ProBizMate vs Checkatrade: Why Your Own Website Beats Paying for Leads

Checkatrade is one of the most heavily marketed lead platforms for tradespeople in the UK and Ireland. The promise is simple: pay a monthly fee and get a stream of job leads.

It works. Sort of. The question is what it is actually costing you and whether there is a better long-term approach.

Here is an honest comparison.

What Checkatrade Offers

Checkatrade is a directory and lead generation platform. You pay a monthly subscription to be listed, customers search the directory and submit enquiries, and you compete with other tradespeople for the work.

The platform handles the initial discovery for you. Customers find you through Checkatrade rather than directly through Google.

The Real Cost of Checkatrade Leads

The headline subscription fee is not the full cost. Here is what you are actually paying:

Monthly subscription. Checkatrade’s fees vary but are typically several hundred euros or pounds per year at minimum, often significantly more depending on your trade and location.

Competition on price. Customers on Checkatrade are shown multiple tradespeople and often compare quotes. You are competing on price with every other tradesperson on the platform in your area. This drives down your margins.

No customer relationship. The customer found you through Checkatrade. They trust Checkatrade. Next time they need a tradesperson, they go back to Checkatrade. You have not built anything. Every job is transactional.

Platform dependency. If Checkatrade increases their fees, changes their algorithm, or your listing gets fewer impressions, your lead flow drops. You have no control over it.

No compounding benefit. Every month you pay, you get leads that month. Stop paying and the leads stop. There is no accumulation.

What ProBizMate Offers Instead

ProBizMate builds you a website that generates leads from Google directly, without any per-lead fee or platform subscription.

Agreed website scope. Website work is individually quoted. Confirm the build, hosting and ongoing care costs before committing.

Leads you own. Customers find you on Google. They land on your website. They see your work, your reviews, and your contact details. They call you directly. You have a relationship with that customer from the first contact.

Compounding SEO. Every month your website is live, it builds more authority. Every blog post adds another ranking page. Every review strengthens your local position. The longer it runs, the better it performs.

No per-lead cost. Once your site is ranking, leads cost you nothing beyond the monthly hosting fee. The cost per lead over twelve months is a fraction of what a platform charges.

Ongoing care. Confirm hosting, changes and any ongoing local search work in the written quote. The current scope and costs replace older fixed package and monthly prices.

A Simple Comparison

	Checkatrade	ProBizMate
Upfront cost	Check current platform terms	Individually agreed website quote
Monthly cost	Check current platform terms	Agree hosting and care in the quote
Lead ownership	Platform owns the customer	You own the customer
Competition	Against multiple tradespeople	Your own website, no competition
If you stop paying	Leads stop immediately	Your site keeps ranking
Long-term value	Nil, you own nothing	Compounding, you own an asset

Which Is Right for You?

Checkatrade can make sense in the short term, particularly if you need leads immediately while your website is being built and your SEO is developing.

It makes much less sense as a long-term primary lead source. Every year you pay Checkatrade, you are renting access to customers rather than building your own pipeline.

The tradespeople who make the best long-term decision invest in their own website and Google presence first and use platforms like Checkatrade as a short-term top-up if needed, not as the foundation.

ProBizMate builds the foundation. You own it. It keeps working after you have stopped thinking about it.