- Checkatrade: monthly membership, published at £30 (Approved) and from £59 (Growth) plus VAT, members report £60–£500 a month; vetted badge; enquiries shared among members. Bark: free to list, credits at about £1.20–£1.80, £7–£40 a lead, three to five pros per request, credits expire after three months.
- Checkatrade wins on homeowner trust and steady visibility in an uncrowded area. Bark wins on switching demand on and off with no monthly fee, and loses on non-responding leads (more than half by user reports).
- Neither is cheaper in the abstract; both are won by the firm that answers first. Compare them on cost per booked job over a real month, not on the fee.
The two models side by side
Checkatrade is a membership directory: you pay monthly for a vetted profile and take the enquiries that come. Published plans are £30 a month plus VAT (Approved) and from £59 (Growth); members report £60–£120 typical and £300–£500 in the big cities, with 12-month terms. Bark is a lead marketplace: free to list, and you spend credits to contact a homeowner who posted a request. Credits are about £1.20 plus VAT (£1.80 per Bark's help centre in mid-2026), a lead costs 5–20 of them, and three to five professionals typically buy the same request.
| Checkatrade | Bark | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Monthly membership | Credits per lead; no monthly fee |
| Published price | £30 a month + VAT (Approved); from £59 (Growth); no joining fee | Credits about £1.20 + VAT (£1.80 per help centre, mid-2026) |
| What members report | £60–£120 a month typical; £300–£500 in cities; renewals +20–40% | £7–£40 a lead; £150–£400 a month for an active tradesman |
| Contract | 12-month terms reported | None; credits expire 3 months after purchase (from 1 Nov 2025) |
| Enquiries shared? | Yes, among members | Yes, 3–5 pros per request |
| Vetting and badge | Yes; recognised by homeowners | Light; no equivalent badge |
| Best for | Steady visibility in an uncrowded area; trust on jobs found elsewhere | Switching demand on and off; quick jobs; fast callers |
Where Checkatrade wins
Trust. Homeowners know the badge, and members report it helping win work that came from referrals or Google. Steady visibility, if your trade is not already crowded in your area (search your town on the site and count). And predictability: the bill is the same every month, which is a plus in a busy month and a minus in a quiet one. The full cost breakdown and what tradesmen's reviews say cover the detail.
Where Bark wins
Control. No monthly fee, so a quiet month costs nothing; you choose which requests to spend credits on and can stop at any time. Volume, because Bark spans many more categories than trade-specific directories. It loses on lead quality, with user reports putting non-responders at more than half of paid leads, and on the race: three to five pros dialling the same homeowner within the hour. Is Bark worth it for tradesmen goes deeper.
Which is cheaper?
Per month, Bark, because you can spend nothing. Per lead, Checkatrade, once you work the membership back over the enquiries you get (£5–£40 by independent estimates). Per booked job, whichever one you answer faster on, because both sell the same homeowner to several firms. A firm that rings back in a minute does fine on either; a firm that rings back tomorrow loses on both.
If the shared-enquiry model itself is the problem, the third option is outcome pricing: MyTradeBuddy generates demand for one business per area, answers and chases every enquiry, and bills per booked survey with no monthly fee and no contract. It suits survey-led work more than £80 call-outs. The five-way directory comparison sets everything side by side.
Read next
- Is Bark Worth It for Tradesmen? Credits, Real Costs and a Verdict (2026)
- Checkatrade Cost 2026: Membership Fees, What Members Really Pay, and the Price Per Lead
- Checkatrade vs MyBuilder: Which Wins for UK Trades? (2026)
- Checkatrade or Trust a Trader? Fees, Lead Sharing and Which Wins for UK Trades (2026)
Frequently asked questions
Per month, usually: Bark has no membership fee and Checkatrade members report £60–£500 a month. Per lead, Checkatrade often works out cheaper once the fee is spread over enquiries. Per booked job it depends on how fast you answer, because both share the homeowner.
Checkatrade for homeowner trust and steady visibility in an uncrowded area; Bark for switching demand on and off with no fixed cost. Neither is better in the abstract.
Yes. Checkatrade enquiries can reach several members; Bark requests are typically bought by three to five professionals.
Yes, and some trades do: Checkatrade for the badge and Bark for topping up a quiet week. Track cost per booked job on each so you know which to drop.
Owned channels (Google Business Profile, reviews, your own site), or outcome-priced systems such as MyTradeBuddy that generate exclusive demand and charge per booked survey.