The short answer: Checkatrade's own guide says basic plans start from around £30 + VAT a month. Per Checkatrade, larger plans cost more, depending on your trade, postcodes, lead volume and the level of competition in your area. Here's the catch: that £30 plan won't put you in Checkatrade's search, so it isn't the price of being found. When the profit from the jobs Checkatrade brings beats its yearly cost, it has paid back. If you make £400 profit a job, an example £1,000 yearly cost needs 3 jobs. An example £2,000 cost needs 5.
How much does Checkatrade cost for a tradesperson?
Checkatrade says basic plans start from around £30 + VAT per month. We read that on Checkatrade's own guide to membership value, updated May 2026, on . The same page says larger memberships cost more.
What moves the price? Checkatrade names four things:
- Your trade.
- Your location.
- How much competition you face in your area.
- The lead volume you choose.
Did we find a published Checkatrade price for plans that appear in search, on the pages we read? No. When you start on Checkatrade's join page, you pick your trade, your postcode areas and the number of leads you want each year. A regular flow of leads for a monthly cost follows those choices, so Checkatrade's figure comes last.
We haven't verified any price above the £30 starting point, so we won't print one. Want a real number? Ask Checkatrade for a written quote for your trade and postcodes.
Free-month offers differ too. While the main join page says "2 months FREE", the plumbers page says "first month free", both with an asterisk. Read the terms behind each asterisk before you sign with Checkatrade.
Does the £30 plan get you found on Checkatrade?
No. Checkatrade's own guide says that on the basic package you can build your profile, but you won't appear in Checkatrade search. If you want to appear in Checkatrade's results, you need to choose the lead volume you'd like throughout the year.
Because of that, Checkatrade's headline fee and the cost of getting enquiries are two different numbers. Use £30 + VAT as the lowest starting price Checkatrade quotes. It isn't the price of the leads Checkatrade can send you.
Customers can do three things on a plan, Checkatrade's join page says: call you directly, request a quote or book from your profile.
What does a Checkatrade plan cost over a year?
Add up twelve months at £30 + VAT and the basic plan comes to £360 before VAT. GOV.UK gives the standard VAT rate as 20%. That adds £72, so £432 in all.
Is that VAT a real extra cost? It depends on your own VAT position. GOV.UK says you must register for VAT once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000, and you can choose to register below that. Ask your accountant how VAT on a membership applies to you.
Because Checkatrade says larger memberships cost more, plans that show in search cost more than £432 a year, though we can't say by how much. Get a quote for the real figure.
How many jobs does it take to pay a Checkatrade plan back?
Checkatrade gives the formula itself: ROI equals net profit divided by cost of investment, times 100. We've turned it into a plainer question. How many jobs at your normal profit pay for a year of membership with Checkatrade?
Divide the yearly cost by your profit on one typical job, then round up to a whole job, so 2.88 jobs becomes 3. The table shows the result. Apart from £432, the costs in the first column are examples to show the sums, and they aren't Checkatrade prices.
| Yearly cost | At £150 profit a job | At £400 profit a job | At £1,000 profit a job |
|---|---|---|---|
| £432 (basic plan with VAT) | 3 jobs | 2 jobs | 1 job |
| £1,000 | 7 jobs | 3 jobs | 1 job |
| £2,000 | 14 jobs | 5 jobs | 2 jobs |
| £3,000 | 20 jobs | 8 jobs | 3 jobs |
Use profit, not the invoice total. If a £2,000 boiler job leaves you £400 after parts, fuel and your time, it counts as £400.
Check how many enquiries that takes. Checkatrade's own example says 10 enquiries may lead to 3 quotes, and 3 quotes may lead to 1 or 2 jobs. That's an illustration from Checkatrade, not a promise. If that ratio holds, 5 jobs a year means roughly 25 to 50 enquiries. Getting far fewer? If so, a £2,000 plan is unlikely to pay back.
One high-value job can often cover several months of membership, says Checkatrade. When the profit is high enough, that's true. But Checkatrade doesn't promise how many jobs will come, so keep a tally.
What decides whether Checkatrade pays back for you?
More than the fee. Checkatrade's own guide says the best performers often do these things:
- They respond quickly to enquiries.
- They keep their profile up to date.
- They collect reviews consistently.
- They upload photos of completed work.
- They focus on customer service as well as workmanship.
Even at the same fee, Checkatrade says, two businesses can see very different results.
Run this simple tally for six months. Each month, note the Checkatrade enquiries, quotes, jobs won and profit. Add up the cost. If profit beats cost, the plan is paying. If it doesn't, compare your result with the table above before you renew with Checkatrade.
We couldn't check one thing on Checkatrade: the contract length and renewal terms. They aren't on the Checkatrade public pages we opened, so read them on the plan you're offered before you commit.
Is a Checkatrade plan or your own website cheaper over three years?
Neither is like for like. A Checkatrade membership rents you a profile, and a website is something you own. Here are the sums for both.
| Route | Year-one cost | Three-year cost | Jobs to break even in year one at £400 profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkatrade basic plan, £30 + VAT a month | £432 with VAT | £1,296 with VAT | 2 |
| Renozer Starter (5 pages) plus Care Basic at £49 a month | £995 + £588 = £1,583 | £995 + £1,764 = £2,759 | 4 |
| Local SEO alone, £295 a month, three-month minimum (site not included) | £3,540 | £10,620 | 9 |
Renozer's prices have no VAT to add. You pay your domain name and any platform subscription, such as Squarespace, directly to those providers. The Checkatrade row is the basic plan that doesn't appear in its search, so it isn't the same as a plan that sends leads.
The honest difference is how the money works. When you stop paying, a membership switches off. A website you own can keep working, as long as you keep hosting and the domain paid. But a new site doesn't send enquiries on day one, and nobody can guarantee a position on Google. If you'd like every Renozer price, our guide on what a tradesman website costs sets them out. Once you've seen the prices, our piece on whether you need a website if you're on Checkatrade helps you decide which to do first.
Per Checkatrade's own guide, for many tradespeople it works best as part of a wider mix, and the mixes it lists include your own website. We agree. So which part of the mix should you pay for first, Checkatrade or your own site? Our trade websites start at the Starter price above, and our SEO for tradesmen work is how a new site gets found.
What should you do next?
Ask Checkatrade for a written quote for your trade and postcodes, and ask for the contract length. Then run the table with your own profit per job, using £400 as a starting point if you're unsure.
Would you rather own the traffic? Start with the basics. Our page on website design for tradesmen shows what a Renozer trade site includes. When you're ready to be found for searches like "plumber Bury", our SEO for tradesmen page covers how. Before you decide, our pricing page lists every Renozer package.
We're remote, so everything runs by phone, video and email from Karachi, Pakistan, and there's no visit to arrange. We'd rather you chose with the numbers than with a sales pitch. If it pays, that includes staying on Checkatrade.
Questions people ask
How much does Checkatrade cost per month?
Does the £30 plan get me into Checkatrade search?
How many jobs do I need to win to cover the cost?
Do I still need a website if I'm on Checkatrade?
Sources
- Checkatrade: Is Checkatrade worth it? (updated May 2026, read )
- Join Checkatrade: how it works (read )
- Join Checkatrade: plumbers (read )
- GOV.UK: When to register for VAT
- GOV.UK: VAT rates
- Renozer pricing and packages
See what we do, what it costs and how long it takes.
