What’s the best Checkatrade alternative? The quick answer
TrustATrader is the closest like-for-like swap: cheaper, rolling monthly, fewer trades competing for each lead. MyBuilder suits tradespeople who want to pick their jobs. Bark works for flexible top-ups with no contract. And the alternative most tradespeople overlook is not another directory at all: a Google Business Profile plus a website that ranks is where the leads all start, and it is the only option where the enquiries are yours alone.
If you’re reading this, chances are Checkatrade has annoyed you: the 12-month term, the Growth quote that crept up, or paying for enquiries that four other trades are already calling about. You’re not alone. It is one of the most common frustrations we hear from tradespeople across the North.
The good news is you have more options than the platforms’ marketing suggests. Here is every realistic alternative, what it costs, and who each one actually suits.
Why tradespeople leave Checkatrade
Checkatrade does some things well. The brand is everywhere, the vetting is genuinely thorough, and for some trades the volume is real. But the same complaints come up again and again:
- The 12-month term. Growth plans lock you in for a year. If the leads dry up in month three, you’re still paying in month twelve.
- Shared leads. A homeowner enquiry can go to 10 or even 20 tradespeople. You’re in a bidding war before you’ve picked up the phone.
- The price scales with you. Growth starts at £59 a month, but wider postcode coverage and more enquiries push quotes well beyond that.
- You build their asset, not yours. Every review you earn lives on their platform. Stop paying and your profile, your reviews and your visibility all go quiet.
If those are your reasons, the right alternative depends on which one stings most.
The alternatives compared
| Cost | Contract | Leads shared with | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TrustATrader | £20-55/month | Rolling monthly | Fewer trades per lead | A cheaper, flexible like-for-like swap |
| MyBuilder | Free to join, £2-20 per shortlist | None | You choose which jobs to quote | Picking your jobs, not paying for duds |
| Bark | Credits, roughly £5-40 per lead | None | 3-5 trades | Flexible top-ups between busy periods |
| Rated People | £15-50/month plus lead fees | Monthly | 5-10+ trades | Budget listings in competitive areas |
| Google Business Profile | Free | None | Nobody | Every tradesperson, no exceptions |
| Your own website + SEO | From £99/month | Short commitment | Nobody | Long-term, exclusive enquiries |
Directory figures come from published pricing where available and from quotes shared by tradespeople in Northern England elsewhere, as most of these platforms don’t publish full price lists. Checked July 2026.
TrustATrader: the closest like-for-like swap
If you want what Checkatrade offers but with less risk, TrustATrader is the obvious first stop. It’s a paid directory with vetting and reviews, but membership runs £20 to £55 a month on a rolling contract, so you can leave whenever it stops paying its way. Fewer tradespeople on the platform also means each enquiry tends to be fought over by fewer competitors.
The trade-off is reach. TrustATrader’s brand doesn’t pull anywhere near Checkatrade’s homeowner traffic, so expect fewer enquiries overall. For a full side-by-side, read our TrustATrader vs Checkatrade comparison.
MyBuilder: pay per job you actually want
MyBuilder flips the model. Homeowners post jobs, you browse them, and you pay a shortlist fee (typically £2 to £20 depending on job size) only when you want to be considered. Nothing is pushed at you, and there’s no monthly subscription.
That control is the appeal: no paying for enquiries you’d never have taken. The catch is that good jobs attract plenty of other bidders, and the platform suits quoting-heavy trades like builders and landscapers better than emergency callout trades where the homeowner wants the first available person, not a shortlist.
Bark: flexible credits, no contract
Bark sells credits, and each lead costs roughly £5 to £40 of them. There’s no contract and no monthly minimum, which makes it useful as a tap you turn on when the diary looks thin.
Be aware of what you’re buying, though: Bark does little vetting, leads are shared with three to five other businesses, and lead quality is famously hit and miss. Our full Bark review for tradespeople covers what to check before you load up on credits.
Rated People: the fading option
Rated People still exists, and at £15 to £50 a month plus lead fees it’s priced to tempt. But of the four big directories it’s the one tradespeople mention least, and rarely warmly. Homeowner traffic has declined, leads are shared widely, and the review system carries less weight than Checkatrade’s or MyBuilder’s. Worth a look only if it happens to be strong in your specific area.
The free alternative: Google Business Profile
Here’s the thing every directory would rather you didn’t dwell on: when a homeowner needs a plumber or a roofer, they don’t open Checkatrade. They open Google. The directories simply pay to rank there and resell the traffic to you.
A free Google Business Profile puts you in that same search, in the map results, with your own reviews attached. It costs nothing but effort: filling out every section, adding photos of real jobs, and collecting Google reviews consistently. Done properly, it outperforms a paid directory listing in most local areas. Our guides on setting up your profile and ranking in the map results walk through the whole job.
The limitation is competition for the map pack is real, and a profile without a decent website behind it only gets so far. Which brings us to the last option.
The long-term alternative: your own website and SEO
Every option above has the same ceiling: the moment you stop paying, or stop grinding, the enquiries stop. The only alternative that compounds is your own website ranking for searches like “electrician in Harrogate”, backed by a well run Google Business Profile.
This is slower than buying leads. Expect months, not days. But the economics run in the opposite direction to a directory: the cost per enquiry falls as rankings build, every review adds to an asset with your name on it, and no competitor gets a copy of your enquiry. Our guide to marketing for tradesmen covers how the channels fit together, and what SEO costs in the UK sets honest expectations on price.
It’s also what we do. Our plans start at £99 a month including the website, and SEO for tradesmen is the core of every one of them.
Which alternative should you choose?
- You want out of the contract but still want a directory: TrustATrader. Cheaper, rolling monthly, less crowded.
- You want to choose your jobs: MyBuilder. Pay only for the work you’d actually take.
- You want a flexible top-up, no strings: Bark, used sparingly and with eyes open.
- You want to stop renting leads altogether: Google Business Profile now, and a website that ranks behind it. That’s the only option on this page you’ll still own in five years.
Most tradespeople land on a mix: keep one cheap directory running while the Google presence builds, then scale the directory down as organic enquiries take over.
If you want a straight answer on what that would look like for your trade and area, get in touch. We’ll tell you honestly whether a directory, a profile tidy-up or a full SEO plan is the right next step.