Checkatrade vs MyBuilder vs Bark: which lead site is best for a plumber?

There is no single best lead site for a plumber; they work in different ways. Checkatrade is a subscription directory with strong consumer trust (around 50,000 vetted trade businesses) at roughly £80-170 a month. Bark charges per lead (credits about £5-40) and shares each lead with several tradespeople. MyBuilder is a job-posting marketplace where homeowners describe a job and tradespeople respond. Which pays off depends far less on the site and far more on whether you answer and convert the leads you pay for, fast.

Every plumber gets pitched these, so here is a fair comparison and, more importantly, the thing that actually decides whether they are worth it.

The three models, plainly

Checkatrade is a subscription directory: you pay a monthly fee to be listed as a vetted trade, and customers find and contact you. It has the strongest consumer brand of the three, with around 50,000 vetted trade businesses on the platform, and typically costs somewhere in the region of £80-170 a month depending on trade and area. You pay whether or not you win work that month.

Bark is pay-per-lead: you buy credits (roughly £5-40 per lead) and each lead is usually sold to several tradespeople, so you are competing to respond first. No monthly fee, but you pay for leads that may go nowhere.

MyBuilder is a job-posting marketplace: homeowners post a job, and tradespeople express interest, with the homeowner choosing who to shortlist.

(Prices move, so check each site's current pricing before committing; the ranges above are a guide, not a quote.)

The thing that actually decides it

Here is what matters more than which site you pick: how fast you respond and whether you convert. On Bark especially, the lead is shared, so the plumber who responds first usually wins. On all three, a lead you pay for and then miss (because you were on a job) is money you have simply burned. So the site is almost secondary; the make-or-break is answering and following up fast. If you are paying for leads and missing the calls they generate, no lead site will pay off, which is the same lesson as what a missed call costs.

How to choose

If you want steady, trust-led enquiries and can afford a monthly fee, Checkatrade's brand is the strongest.

If you want to pay only for leads and are fast at responding, Bark can work, but watch the cost-per-won-job.

Whatever you choose, make sure you can tell which leads turn into real jobs, so you keep the site that pays and drop the one that does not.

Frequently asked questions

It depends: Checkatrade for trusted, subscription-based enquiries; Bark for pay-per-lead if you respond fast; MyBuilder for job-by-job. Converting the leads matters more than the site.

They can be, if you answer and convert the leads quickly. A lead you pay for and then miss is wasted money.

Track which leads become booked jobs, not just which produce enquiries. See call attribution for tradespeople.

Want to convert more of the leads you already pay for? Talk to Daisy.

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