Checkatrade rents you a profile on its site: £30 a month for Approved, from £59 a month for Growth, on 12-month memberships (October 2026). A website of your own is one you keep. Scale Start is £45 a month, £0 upfront, also on a 12-month minimum term. Many trades use both: Checkatrade for the tick, the website for everything they own.
The short answer
Checkatrade and your own website do different jobs. Checkatrade is a profile on someone else's site, with its vetting tick and, on its Growth plans, a stream of enquiries. A website is yours: your name, your photos, your reviews, and the page Google sends people to when they search for your trade in your area.
Neither is a bad choice. The question is what you are left with if you stop paying.
What Checkatrade charges
| Checkatrade plan | Price | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | £0 | A basic listing |
| Approved | £30/mo | The vetted profile and the Checkatrade tick |
| Growth | From £59/mo | Everything in Approved plus a set number of leads each year, at a fixed monthly cost |
Source: join.checkatrade.com/pricing, checked live 19 October 2026. The page says fixed plan memberships are for 12 months and does not say which plans are fixed, so check the membership terms before you join. VAT is not stated on the page. Growth prices depend on the trade, area and number of leads you choose.
Rated People is now part of Checkatrade Group, and MyBuilder is a separate lead platform that charges per job you are shortlisted for. We have not been able to check MyBuilder's current prices, so look at its own pricing page before you compare.
What a website costs, side by side
| Checkatrade Approved | Checkatrade Growth | Scale Start | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | £30 | From £59 | £45, £0 upfront, no VAT |
| Minimum term | 12 months (fixed plans) | 12 months (fixed plans) | 12 months, then month to month |
| First year | £360 | From £708 | £540 |
| Where it lives | On Checkatrade's site | On Checkatrade's site | On your own domain, which you own |
| Your own Google ranking | No | No | Yes, built for local searches |
Checkatrade figures from join.checkatrade.com/pricing, 19 October 2026. Scale Start from our pricing page.
What you own at the end
With Checkatrade, your reviews and profile sit on Checkatrade's site. If you stop paying, the profile goes, and the customers who found you there have no way to find you again except by remembering your name.
With your own website, you own the site and the domain. After the first 12 months, Scale Start and Scale Up carry on month to month. We are open about that term in our 12-month contract explainer, because it is what pays for the build with nothing to pay upfront.
Why the two work together
Checkatrade is good at one thing: a trusted tick that a nervous homeowner recognises. A website is good at the rest. It ranks when someone searches "electrician in Peckham", it shows your best jobs the way you want them shown, and it keeps working for you whatever happens to your platform membership.
If you already pay for Checkatrade, a website is the place to send everyone who wants to check you out before they call. If you do not, it is worth reading what a trade website costs in the UK before you decide where the next £45 a month goes.
The fair way to decide
If you need enquiries this month and have no website, Checkatrade Growth can get them. If you want a business that keeps winning work without renting a profile, build the website. Doing both is common, and neither cancels the other out.
In summary
Checkatrade is a rented profile: £30 a month for Approved or from £59 a month for Growth on 12-month memberships (October 2026). A website of your own costs £45 a month on Scale Start, £0 upfront, also on a 12-month minimum term, and you keep it. Plenty of trades use both, with Checkatrade for the tick and the website for the work they own.
Found this useful? Add Scalesites as a preferred source and Google shows you more of our guides when you search.
Frequently asked questions
Is Checkatrade worth it for a small trade business?
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It can be, if the leads on the Growth plan turn into paid jobs at a price that beats the fee. The Approved plan at £30 a month gives you the vetted profile and the tick, but enquiries come with Growth, from £59 a month (checked 19 October 2026). Work out what one extra job is worth to you before you join.
Can I use Checkatrade and my own website together?
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Yes, and many trades do. Checkatrade gives you a recognised tick and a profile on its site. Your own website ranks on Google, shows your jobs your way and stays yours. Link between the two so people who find either can reach the other.
Is a website cheaper than Checkatrade?
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Scale Start is £45 a month, between Checkatrade's Approved plan at £30 and its Growth plans from £59 (checked 19 October 2026). The difference is what you are left with: a website on your own domain that you own, against a profile on someone else's site.
Is there a minimum term with Scalesites?
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Yes. Scale Start and Scale Up run on a 12-month minimum term, then month to month. Nothing is due upfront and there is no VAT to add. You see a free preview before you pay anything.
What happens to my Checkatrade reviews if I stop paying?
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They sit on Checkatrade's site, so you lose the profile that displays them. Check Checkatrade's membership terms for the detail. Reviews on your Google Business Profile and on your own website are yours to keep.
More insights
- A Facebook page is not a website.A Facebook page is free and good for job photos, but it doesn't rank on Google. How it compares with a website built for you, and what one costs.
- Squarespace cost in the UK (2026): what trades really paySquarespace is £12 to £24 a month in the UK, plus VAT, and about £258 for year one with email. What trades really pay, and how it compares with a site built for you.
- Wix cost in the UK (2026): what trades really payWix is £9 to £25 a month in the UK, plus VAT and paid a year upfront, and about £215 for year one with email. What trades really pay, and how it compares with a site built for you.