Checkatrade Cost in 2026: Every Price on Record
The Checkatrade cost question has a short official answer and a longer real one. Officially: £30 a month (+VAT) for an Approved listing, lead-generating Growth plans "from £59 a month", no joining fee, 12-month fixed contracts. In practice, the Growth price depends on your trade and postcode, is only revealed during sign-up, and members report actual bills anywhere from £80 to £500 a month. This page collects every figure on record, with sources and dates, so you can see the full range before a sales call anchors you to one number.
Checkatrade Membership Cost by Plan
| Plan | Published price | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | £30/month +VAT | Vetted badge and a profile homeowners can find | No lead stream. It is a reputation tier, not a marketing channel |
| Growth | "from £59/month" +VAT | Directory placement plus an estimated annual lead volume | Real quote only appears after you enter trade and postcode; lead volume is an estimate, not a guarantee |
| Extras | varies | Search-boost credits (£100–£200 included on Growth), Checkatrade Pay | Members report credits needed for larger jobs; card fees run 1.29%–1.79% |
Source: join.checkatrade.com/pricing/, page updated 9 February 2026, accessed 22 July 2026. VAT is not mentioned on the pricing page; Checkatrade's own blog confirms prices are +VAT.
Every Checkatrade Price on Record
Official prices, third-party estimates and members' own bills, labelled and dated. Where sources disagree, both figures stay on the record.
| What | Figure | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved plan (reputation tier, no lead stream) | £30/month | Official | Checkatrade pricing page page updated 9 Feb 2026, accessed 22 Jul 2026 |
| Growth plan (lead-generating tier) Full price only revealed after entering trade and postcode in the sign-up flow. VAT is not mentioned on the pricing page; Checkatrade’s own blog confirms prices are +VAT. | from £59/month | Official | Checkatrade pricing page page updated 9 Feb 2026, accessed 22 Jul 2026 |
| Joining fee "There is no joining fee. Checkatrade members only pay a monthly fee." | £0 | Official | Checkatrade blog accessed 22 Jul 2026 |
| Typical monthly cost, active members | £60–£120+/month | Third-party estimate | Local Search North comparison 8 Apr 2026 |
| Typical annual cost | £1,200–£2,000+/year | Third-party estimate | Local Search North comparison 3 Apr 2026 |
| Individual member-reported monthly bills Three separate reports: "about £80 per month" (Reddit), "£306 per month" and "£442 per month" (Facebook trade groups). | £80, £306 and £442/month | Member-reported | Tradespeople on Reddit and Facebook c. 2024–2026, captured 22 Jul 2026 |
| 2026 Reddit report: contractor listing cost "It was costing him £500 monthly for the listing, which only resulted in a handful of leads each year." The contractor has since cancelled. | £500/month | Member-reported | r/DIYUK thread, 2026 2026, captured 22 Jul 2026 |
| 2026 Reddit report: business trying to exit contract "They charge us £390 a month, which feels excessive given the quality of leads we’re receiving." Posted while asking how to get out of the contract. | £390/month | Member-reported | r/smallbusinessuk thread, 2026 2026, captured 22 Jul 2026 |
| 2026 Reddit report: recent sign-up "A hefty fee of over £300 monthly for minimal jobs." The same member reports being told that access to larger projects (rewiring, kitchen refurbishments) requires purchasing credits on top of the subscription. | over £300/month, plus credits for larger jobs | Member-reported | r/DIYUK thread, 2026 2026, captured 22 Jul 2026 |
| Historic entry price, rolling monthly contract Checkatrade has since moved from rolling monthly to 12-month fixed memberships. | from £84/month (2020) | Third-party estimate | This is Money (Financial Mail on Sunday) 24 Oct 2020 |
| Leads shared with No official Checkatrade figure published. | 10–20+ tradespeople per enquiry (reported) | Third-party estimate | Local Search North comparison 8 Apr 2026 |
Where the sources disagree
- Checkatrade officially states there is no joining fee, but one April 2026 comparison reports a £300–£500 one-off vetting cost. We show both; we could not verify the vetting charge against any official source.
What That Works Out At Per Lead
Divide the monthly fee by the estimated lead volume and the subscription turns into a per-lead price. Two real quotes from 2025 forum threads:
| Reported quote | Estimated leads | Cost per lead | Shared with |
|---|---|---|---|
| £150/month (electrician, r/ukelectricians, 2025) | 4/month | £37.50 | 3 other contractors (reported) |
| £129/month +VAT (Screwfix Community, 2025) | 7–8/month | ~£19 | 23 businesses in category (reported) |
A lead is not a job. Reported lead-to-job conversion on shared platforms runs 1 in 5 to 1 in 10, which puts the cost per won job at £95 to £375 on these two quotes. That is the number to compare against your gross profit per job, and it is why the calculator below asks for your margin, not your turnover.
For comparison, this is what one top-of-page Google Ads click costs for the five biggest trades (Google Ads data via DataForSEO, United Kingdom, July 2026):
| Trade | Search term | Top-of-page bid per click |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbers | "plumber near me" | £2.41 – £13.98 |
| Electricians | "electrician near me" | £2.02 – £10.43 |
| Roofers | "roofers near me" | £4.22 – £16.37 |
| Builders | "builders near me" | £1.59 – £6.43 |
| Gardeners | "gardener near me" | £0.90 – £3.86 |
A click is not a lead either, but a visitor to your own site is not shared with 3 to 23 competitors. Full ten-trade table in the UK Trade Lead Cost Tracker.
Check the maths on your own Checkatrade quote
Put in what the platform costs you each month, how many leads it sends and how many you win. The calculator shows your true cost per won job and how much gross profit is left after the platform takes its share.
Gross profit only. Time spent answering alerts, calling leads back and quoting is not included, so the real break-even point is higher than this.
Two Things the Sales Call Won't Mention
- The contract used to be monthly. In 2020 Checkatrade's entry price was reported at £84/month on a rolling monthly contract (This is Money, 24 October 2020). The move to 12-month fixed terms shifted the risk from the platform to the member. Get the estimated annual lead volume in writing; the Fixed Plan terms make it an estimate, not a commitment.
- The spend disappears when you stop. £1,500 a year on membership buys visibility that ends with the contract, and your review history stays on their domain. The same money spent on your own site and Google Business Profile compounds instead. My full Checkatrade review weighs when each option makes sense, and if you are mid-contract there is a cancellation guide too.
Checkatrade Cost FAQs
How much is Checkatrade per month?
Officially £30/month (+VAT) for the Approved plan, which is a listing without a lead stream, and "from £59/month" for lead-generating Growth plans. The actual Growth quote depends on your trade and postcode and only appears in the sign-up flow. Tradespeople report real bills of £80, £306, £390, £442 and £500 a month in threads from 2024 to 2026.
How much is Checkatrade per year?
Third-party analyses put typical annual spend at £1,200 to £2,000+. At the member-reported extremes, a £390/month bill is £4,680 a year and a £500/month bill is £6,000. Memberships are 12-month fixed contracts, so the annual number is the one to budget, not the monthly one.
Does Checkatrade have a joining fee?
Checkatrade says no: "There is no joining fee. Checkatrade members only pay a monthly fee." One April 2026 third-party comparison claims a £300 to £500 one-off vetting cost, which we could not verify against any official source. We show both claims and label the evidence.
Why won't Checkatrade tell me the price without my postcode?
Growth plan pricing is set by trade, postcode area and estimated lead volume, so the quote is generated inside the sign-up flow. The practical effect is that you cannot comparison-shop without handing over your details. Get the quote in writing, along with the estimated annual lead volume, before you sign anything.
What does a Checkatrade lead actually cost?
Divide the monthly fee by the estimated leads. A 2025 electrician's quote of £150/month for an estimated 4 leads is £37.50 per lead; a Screwfix member's £129 +VAT for 7 to 8 leads is roughly £19. Each lead is also shared with competing members, and reported lead-to-job conversion on shared platforms is 1 in 5 to 1 in 10, so the cost per won job can run into hundreds of pounds.
Is the Checkatrade lead volume guaranteed?
No. The Fixed Plan product terms describe the annual lead figure as an estimate that is not binding, and delivery can stop once the estimate is reached. Members report reduced visibility and upgrade prompts after using their allowance.
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