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Is Checkatrade worth it?
Is Checkatrade worth it for plumbers? Count the jobs, then decide.
It can be. It's worth it when the jobs it brings in cover the fees with room to spare, and you only know that by counting them. This page shows what Checkatrade publishes, what it leaves out and how to test it with your own numbers.
We're not a rival directory. We run all your marketing, so your own Google profile, reviews and website work whether or not you keep Checkatrade.
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Is Checkatrade worth it for plumbers? In short
- The short answer
- It depends on what it brings you against what it costs, and only your own numbers can answer that. A tracked phone number and a few months of counting will tell you.
- What Checkatrade publishes
- Three plans on its pricing page for trades: Free at £0 a month ("a free profile to collect reviews"), Approved at £30 a month and Growth at "Prices from £59/mo" (checked 9 October 2026).
- What members report
- Bills from £70 to £500 a month on lead-generating plans, in independent reviews. These are reports, not Checkatrade's prices, and Checkatrade publishes no figure for how many members an enquiry is shared with.
- The contract
- Independent reviews of its terms report a 12-month term that renews automatically, and one reports that only the business owner can stop it, by phone. Its definitions page also names an Application Fee. Seven questions to ask before you sign.
- Who it suits
- Plumbers who can count the jobs it brings, and new businesses with no reviews yet. Who should keep it, who should think twice.
- What we do about it
- Nothing against it. We bring your Checkatrade details into line with your other listings and set up tracked numbers, so you can count the calls. We also build the profile, pages and reviews that stay yours.
- How to start
- The free Visibility Scorecard: 18 quick questions on Google, reviews, enquiries and social. At the end you see your score, your weakest area, and what ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity already say about your business.
What Checkatrade's own pricing page says, and what to ask
We read Checkatrade's pricing page for trades on 9 October 2026. Prices move, so check the site before you sign anything.
| Plan | What the page says | Ask before you sign |
|---|---|---|
| Free | "A free profile to collect reviews." £0 a month. | What a free profile does and doesn't include. |
| Approved | £30 a month, "Everything you get in Free, plus…" | Whether VAT is added. The plan cards show no VAT wording, and independent reviews disagree. |
| Growth | "Prices from £59/mo", "Everything you get in Approved, plus…" | What you will pay. Independent reviews say it is set by your trade, your postcodes and how many enquiries you want, so £59 is a starting point rather than a typical bill. |
Checkatrade doesn't publish how many members an enquiry is shared with, so we can't tell you how many other plumbers see the same one.
Three independent reviews, and what they say a plumber pays
These are reports, not Checkatrade's prices. Each comes from a company that sells marketing to trades, so read them as reports and not as fact. We read them on 30 September 2026.
| Source | What it reports |
|---|---|
| Local Adder's cost tracker | Member-reported bills of £80, £306, £390, £442 and £500 a month. It says none of the five biggest UK trade directories publishes a complete price list. |
| Trade Blitz | Trades "commonly report about £70 to £150 a month plus VAT on a lead-generating plan, and £200 to £400 a month for busy trades in competitive areas". |
| Local Search North | The three plans above, with Approved at £30 a month plus VAT. It says £59 is "a starting point rather than a typical bill", and that higher-value trades covering wide areas will be quoted more. |
The reports run from £70 to £500 a month, and they vary widely. Ask Checkatrade for the price for your trade and your postcodes, in writing, before you sign.
Seven questions to put to Checkatrade first
The terms below come from Checkatrade's definitions page, which we read on 30 September 2026, and from independent reviews of its member terms. Your own confirmation email and terms decide what applies to you.
- What will I pay, for my trade and postcodes?The pricing page shows "from" prices for Growth. Get the figure for your trade and area in writing.
- Is VAT on top?The plan cards show no VAT wording, and independent reviews disagree. Ask which applies.
- Is there an Application Fee?The definitions page describes an Application Fee as "the fee (currently £50) that Checkatrade may charge". One independent review says there is no joining fee. Ask which applies to you.
- How long is the term?Independent reviews of its member terms report 12 months, renewing automatically.
- How do I stop the renewal?One independent review reports that only the business owner can do it, by phone, no earlier than 35 days before the renewal date, and that an email does not count. Put the date in your diary the day you join.
- Can I change my mind?One independent review reports two business days from the start to cancel without paying anything further.
- How many other members get the same enquiry?Checkatrade doesn't publish a figure. Ask, and ask how enquiries are shared.
Test it with your own numbers in four steps
You don't need us for this. It works for any lead site, and it takes a few minutes a week.
- Step one
Give Checkatrade its own phone number
Put a separate number, or a tracked number, on your Checkatrade profile, so every call from it is counted. Without one, you are guessing which calls came from where.
If you are a client
- We set up tracked numbers as part of the call tracking, so each source has its own
- Step two
Count the enquiries, the quotes and the jobs won
Each week, write down how many enquiries came from Checkatrade, how many you quoted and how many you won. An enquiry that never became a paid job doesn't pay the fee.
If you are a client
- "Did these book?" on the enquiries that come in, so you can see which turned into jobs, on your WorksBoard™, one page with your calls, enquiries, reviews, Google Maps positions and the work we've done for you
- Step three
Set the paid jobs against the fees and your time
Add up the fees, any Application Fee and the hours you spend on enquiries that go nowhere. Then add up what the jobs you won were worth. If they cover the cost with room to spare, it is paying.
If you are a client
- A monthly report of calls, enquiries and reviews (calls once your call tracking is set up)
- Step four
Decide at renewal, not at sign-up
Put the renewal date in your diary and decide with a few months of figures in hand. If you want to stop, find out how and when to do it before the window opens.
If you are a client
- Your Checkatrade details kept in line with your Google profile and other listings, so a change never leaves two versions of your business out there
Who should keep Checkatrade, and who should think twice
Some plumbers get good work from it, and this page doesn't say otherwise.
When these are true
- You can count the paid jobs it brought and they cover the fees with room to spare
- You are new and have few reviews, and a place to collect them helps while your own profile builds
- You have the capacity to take more work and nothing else is bringing it in
- You know your renewal date and have decided to renew
When you see these
- You can't say how many jobs it brought, or what they were worth
- Your own Google profile is half finished, so Checkatrade is your only shop window
- You are competing on price against the same enquiry going to other plumbers
- A renewal is coming up and nobody has counted
Rent a place there, own a place here
With a directory you are paying for a spot in someone else's shop window, right next to your competitors. We build things that stay yours.
A profile that lives on their site
Your Checkatrade page sits on their address, in their layout, under their rules. Your Google profile and your own website are yours.
Reviews you can point your own site at
A review earned on someone else's site helps you there. The same review on your Google profile and your own pages helps you wherever a customer looks you up.
A backup for the calls you miss
LeadFlow™, which texts back the calls you miss and follows up your quotes, set up and run by us, works on every call, whichever source it came from.
Customers who come back
A customer won through a directory can ring you direct next time. On Silver and above, LeadFlow™ keeps you in front of the past customers you give us, with check-ins and seasonal reminders.
If you keep Checkatrade, here is what we do around it
- If you keep it
What we run for a plumber who keeps Checkatrade
We don't ask you to leave. We make sure it sits alongside work you own, and that you can see what each source brings.
See the 7 things behind it
- Your Checkatrade profile brought into line with your name, address and phone number everywhere else
- Your Google Business Profile built, tuned and checked every month, with every job and area you cover
- A page on your website for each job you want more of, and a page for each town in your patch
- Tracked phone numbers and a monthly report, so you can compare each source with what Checkatrade costs you
- Review requests after each job, so the reviews also build on your Google profile Silver+
- LeadFlow™ set up to text back missed calls and follow up quiet quotes
- What ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity say about you, checked when we start and every quarter Silver+
More on SEO and marketing for plumbers and advertising for plumbers.
Which level gets what is on the pricing page. For the wider picture, see everything ContentWorks does for plumbers.
What plumbers ask about Checkatrade
Four fair doubts, and where we stand.
Then keep it while it pays for itself. We bring your details into line with the rest and set up tracked numbers, so you decide with your own figures when to scale it back.
Good, keep it. Someone who finds you there may still look you up on Google before they ring, and what they find decides whether they do.
For the fee, yes. They're different things. Checkatrade is a directory you rent a place in, and we run all your marketing so the profile, pages and reviews are yours. Weigh them on what each brings you, counted.
Bronze, Silver and Gold roll monthly. Leave on 30 days' notice and keep every page, post and review we built.
What plumbers ask Google about Checkatrade
Last reviewed October 2026.
Is Checkatrade worth it for plumbers?
It can be. It's worth it when the paid jobs it brings in cover the fees with room to spare, and only your own numbers can show that. Put a tracked phone number on your profile, count the calls and the jobs won over a few months, and decide with those. If you can't tell, that's a reason to start measuring.
How much does Checkatrade cost a plumber?
Checkatrade's pricing page for trades lists Free at £0 a month, Approved at £30 a month and Growth at "Prices from £59/mo" (checked 9 October 2026). Growth is the plan that brings enquiries, and independent reviews say its price depends on your trade, your postcodes and how many enquiries you want. Independent reviews report bills from £70 to £500 a month. Our post on how much Checkatrade costs goes through the contract and the fees.
Can I cancel Checkatrade whenever I want?
Not on the terms independent reviews describe. They report a 12-month contract that renews automatically. One review also reports that stopping the renewal means the business owner phoning, no earlier than 35 days before the renewal date, and two business days from the start to cancel without paying anything further. Read your own confirmation email and terms, and put the renewal date in your diary.
Is Checkatrade a waste of money?
Not for everyone. A plumber who can count enough paid jobs from it to cover the fees is getting what they paid for. A plumber who can't say how many jobs it brought is guessing. Count first, then decide at renewal, not at sign-up.
Is Bark or MyBuilder better than Checkatrade for plumbers?
We haven't priced MyBuilder, so we won't rank them. Bark charges per credit, paid in advance, and its customer terms say "a maximum of five Professionals will contact you directly" (Bark.com, clause 2.5(a), checked September 2026). Read each site's terms for what you pay, how many plumbers see each enquiry and how long you're committed, then compare against your own call tracking.
How do I get plumbing work without Checkatrade?
Finish your Google Business Profile, ask every customer for a review that names the job, and build a page for each job you want more of. Make sure every call gets answered or texted back. Many plumbers keep Checkatrade while that builds. Our page on leads for plumbers sets the two routes side by side.
Do I have to leave Checkatrade to work with you?
No. Many plumbers keep a lead site running while their own profile and pages build. We bring your Checkatrade details into line with the rest and set up tracked numbers, so you can see which source brings the calls and decide when to scale anything back.
Is ContentWorks an alternative to Checkatrade?
Not like for like. Checkatrade is a directory you rent a place in. We run all your marketing, so your own Google profile, reviews and website bring calls that are yours. Plans start at £500/month (Bronze) on a one-off £1,500 Foundation Build, roll monthly with 30 days' notice, and you own everything we build. Full breakdown at /pricing.
Which of your leads are yours?
Take the free Scorecard. In about four minutes you see your score across Google, Google Maps, your reviews and AI tools, and the first thing worth fixing.
Rather talk? Get a call back from Dan · Mon to Fri, 10 to 3