How much does Checkatrade cost for a tradesperson?
Directory pricing is tiered by trade and area, and the headline membership fee is rarely the full cost. Budget for the subscription, any per-lead or contact charges, and the jobs you quote but lose to other members bidding on the same enquiry. Work in cost per won job, not per lead.
How the pricing is actually structured
Published prices change by trade, by region and by how contested your category is, so a single figure quoted in an article is out of date the moment it is written. What doesn't change is the shape of the bill.
- A recurring membership or subscription, usually billed monthly on an annual commitment
- Charges tied to enquiries, per lead, per contact, or per response depending on the platform and plan
- Tier or area upgrades, priced by how competitive your trade is in your postcode
- Onboarding and vetting costs at sign-up
The costs that never appear on a price page
These are the ones that decide whether the membership was worth it, and none of them are in the sales conversation.
- Time quoting jobs you were never going to win because three other members were quoting the same enquiry.
- Downward price pressure. A shared enquiry is a competitive tender, and competitive tenders are won on price more often than on quality.
- The renewal ratchet. Costs in contested categories tend to move one way.
- Zero residual value. Three years of payments leaves you with no ranking, no domain authority and no reviews on a profile you control.
Work out your own number
This calculation takes ten minutes and is more useful than any article, including this one, because it uses your figures rather than a national average.
| Step | Your figure |
|---|---|
| Annual membership | £ |
| Annual lead and contact charges | £ |
| Total annual cost | £ |
| Jobs won from the platform this year | |
| Cost per won job (total ÷ jobs won) | £ |
| Your average job value | £ |
| Cost per job as a % of job value | % |
What most people get wrong
Almost everyone compares the directory monthly fee against an SEO monthly fee and picks the smaller number. That comparison is wrong in both directions. It ignores the lead charges stacked on top of the directory subscription, and it ignores that search work is an asset with a residual value while a subscription is a rental with none.
The right comparison is cost per won job over three years, including what you still own at the end of it.
Related questions
Is there a free way to be listed?
A Google Business Profile is free, and for most trades it's the highest-value free listing available. It's also the one that produces the enquiries directories are reselling you.
Can I negotiate the price?
Renewal pricing is frequently more flexible than sign-up pricing, particularly if you have another channel producing work and can credibly leave.
How does this compare to Google Ads?
Both are rented. The difference is that with Ads you control the targeting and can switch it off the moment the maths stops working, and the enquiry arrives at you rather than at a shortlist.
Not sure where you stand?
We run the checks against your business and come back with the gaps and the first three priorities. No access needed, nothing changed.