Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Bark and TrustATrader are lead sites. All four charge a trade to get work, but in different ways. Checkatrade sells monthly plans or charges per lead. MyBuilder charges a fee when a customer shortlists you. Bark sells credits to contact customers. TrustATrader charges a yearly fee with no charge per lead. With every one, you pay before you know whether you’ll win the job.
Here’s how each one says it works, from its own pages and terms, read in October 2026.
On this page
How they compare
| Checkatrade | MyBuilder | Bark | TrustATrader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Monthly plan, or a fee per lead. The £30 a month Approved plan doesn’t include leads | Free to join. A shortlist fee when a customer shares their details with you | Credits to contact a customer. £1.80 a credit at the standard rate | A yearly fee, paid upfront. No charge per lead |
| Published prices | Free £0. Approved £30 a month. Growth from £59 a month. The fee per lead isn’t published | Shown before you act, based on the job. No current price range published | £1.80 a credit. Each lead shows its cost in credits first | Not published |
| Pay before you win the work? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, the yearly fee |
| How many trades per job | Not stated | Not stated | Up to 5 responses per customer | Not stated per job. Its terms cap listings at ten per trade category in your area |
| Contract | 12 months on the Fixed Plan. Renews automatically. 2 business day cooling-off period | No minimum term. Stop when you like once invoices are paid | No minimum term on standard credits. Some credit pack subscriptions run up to 12 months. Credits expire after 3 months | 12 months. You can’t cancel inside it. No automatic renewal |
| Refund or credit for bad leads | No bad-lead refund policy found. Pro-rated refund only in some cases where the contract ends | At MyBuilder’s discretion, as account credit only | Credits returned within 14 days for things like wrong contact details. Not if the customer just doesn’t reply | None found. Fees are non-refundable |
Rated People is now part of Checkatrade Group, and its own memberships have ended.
Checkatrade
Checkatrade has three plans. Free costs nothing and Approved costs £30 a month, but neither comes with leads. Leads come on Growth, from £59 a month, either on a 12 month Fixed Plan or pay as you go with a fee per lead that Checkatrade doesn’t publish. Here’s what it costs in full, the contract rules and how to work out whether Checkatrade is worth it with your own numbers.
MyBuilder
MyBuilder is free to join and free to reply to jobs. You pay when a customer shortlists you and your contact details are shared. Its terms say the fee is based on “the likely size, value and location of the Job” and is shown before you act.
You pay whether or not you get the work. The terms say “It is not necessary for you to be awarded the Job for the Shortlist Fee to be payable.” They also say MyBuilder doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to quote or win work.
There’s no fixed contract. The terms say “You may stop using the MyBuilder Platform at any time.” Fees aren’t refundable except at MyBuilder’s discretion, and then only as account credit.
MyBuilder says its checks can include ID, company details and certifications for regulated jobs. Customers can only leave a review once work has started or a deposit has been paid.
Bark
On Bark you buy credits and spend them to contact customers. The standard rate is £1.80 a credit, and packs are cheaper per credit. Each lead shows how many credits it costs before you respond. Bark prices leads on the service, the job size, the location and how ready the customer is to hire.
A customer can get up to 5 responses from professionals on Bark. You can see how many have responded before you buy.
Credits expire 3 months after you buy them. Some credit packs come as a subscription that can run for up to 12 months. Bark will return credits for some bad leads, such as a wrong phone number or a fake request, if you ask within 14 days. It won’t return them if the customer simply doesn’t reply or hires someone else. Bark’s help pages say “A customer not answering or replying doesn’t qualify as an invalid lead.”
Bark says not all professionals on it are verified. Its Bark Verified badge involves ID and background checks.
Bark has also started a subscription version, Bark Marketplace, with a set number of enquiries a month. In October 2026 Bark was rolling it out in the UK for cleaning, end of tenancy cleaning and roof and gutter cleaning. Bark says other categories stay on credits for now.
TrustATrader
TrustATrader charges a yearly membership, paid in advance. It doesn’t publish the price. Its join page says there are no commission rates and you never pay for your leads. Text enquiries are included in the fee.
Its terms say that once you’re live, “you cannot cancel the membership agreement prior to the expiry of the 12 month membership period”. Fees aren’t refundable. It doesn’t renew automatically. The terms also say it will list no more than ten members in your trade category in your area at any one time.
TrustATrader collects feedback with a questionnaire. Low scores are checked with the customer. A justified low score can count against you, and enough of them can end your membership. Its trader terms were last updated in February 2023.
Which one suits a trade?
This is our reading of each platform’s own terms, not a ranking. It comes down to when you want to pay:
- When you choose to reply: Bark charges when you contact a customer, and shows the cost first.
- When a customer shares their details with you: MyBuilder charges the shortlist fee then, whether or not you win the job.
- A fixed yearly cost with no per-lead fees: TrustATrader, but you’re tied in for 12 months.
- A monthly plan or a fee per lead: Checkatrade, on a Fixed Plan or pay as you go.
With all four, you pay to get leads from the platform. If you stop paying, you stop getting them.
That’s why it’s worth building something you own alongside them. A Google Business Profile, genuine reviews and a website with a page for each service you offer stay yours whether or not you pay a platform. They’re also what Google looks at when it decides which trades to show nearby. That’s the work we do in local SEO for trades.
Leads you pay for but control
If you’d rather pay for leads but decide when to spend, Google has two options of its own. Google Local Services Ads charge per lead. Normal Google Ads charge per click, and you choose the searches and the towns. Here’s SEO vs Google Ads for trades side by side. If you’re a roofer, here’s how to get roofing leads without paying per lead.
For every other way trades get work, and which to start with, here’s how to get more work as a tradesman.
Plumbers and heating engineers can read how to get plumbing leads without paying per lead.
Questions trades ask about lead sites
Is MyBuilder better than Checkatrade?
They charge differently. MyBuilder charges a fee when a customer shortlists you, with no minimum term. Checkatrade charges a monthly plan or a fee per lead, with 12 months on the Fixed Plan. Which works better depends on your trade and how many jobs you win.
Is Bark worth it for tradespeople?
That depends on how many of the customers you contact go on to hire you. You pay to contact a customer before you know if you’ll get the job, and up to 5 professionals can respond to each one. Bark won’t return credits just because a customer doesn’t reply.
How much do Bark leads cost?
Bark charges £1.80 a credit at its standard rate. Each lead costs a set number of credits, shown before you respond. The number depends on the service, job size, location and how ready the customer is to hire.
Does MyBuilder charge if I don’t get the job?
Yes. Its terms say you don’t need to be awarded the job for the shortlist fee to be payable.
Can I cancel TrustATrader?
Not inside the first 12 months. Its terms say you can’t cancel before the 12 month membership period ends, and fees aren’t refundable.
What happened to Rated People?
It joined Checkatrade Group, and Rated People memberships have ended.