews you gather live on that platform's profile and do not transfer when you go, the same trap whether it says Checkatrade, MyBuilder or Rated People on the badge. We pulled that apart in you don't own your Checkatrade reviews. The longer you stay, the more proof you have tied up in a place you might leave.
The fee that does not flex with a quiet month
Checkatrade and Rated People both charge a standing fee whether the phone rings or not, so a slow month still costs you. MyBuilder avoids that, but trades selective bidding for the risk of paying for shortlists that never convert. A website inverts the whole thing: one predictable fee, no per-lead charge, and the more enquiries it earns the cheaper each one gets.
Who each option actually suits
MyBuilder suits an occasional bidder, Rated People a steady worker who wants a low monthly floor, Checkatrade a brand-new trade buying instant credibility, and a website any established trade who wants leads they own.
When a platform is the right call
Be fair to them. If you have just started, have no reviews and need work this week, a platform borrows trust you have not built yet. MyBuilder fits a trade who only wants the odd extra job and hates standing fees. Rated People fits someone who wants a low monthly base and is happy to buy leads to bid on. Checkatrade fits a new business willing to pay most for the strongest brand-name credibility while it finds its feet.
When your own website wins
The moment you have a few years and a few good reviews behind you, paying to share leads with newer rivals is money leaking out. An established trade is better off owning the channel: a site that ranks, takes enquiries directly and shows the reputation you have already earned. Many trades run a platform and a website together for a while, then drop the membership once their own site carries the load, the path mapped in get more work without paying for leads.
The recommendation for working UK trades
Use a lead platform as a short-term bridge if you are brand new, then build a website and a Google Business Profile and shift onto channels you own, because that is the only one of the four that keeps paying back after you stop spending.
The bottom line on all four
There is no villain here, just four different deals. The three platforms are useful at the start and expensive as a permanent habit, because you never stop renting and you never own the leads or the reviews. A website costs a flat fee, sends every enquiry to you, and is yours to keep. For most established trades, the smart play is to graduate off the platforms, not to keep choosing between them. Compare the verdicts in is Checkatrade worth it and is MyBuilder worth it.
See your site before you decide
I'll build you a free mockup of your actual business, your name, your trade, your area, before you pay anything. Like it? A one-pager is £50/month and a full multi-page site is £100/month, with hosting, SSL and unlimited small changes included on every plan and zero setup fee. Pay annually and save about 30%. Usually live in about a week. See the figures on the tradesman website cost page or apply at sitework.uk/#apply.