There is a familiar story in UK trades.
You sign up to Checkatrade because you need work.
The first month feels alright. A few quotes come in.
Then renewal arrives and the price has gone up by 60% with no warning.
You ask for a discount. You get ignored.
You read the reviews from other tradespeople and realise it is not just you.
This post is the alternative.
It compares the real cost of Checkatrade in 2026 against direct Google leads from Potter Gold Digital.
Trade by trade. Town by town. Pound for pound.
The Real Cost of Checkatrade in 2026
Checkatrade does not publish a single price.
The fee depends on your trade, your postcode and the volume of leads you want.
From SwiftLead and Hyperlinked, the 2026 numbers shake out like this.
Membership is £60 to £150 a month for the basic listing.
Premium tiers run £150 to £370 a month with featured placement.
Shared leads then cost £5 to £40 each on top, depending on job size.
That is before VAT.
The average UK tradesperson on Checkatrade spends £1,000 to £4,800 per year.
Many spend much more.
From the tradespeople themselves
"My renewal went from £160 to £370 a month. Locked in for a year."
"Existing member, last year £870, this year over £1,500."
"Renewal hike from £800 to £1,800 plus VAT. That is a month's pay after tax."
Source: TradesmanSaver, public reviews
Three Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions
1. Shared leads, not exclusive ones
Checkatrade is a marketplace.
The same enquiry goes to you and three other tradespeople, at the same time.
You are not getting a lead.
You are entering a race.
Every shared lead means quoting against two or three competitors before you have even picked up a tool.
The lowest quote usually wins.
Margins go with it.
2. You do not own the listing
Stop paying and your profile vanishes.
The reviews you collected sit on Checkatrade's domain, not yours.
You have no asset to show for the years of fees.
It is rent, not an investment.
3. The price keeps going up
Checkatrade's renewal increases are widely reported.
30% to 60% jumps at year two are normal.
Members are usually locked into a 12 month contract before they find out.
The Direct Alternative: Own Your Pipeline
Potter Gold Digital builds your own ranking instead.
Local SEO at £299 per month, including a free custom website worth up to £10,000.
Every lead comes direct.
No middleman. No shared enquiries. No competitor undercutting you on price.
You keep 100% of the job and 100% of the customer relationship. This is what Local SEO actually delivers when it is built right.
The website is yours to keep after 12 months.
The reviews you collect live on your own Google Business Profile, not someone else's platform.
The traffic compounds.
Cost Per Lead: Checkatrade vs Potter Gold Digital
This is the comparison most tradespeople never get to see.
The numbers below are based on average Local SEO results for trades in our active CRM regions.
Lichfield. Grimsby. Shrewsbury. Darlington. Keighley. Halifax. Bridlington.
Real towns where we have built pages and tracked enquiries.
Two things stand out from the table.
First, PGD's cost per lead is at or below Checkatrade for almost every trade.
Second, every PGD lead is exclusive. Every Checkatrade lead is shared three or four ways.
That alone makes the comparison one-sided once conversion rates are factored in.
Real Annual Savings, By Trade
The bigger picture is what you save per year by switching.
This assumes the typical UK Checkatrade member spends £2,400 a year on membership and shared leads combined.
Some trades spend more. Plumbers and gas engineers tend to spend less.
Builders, roofers and electricians on premium tiers often spend £4,000 plus.
£3,588 a year for direct exclusive leads with a free website thrown in.
£2,400 to £4,440 a year for shared leads on a profile you do not own.
The PGD plan also delivers a website worth up to £10,000 that you keep after 12 months.
Checkatrade gives you a profile that disappears the day you stop paying.
What Direct Leads Actually Look Like
Imagine your customer's last seven days.
They Google "painter Lichfield".
You appear at the top of Google Maps with 32 reviews.
They click your website. They see your work, your prices, your phone number.
They ring you.
No quote war. No three competitors getting the same call. No platform taking a cut.
The customer found you. Booked you. Paid you.
That is the difference between renting leads and owning customers.
The Same Logic Applies in Every CRM Region We Cover
We track lead volumes for active trades in Lichfield, Grimsby, Shrewsbury, Darlington, Keighley, Halifax and Bridlington.
The same numbers hold across every region.
Cost per lead 30 to 50% lower than Checkatrade premium. See full PGD pricing.
Lead exclusivity 100% versus 25%.
Ownership of asset 100% versus 0%.
How many leads will my own town actually deliver?
Use the earnings calculator to see the search volume and lead potential for your specific trade and town.
It runs the same calculation we use internally for every CRM region.
It takes 30 seconds.
It will show you whether the maths works for you, before you pick up the phone.
When Checkatrade Still Makes Sense
This is not a hit piece.
Checkatrade can work in two specific scenarios.
First. Brand new tradesperson, no reviews, no website, needs work in the next 30 days.
Then a basic Checkatrade tier can fill the diary while you build a proper profile elsewhere.
Second. High-value trade with low local search volume in a city where you have no SEO foothold yet.
Then Checkatrade can supplement the pipeline while your Google rankings build.
Most other situations are a slow drain on margin.
Once your own Google ranking is established, Checkatrade usually gets cancelled within 3 to 6 months.
How to Make the Switch Without Losing Income
Cancelling Checkatrade on day one is a mistake.
The smarter move is to layer the new system underneath, then taper.
Month 1 to 2. Set up a fully optimised Google Business Profile. Free. One afternoon.
Month 2 to 3. Get the website live with town-specific pages. PGD builds this in 7 days, free with the SEO plan.
Month 3 to 6. Direct enquiries start arriving via Google Maps and organic search.
Month 6 onwards. Drop the Checkatrade premium tier. Re-evaluate the basic tier.
Month 9 to 12. Most clients have cancelled Checkatrade entirely by this point.
The switch is cumulative.
Your direct enquiry volume grows while your Checkatrade dependence shrinks.
No income gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Checkatrade cost a tradesperson per month in 2026?
Basic Checkatrade membership costs £60 to £150 per month in 2026. Premium tiers run £150 to £370 per month. Lead fees on top are £5 to £40 each. Annual spend ranges from £1,000 to over £4,800.
Is Potter Gold Digital cheaper than Checkatrade?
Potter Gold Digital costs £299 per month for Local SEO, which is £3,588 per year. The average Checkatrade member spends £2,400 per year on membership and shared lead fees combined, and premium members spend over £4,400. PGD costs slightly more than basic Checkatrade and less than premium Checkatrade. Every PGD lead is exclusive. The free website is worth up to £10,000.
What is the main difference between Checkatrade and Potter Gold Digital?
Checkatrade is a marketplace that sends the same enquiry to multiple tradespeople at once. Potter Gold Digital builds your own Google ranking so customers find and contact you directly. PGD leads are exclusive, you own the website and reviews, and the customer relationship belongs to you instead of the platform.
Will I lose work if I cancel Checkatrade?
Not if you build the alternative first. Most tradespeople who switch to Potter Gold Digital keep Checkatrade running for 3 to 6 months while their own Google ranking establishes. By month 6 to 9 the direct enquiries usually exceed Checkatrade lead volume and most cancel entirely without any income drop.
How long before Potter Gold Digital starts delivering leads?
Google Business Profile improvements show within 4 to 8 weeks. Website-based local pack rankings usually start producing direct enquiries by week 8 to 12. Full first-page rankings for trade plus town searches typically take 3 to 6 months. The compounding effect means month 12 produces 3 to 5 times the leads of month 3.
What happens to my reviews if I cancel Checkatrade?
Checkatrade reviews stay on Checkatrade. They cannot be exported or moved to your own Google Business Profile. This is why building Google reviews from day one matters. The reviews you collect on your own GBP are an asset you keep forever, regardless of which platforms you use.
Can I use both Checkatrade and Potter Gold Digital at the same time?
Yes. Many tradespeople run both for the first 6 months while their direct Google leads build. There is no conflict between the two systems. The usual pattern is direct leads through PGD start to outperform Checkatrade by month 4 to 6, after which most clients cancel the platform.
Related
Want to see the maths for your own trade and town?
Free audit. We compare your current Checkatrade or Rated People spend against the direct leads your town can produce.
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