As of 7 September 2026, Checkatrade's public pricing page shows three starting points: a Free profile at £0 per month, Approved membership at £30 per month, and Growth from £59 per month. Those figures do not tell every trade what they will pay. Lead-generating plans can depend on the trade, postcode areas and desired lead volume, while Checkatrade also has separate pay-as-you-go terms.
The safest way to budget is to treat the price in your own quotation and confirmation email as the real price. Do not rely on an old forum post, another tradesperson's bill or a generic “cost per lead” range.
Checkatrade's published options
The current Checkatrade pricing page describes the options this way:
| Option | Published starting price | What the page says it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Free | £0 per month | A business profile that can collect and display reviews |
| Approved | £30 per month | A vetted profile, Checkatrade tick, directory presence and business tools |
| Growth | From £59 per month | A fixed monthly plan intended to provide a selected level of customer enquiries |
For Growth, Checkatrade asks for your trade, postcode coverage and the number of leads you want over a year. That means “from £59” is a starting price, not a quote for every business. Checkatrade's Fixed Plan terms also say any lead estimate is non-binding and can be affected by location, demand, seasonality, reviews and profile quality.
Checkatrade's Master Service Terms say the confirmation email sets the services, fees and contract period. The pricing page says fixed-plan memberships are for 12 months, and the master terms explain that approved services renew unless cancelled in the specified renewal window. Read those details before judging the offer by its monthly figure alone.
Does Checkatrade charge per lead?
It can, but it is inaccurate to say every paid Checkatrade membership adds a universal per-lead charge.
Checkatrade publishes separate Pay As You Go Product Terms. Under that model, the fee per lead varies with factors including job value, channel, location, seasonality and supply and demand. The current fee range is shown in the Members Area rather than as one public price for every trade.
The pay-as-you-go terms also distinguish a monthly budget from a hard cap. They define the maximum monthly charge as 120% of that budget. If, for example, your agreed budget were £200, the contractual maximum would be £240 for that billing period. That £200 figure is only an illustration; it is not a quoted Checkatrade rate.
Ask which model you are being offered:
- Is this Free, Approved, a Fixed Plan or a PAYG campaign?
- What is the full contract term and renewal date?
- Which categories and postcode areas are included?
- What lead volume is estimated, and what is expressly not guaranteed?
- Are there additional products, deposits or application charges?
- Does the quoted total include VAT?
The public pricing page does not label the VAT treatment beside every displayed monthly figure, so compare the payable total on the actual quote rather than assuming.
Worked cost examples
The advertised monthly price is only one part of the decision. These calculations show the method; they do not predict how many enquiries or jobs a plan will produce.
At the published starting prices:
- Approved for 12 months: £30 × 12 = £360
- Growth for 12 months: £59 × 12 = £708
Those totals use the headline prices and exclude any separately quoted products or charges. Growth is advertised from £59, so an individual quote may be higher.
Now suppose a trade business actually paid £708 over a year, recorded 24 valid enquiries and won six jobs from them:
- Cost per valid enquiry: £708 ÷ 24 = £29.50
- Cost per won job: £708 ÷ 6 = £118
- Enquiry-to-job rate: 6 ÷ 24 = 25%
This is why revenue alone is a weak measure. A £2,000 job with £1,500 of labour, materials and other direct costs contributes £500 before overheads. Subtract the £118 illustrative acquisition cost and £382 remains before overheads. Use your own gross contribution, not the value written at the top of the quote.
Our cost-per-lead guide explains the wider calculation, but cost per won customer is usually the more useful number.
When Checkatrade can be useful
Checkatrade may suit a business that values a vetted directory profile, wants another source of enquiries, or needs to fill specific gaps in the diary. Its value depends on fit: a roofer seeking planned projects may judge the same enquiry differently from a plumber filling reactive jobs, while the wrong service or postcode coverage can waste time.
Checkatrade should therefore be measured as one channel, not accepted or rejected on reputation alone. Tag every call or message by source, record whether it matched your service and area, and follow it through to quote, job, revenue and contribution. Review at least a full sensible buying cycle rather than one unusually busy or quiet week.
Compare it with building direct demand
A trade platform and your own online presence do different jobs. A platform can put you in front of people already using its marketplace. Your own website, Google Business Profile and customer follow-up give you a separate route to be discovered and contacted.
Direct enquiries are not automatically free or better. Websites require maintenance, Google results are competitive and paid ads have media costs. The practical advantage is diversification and more control over your service information, tracking and enquiry journey.
SwiftLead's current standard managed offer is £199 setup plus £129 per month, with a three-month minimum and rolling monthly service after that. The minimum-term calculation is £199 + (£129 × 3) = £586. The first 12 months are £199 + (£129 × 12) = £1,747. This is a managed website and marketing service rather than a quoted number of marketplace leads, so comparing £1,747 directly with a directory fee would ignore the different work included. Confirm the final payable amount and VAT treatment in your written quote.
You do not have to choose one channel forever. A sensible plan may retain a profitable Checkatrade package while improving direct visibility, then move budget only when source tracking shows a better use for it.
A practical decision rule
Before renewal, review the previous 90 days of enquiries: how many were valid, quoted and won, and how much contribution did those jobs generate? Keep or expand a channel when it produces suitable work at a cost your margins can support. Compare the result with the full renewal commitment and other channels using the same definitions.
If you need help measuring the channels fairly, request a free visibility audit. We will show what can be verified today and where better tracking is needed; the audit does not promise rankings, leads or revenue.
Official sources checked
- Checkatrade pricing — accessed 7 September 2026
- Checkatrade Master Service Terms — accessed 7 September 2026
- Checkatrade Fixed Plan Product Terms — last updated 19 December 2024; accessed 7 September 2026
- Checkatrade Pay As You Go Product Terms — last updated 20 February 2026; accessed 7 September 2026