If you're a plumber in Bolton, a roofer in Horwich or a landscaper in Westhoughton, you've probably been asked the same question by a sales rep, a mate or your own accountant: "Are you on Checkatrade?" Or MyBuilder, or one of the other lead sites. Meanwhile, someone else is telling you that you need your own website.
Your marketing budget isn't bottomless, so which is the better use of your money? This guide compares them honestly, using the prices the platforms themselves publish. It doesn't claim either option is a magic answer.
How the lead sites make money
Lead sites aren't charities. They earn their money from tradespeople, and the two big names do it in different ways.
Checkatrade: a monthly membership
Checkatrade charges tradespeople a membership fee. Its own pricing page lists a basic "Approved" membership from £30 a month plus VAT. That plan gets you vetted and listed but doesn't include leads. Plans that generate leads start from £59 a month, and Checkatrade prices them by trade, postcode and lead volume. Memberships are fixed for 12 months [1].
What you get: vetting, a profile with reviews, the Checkatrade badge, and (on the lead plans) enquiries from customers searching on the platform.
MyBuilder: pay per lead
MyBuilder works differently. There are no joining or membership fees [2]. Instead, you pay a shortlist fee each time a homeowner shortlists you and shares their contact details. You pay that fee whether or not you win the job [3]. MyBuilder says the fee depends on the likely size, value and location of the job and can start from £7 [3][4].
What you get: access to jobs homeowners have posted, and you only pay for the ones you choose to go for.
What your own website costs
Your own website is a different kind of spend. You pay to build it once, and then a modest amount to keep it hosted and up to date. Published UK price guides put a freelancer-built small business site at roughly £600 to £3,000 [5], and there are pay monthly options too. We go through the full picture in How Much Does a Website Cost for a Small Business in the UK?
What you get: a site you control, with your name, your photos and your prices, and no competitors listed beside you. What you don't automatically get is traffic. A website has to be found, through Google, through word of mouth, or through the link on your van or your quotes.
The honest comparison
| Feature | Checkatrade | MyBuilder | Your own website |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Monthly membership (from £30/month + VAT; lead plans from £59/month) [1] | Per shortlist (from £7), even if you don't win [3] | Build cost, plus hosting and care |
| Contract | 12-month membership [1] | No membership [2] | Depends on the provider |
| Brings enquiries straight away? | On the lead plans, it can | It can, for jobs you choose | Not automatically: it needs to be found |
| Competitors on the same page? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Who controls your profile? | The platform's rules | The platform's rules | You |
| Reviews | Stay on the platform | Stay on the platform | You can show testimonials (with permission) |
So where should you spend your money?
There isn't one right answer for every trade. Here's a sensible way to think about it.
Lead sites can make sense when…
- You're new or quiet and need jobs coming in now, not in a few months.
- You're happy competing on a platform where customers compare several trades side by side.
- You track the numbers. Work out what each won job actually cost you in fees. Count the leads you paid for and didn't win, too.
Your own website makes sense when…
- You already get recommendations. People who hear your name will search for it. A website means they find you, not a list of rivals. (More on that in Do Tradespeople Really Need a Website?)
- You want more of a certain type of job. A page about bathroom installs or EV chargers helps steer the work you get.
- You'd like to build something that lasts. Membership or lead fees stop working the day you stop paying. A website stays up as long as you keep it hosted.
For a lot of tradespeople, it's both
Some trades use a lead site to keep the diary full while their own website slowly builds up enquiries they don't pay for one by one. If you use Checkatrade or MyBuilder, link to your own website from your profile where the platform allows it. Link to your platform profile from your website, too, so customers can see your reviews.
A simple test before you spend anything
Spend ten minutes with last year's jobs and ask:
- Where did each job come from? Recommendation, repeat customer, lead site, van, Facebook?
- What did the paid ones cost? Add up your membership or lead fees and divide by the number of jobs you won from them.
- What's a typical job worth to you? A £90 tap repair and a £9,000 kitchen are very different maths.
If most of your work already comes from word of mouth, a website that turns those recommendations into calls may be the better buy. If you're starting out with no network, a lead site may bring work in faster, and a website can come alongside it.
Watch out for…
- Lock-in. A 12-month membership means 12 months of fees, even in your busy season when you don't need leads [1].
- Paying for leads you don't win. With shortlist fees, you pay when the customer shares their details, not when you get the job [3].
- Website contracts with long terms or unclear ownership. Ask who owns the domain, what happens if you stop paying, and whether you can take the site elsewhere.
How Yesmo fits in
We build websites for trades, entirely by email, with no sales calls. See what we include for plumbers, electricians, builders, heating engineers and landscapers.
- Starter websites from £549. We're not VAT-registered, so there's no VAT to add: prices are final.
- Pay Monthly: £79 a month, with no build fee upfront (your first £79 month is due at sign-up), including hosting and Care (24-month minimum).
- You own your words, photos and domain. Full details are on our pricing page.
We won't tell you to quit the lead sites: using both can make sense. But if you'd like a website that's yours, it's one email away.
Email hello@yesmo.co.uk with your business name, town and trade. You'll get a free proof within 2 working days.
Sources
Checked by web search on 13 Oct 2026. Platform prices change, so check the latest before deciding. 1. Checkatrade, pricing for trades: https://join.checkatrade.com/pricing/ 2. MyBuilder Support, "What are the fees?": https://support.mybuilder.com/s/article/What-are-the-fees 3. MyBuilder, Terms and conditions (shortlist fee, clauses 10.1–10.2): https://www.mybuilder.com/terms-conditions 4. MyBuilder Support, "How are lead fees calculated?": https://support.mybuilder.com/s/article/How-are-lead-fees-calculated 5. UK Web Marketing, "How much does a website cost in the UK in 2026?": https://ukwebmarketing.com/blog/how-much-does-a-website-cost-uk-2026