Best Lead Generation Sites for UK Tradespeople in 2026 (Honest Comparison)

Checkatrade: The Subscription Heavyweight

Checkatrade is the largest UK trade directory, charging an annual subscription (typically £900–£1,500 plus VAT depending on trade and area) for a verified profile, badge and review system. You do not pay per lead – enquiries come through your profile at no extra cost.

Pros: predictable annual cost, strong brand recognition with homeowners, the badge itself improves conversion on your own marketing. Cons: in saturated trades and cities, you will be one of 30+ profiles competing on the same page, and customers heavily filter by reviews. Strong, reviewed profiles do well; new joiners often struggle in year one.

MyBuilder: Pay-Per-Lead With Job Briefs

MyBuilder works on a credit model. Homeowners post job briefs; tradespeople pay credits (£3–£25 per lead depending on job size) to send a quote. The customer chooses one tradesperson based on quotes and reviews.

MyBuilder works well for trades that can quote quickly and confidently from a brief – painters, plasterers, smaller builders. It works poorly for trades that need a site visit before quoting (electricians, roofers, full bathroom installers), where the quote-from-brief model leads to lower win rates and wasted credit.

Rated People: High Volume, Variable Quality

Rated People is the highest-volume pay-per-lead platform, often delivering 5–15 leads per week in popular trades. Cost per lead runs £10–£40 depending on job value. It now operates a tiered membership on top of credits.

The volume comes at a quality cost: Rated People sells the same lead to 3 tradespeople, so you are always in a quote race. Win rates typically run 15–20%, meaning a £20 lead costs £100+ per booked job. Calculate your true cost per job before committing.

Bark: Aggressive Marketing, Patchy Lead Quality

Bark covers hundreds of service categories beyond trades. It uses paid search and social ads to capture homeowner enquiries, then sells those leads to multiple service providers via credits (£5–£50+ per lead).

Lead quality is the most variable of any platform. A meaningful percentage of Bark leads turn out to be price-comparison shoppers, time-wasters or duplicates. Some tradespeople build a steady pipeline from Bark; many cancel within three months. Tight tracking is essential.

TrustATrader: The Quieter Subscription Option

TrustATrader operates similarly to Checkatrade with an annual subscription model. It is smaller in homeowner brand awareness but cheaper and less crowded in many trades and regions, which can mean better visibility on the platform itself.

It works best as a complementary trust-and-citation play rather than your primary lead source: the badge and the citation help your wider SEO, and the leads that do come through tend to convert well because the platform attracts more decisive customers.

The Real 2026 Winner: Your Own Google Presence

The honest answer in 2026 is that the most profitable lead source for the majority of UK tradespeople is their own Google Business Profile combined with a properly optimised website. Leads coming through your own brand – via 'electrician Norwich' or 'boiler repair near me' – are not shared with three competitors, do not cost per lead, and convert at 35–50% rather than 15–25%.

The investment looks similar (£400–£800/month for specialist trade SEO vs £900+ Checkatrade plus credits), but the lifetime value is dramatically different. Once you rank, leads compound for years rather than stopping the moment you cancel a subscription.

• →Cost per booked job from organic Google: typically £15–£40.
• →Cost per booked job from pay-per-lead platforms: typically £80–£200.
• →Cost per booked job from Checkatrade in saturated trades: typically £60–£120.
• →Lead exclusivity: organic = 100% yours, platforms = shared 3+ ways.
• →Compound effect: SEO rankings strengthen over time, platforms reset every renewal.

The Best Strategy: One Platform + Strong SEO

The highest-performing UK tradespeople do not pick one or the other. They use a single paid platform (most often Checkatrade for the trust badge and citation value) while building their own organic Google presence in parallel. Within 6–12 months, the organic channel typically overtakes the platform as the primary source of booked work, and the platform becomes a supporting trust signal rather than a lifeline.