What Lead Generation Really Costs a London Tradesperson in 2026

Last updated: June 2026

Lead generation through the major platforms costs a London tradesperson anywhere from roughly £960 a year for a basic subscription directory to £4,800 or more once per-lead charges are added, according to the platforms' own published pricing and dated trade-press analyses [1][2]. Pay-per-lead sites look cheaper because there is no monthly fee, but the fees are non-refundable and the same enquiry is usually sold to three, four or five competitors. The only comparison that holds up is cost per won job, not cost per lead. Every figure here is a range and platform pricing changes often: prices vary - always get more than one written quote before you commit.

How the main channels charge in 2026

The figures come from each platform's own published pages where those exist, and otherwise from dated trade-press analyses; they are competitors' published charges, reported as market context, not recommendations.

Channel	Model	Reported cost (2026 market context)
Checkatrade	Monthly subscription plus per-lead charges	£80–£170 a month membership, plus £5–£40 per lead [1][2]
MyBuilder	Pay per shortlist, no membership	£2–£3 for small jobs, up to £50–£100 for major work, non-refundable [3]
Bark	Pre-paid credits	Credits at roughly £1.10–£1.50 each; leads £5–£50 [4][9]
Rated People	Subscription plus per-lead	Around £35 + VAT a month plus £15 + VAT per lead (most recent published figures, 2022) [5]
Word of mouth	Free per job	No direct cost; 70 per cent of homeowners use someone known or recommended [7]

Subscription directories: you pay before any lead arrives

Checkatrade membership runs to roughly £80 to £170 a month (£960 to £2,040 a year) depending on trade and area, with competitive areas reported at £150 to £180 [2][8]. There is no standard public price list, although the join page carried promotional discounts for several trades in April 2026 [1].

Membership is only part of the bill. Many trades also pay per lead: around £5 to £15 for small jobs and £20 to £40 for larger work such as boiler installations. A plumber in an average month could face around £400 in total (£100 membership plus 15 leads at roughly £20 each), close to £4,800 a year before winning a single job. Each lead is typically shared with three to four competing tradespeople [2].

Pay-per-lead and credit sites: you pay whether you win or not

MyBuilder charges no membership. You pay only when a homeowner shortlists you, with fees scaled to job size: from around £2 to £3 for jobs under £75 up to £50 to £100 for extensions and full rewires, non-refundable whether or not you win. Expressing interest in 20 jobs with a 50 per cent shortlist rate can cost £100 to £300 before a single contract lands [3].

Bark sells credits at roughly £1.10 to £1.50 each, with leads priced at 1 to 20 credits and typically costing £5 to £50. Three to five trades usually compete for the same lead, there is no refund if the customer never replies, and the cumulative spend to secure one confirmed booking can pass £100 [4][9].

Rated People mixes the two models. The most recent detailed public figures (September 2022) put it at around £35 + VAT a month, charged annually, plus roughly £15 + VAT per lead, with gas safety checks at £5 to £10 and boiler installations at £20 to £30 or more [5][8].

The number that matters: cost per won job

A lead is not a job. The industry norm is roughly one won job for every three to four leads contacted, and the widely used rule of thumb is that a lead should cost no more than 10 to 15 per cent of your average job value [6]. On that basis, an electrician paying £35 a lead on a shared platform spends roughly £105 to win one job. Against an average £350 job that is a 30 per cent acquisition cost, double the recommended ceiling [6]. The benchmarks below are UK-wide rather than London-specific [6].

Trade	Typical cost per lead (UK benchmark) [6]	Average job value (UK) [6]	Cost per won job at 1-in-3
Emergency plumber	£25–£60	£150–£500	£75–£180
Electrician	£20–£50	£100–£600	£60–£150
Painter and decorator	£15–£40	£300–£2,000	£45–£120

For each channel, divide everything you spent in the month (membership, leads, credits) by the jobs won through it. Trade software firms and training providers give the same advice: track spend, leads, wins and revenue per channel [8][9]. Subscription directories tend to suit established trades with strong review histories, while pay-per-lead sites suit newer businesses testing an area [9].

Word of mouth is still the biggest channel

The most recent public survey, from Powered Now in January 2021, found that 70 per cent of homeowners used a tradesperson they already knew or one a friend had recommended [7]. Word of mouth costs nothing per job and converts well because the trust arrives before the quote does, but it cannot be turned up on demand.

Online demand is real all the same: a July 2025 industry report recorded more than 170,000 monthly UK searches for "local electrician" alone [10]. For most London trades the sensible position is word of mouth as the base load, plus one paid channel to fill diary gaps, judged on cost per won job. Our guide to finding a trusted London tradesperson shows what customers are told to check before they hire.

Seven questions to ask before you pay any platform

1. Is the lead exclusive or shared, and with how many others? Three to five competitors per lead is common, which changes the conversion maths entirely [2][4].
2. What exactly triggers a charge? A view, a shortlist, an exchange of contact details, or a confirmed booking: get the trigger, and the price itself, in writing.
3. Is there any refund if the customer never replies? On several platforms there is not [3][4].
4. What is the contract term and the exit cost? Check both in writing before you sign.
5. How much notice do you get of price rises? Ask for the notice period in writing before you sign.
6. Do your reviews and history leave with you? Reviews built on someone else's domain are usually not portable.
7. Will they share average leads per month for your trade and postcode? If a platform cannot or will not say, budget on the cautious side.

Where Loacally fits: a declaration of interest

Loacally is our own platform: what follows is the publisher describing its own product. Judge it with the same arithmetic as everything above.

Loacally is a London-only marketplace covering all 33 boroughs, launching late 2026, with a founding cohort capped at 100 trades across our first 10 boroughs, 23 of them taken as of June 2026. Founding trades pay nothing through public launch. After launch, founders pay £19 a month and keep that rate for as long as the founder programme runs; the standard rate from public launch is £29 a month flat, labelled indicative. There are no per-lead fees, no pay-for-visibility charges and no commission, and customers pay the tradesperson directly, off platform. Enquiries are matched by postcode, trade and stated working hours, and a job is not auctioned off to five trades with the cheapest winning: one customer, one trade, per enquiry.

Every application is reviewed by hand: identity checked, a phone call, insurance and certifications confirmed, with electricians needing NICEIC, NAPIT or equivalent, and an aim to come back within 48 hours. Founders get a founder badge, 90 days' written notice of any pricing change, no retroactive charges, no 12-month tie-in, no exit fee, cancel any time, and a holiday mode that pauses the listing at £0. Your reviews and your reputation stay yours. The customer side is set out on how Loacally works.

We are new and deliberately small, and would rather say so plainly. The full founder terms are on the For Tradespeople page, and the application is a five-minute form: apply to join the founding cohort.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Checkatrade cost per month for tradespeople in 2026? Reported membership is roughly £80 to £170 a month depending on trade and area, with per-lead charges of £5 to £40 on top [1][2]. There is no standard public price list, so always get your exact price in writing.

Is MyBuilder worth it for London tradespeople? There is no membership fee, but shortlist fees of £2 up to £100 per job are non-refundable win or lose [3]. It is worth it only if your conversion rate keeps the cost per won job below roughly 10 to 15 per cent of average job value [6].

How do I work out my real cost per won job? Add up everything you spent on a channel in the month (membership, lead fees, credits) and divide by the jobs you won from it. The industry norm is one win per three to four leads, and a healthy lead price is no more than 10 to 15 per cent of your average job value [6]. A simple spreadsheet per channel is enough [8][9].

What is the difference between a subscription directory and a pay-per-lead site? A subscription directory charges a fixed monthly fee whether or not any work arrives, sometimes with lead fees on top. A pay-per-lead site charges nothing monthly but bills you for each enquiry or shortlist, usually shared and usually non-refundable. The first model penalises quiet months; the second penalises low conversion. Some platforms, such as Rated People, combine both [5].

How does word of mouth compare with paid platforms? It remains the dominant channel: the most recent public survey found 70 per cent of homeowners chose a tradesperson they knew or one a friend recommended [7]. It is free per job and converts well, but it cannot be scaled on demand, so many trades run one paid channel alongside it.

Sources

1. Checkatrade - April 2026 Fixed Plan Offers (Checkatrade's own published join page; competitor pricing cited as market context) - https://join.checkatrade.com/april-2026-offers/ - 2 April 2026.
2. SwiftLead - Checkatrade Cost for Tradesmen: The Full Breakdown (2026) (a lead-generation agency; vendor figures cited as dated market context, corroborated by source 8) - https://www.swiftlead.co.uk/blog/checkatrade-cost-for-tradesmen - 2 April 2026.
3. Kantr Software - Is MyBuilder Worth It for Tradespeople? (2026 Review) - https://kantrsoftware.com/blog/is-mybuilder-worth-it-2026 - 2026.
4. Kantr Software - Is Bark Worth the Price in 2026? - https://kantrsoftware.com/blog/is-bark-worth-the-price - 2026.
5. Tradespeople Online - Rated People Review: Will it Work? Costs (+ Our Verdict) - https://tradespeopleonline.com/rated-people-review/ - September 2022.
6. SwiftLead - Cost Per Lead by Trade: UK Benchmarks (UK-wide benchmarks from a lead-generation agency, cited as dated market context) - https://www.swiftlead.co.uk/blog/good-cost-per-lead-trades - 26 January 2026.
7. Powered Now - 7 Insights into Rated People, MyBuilder and Checkatrade - https://powerednow.com/7-insights-into-rated-people-mybuilder-and-checkatrade/ - January 2021.
8. Gas Engineer Software - Checkatrade vs MyBuilder vs Rated People: Are Lead Gen Sites Worth It for Gas Engineers? - https://gasengineersoftware.co.uk/blog/lead-gen-site-guide-for-heating-businesses/ - 20 March 2026.
9. Logic4training - Best Tradesperson Recommendation Sites in the UK - https://www.logic4training.co.uk/insights/best-tradesperson-recommendation-sites-in-the-uk/ - 29 January 2026.
10. Tradesman Web Solutions - The 2025 UK Tradesperson's Report - https://tradesmanweb.co.uk/blog/2025-uk-tradesperson-report - 29 July 2025.