Website vs Checkatrade for Plumbers — Which Gets You More Work?

It's the question every plumber asks at some point: should I invest in my own website, or is Checkatrade enough? The honest answer is that both have their place — but they do very different things, and understanding the difference can save you money and win you more work.

Let's break it down.

How Checkatrade Works

Checkatrade is a lead generation platform. You pay a monthly membership fee, and in return you get listed in their directory. When homeowners search for a plumber on Checkatrade, your profile appears alongside your competitors.

The pros:

• Instant visibility to homeowners actively looking for plumbers
• Reviews and vetting badges build trust
• No technical knowledge needed — just fill in your profile
• Well-known brand that customers trust

The cons:

• You're listed alongside every other plumber in your area
• Customers can easily compare you with competitors on the same page
• You pay whether you get leads or not
• You have no control over the platform — pricing and rules can change
• Leads are shared or contested, meaning you're rarely the only option

How Your Own Website Works

Your website is a piece of digital real estate that you own. When someone searches "plumber in Manchester" on Google, a well-optimised website can show up in the results — and when they click through, they see only you.

The pros:

• You control the entire customer experience
• No competitors on the same page
• SEO builds compound traffic over time — the longer your site exists, the more visible it becomes
• You can rank for specific services ("boiler installation," "emergency plumber," "bathroom fitting")
• One-time cost with no ongoing platform fees
• Works as a landing page for all your other marketing (ads, social media, Checkatrade)

The cons:

• Takes time to rank on Google (typically 3-6 months for local searches)
• Requires initial investment
• Needs occasional updates to stay relevant

Cost Comparison

Let's look at the numbers over a typical year.

Checkatrade:

• Monthly membership: approximately £60-120/month depending on your area and categories
• Annual cost: £720-£1,440/year
• Plus you're competing for every lead with multiple other plumbers

Your own website:

• One-time build cost: £497 (hand-coded, SEO optimised)
• Annual domain renewal: £10-15/year
• Hosting: included in the build price
• First year total: approximately £510
• Ongoing years: approximately £15/year

After the first year, your website costs you almost nothing to maintain, while Checkatrade continues charging monthly.

Lead Quality

This is where the real difference shows.

Checkatrade leads are shared. A homeowner might contact three or four plumbers at once and go with whoever responds first or cheapest. You're in a price race before you've even picked up the phone.

Website leads are exclusive. Someone has found your website, read about your services, looked at your work, and decided to contact you specifically. These leads are warmer, more likely to convert, and less price-sensitive. They've already chosen you — they just need to confirm the details.

The Compound Effect

Checkatrade works like renting. You pay every month, and when you stop paying, you disappear. There's no lasting benefit.

A website works like buying. You invest once, and it keeps working for you indefinitely. Every month your site is live, Google learns more about it. Blog posts you write today can bring in customers for years. Your domain authority grows over time, making it easier to rank for competitive keywords.

After a year, your website is stronger than it was on day one. After two years, it's stronger still. Checkatrade on day one is the same as Checkatrade on day 730 — you're still paying the same fee for the same listing.

Do You Need Both?

Here's the honest take: Checkatrade and a website work best together. Checkatrade gives you immediate visibility while your website builds organic traffic. And having a website linked from your Checkatrade profile makes your listing more credible — plumbers with websites get more clicks.

The smart strategy is:

1. Get a website first — it's the foundation everything else builds on
2. Link it from your Checkatrade profile — instant credibility boost
3. Use your website as a landing page for Google Ads — when you're ready to scale, you've got somewhere professional to send traffic
4. Let SEO compound over time — within 6-12 months, your website may be bringing in enough organic leads that you can reduce your Checkatrade spend

The Verdict

Checkatrade is a useful short-term tool, but it's expensive over time and you're always competing. Your own website is a long-term asset that gets better with age, costs almost nothing after the first year, and gives you leads that are exclusively yours.

If you can only choose one, choose the website. It pays for itself faster and keeps paying for years.

If you want a professional plumber website built to bring in customers, we can have you online in 7 days. One-time payment of £497, no monthly fees, and custom-coded by a developer who understands what plumbers need.

Axel

Full-stack developer specializing in Shopify and Django. Building automated e-commerce solutions.