Lead platforms like Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Bark are everywhere in the trades, and the pitch is tempting: pay a fee, get enquiries, no website needed. So are they worth it? Like most things, it depends, here’s the honest version.
What they’re good at
- Enquiries from day one. No waiting to build an audience, you can be getting leads quickly.
- Built-in trust. Customers know the brand and the vetting badge reassures them.
- No website to manage. The platform handles the tech.
For a brand-new trade with no online presence and no time, that’s a real, immediate benefit.
The catches
- It never stops costing. The fees are ongoing. Stop paying and the enquiries stop the same day.
- You’re renting, not owning. The listing, the leads and often the reviews belong to the platform. Build five years of great reviews there and you can’t take them with you.
- You compete on price. Customers often contact several trades at once and pick the cheapest. You’re one of a list, not the choice.
- It’s not really your brand. People remember “I found someone on Checkatrade,” not your business name. That makes repeat work and referrals harder.
We go deeper in our full comparison with lead platforms.
The alternative: own your presence
A website you own flips the model. Instead of renting enquiries forever, you build an asset:
- It’s yours. The site, the domain and your Google reviews can’t be switched off by anyone else.
- No per-lead fee. Once it’s built, it keeps working without charging you for every enquiry.
- You’re the choice, not a list. Someone who searches your name or finds you on Google is contacting you, not five rivals at once.
- It builds over time. Rankings, reviews and reputation compound. A platform listing resets to zero the day you leave.
The old objection was “but a website is expensive and a faff to run.” That’s no longer true. A done-for-you service builds, hosts and maintains it for one small monthly price, often less than a platform membership, and you actually own what you’re paying for.
The honest answer
Checkatrade and friends can be worth it as a top-up, especially early on. But building your whole livelihood on a platform you don’t control is a risk. The smart move is to make a website you own your foundation, and treat any platform as an extra, not the other way round.
See what an ownable site could look like for your trade: get a free preview, no card needed.