Stop paying to be shortlisted. Own the channel instead.
MyBuilder does not charge a membership — you only owe a fee once a customer shares their contact details with you. That is a fairer starting point than some marketplaces. But the fee is still spent whether or not the job goes to you, and everything you build — the profile, the reviews — stays on their platform. Here is a fair comparison, and the alternative.
The best MyBuilder alternative is owning your own lead channels — a Google Business Profile, a website on your domain, and ad accounts in your name. Instead of a fee every time a customer chooses to share their details with you, win or lose the job that follows, you pay a fixed cost to be visible and keep every enquiry that comes in. The assets stay yours, and so does the reputation you build on them.
Reviewed and updated 1 August 2026 · by Craig W., Founder of Scalepoint
What you are actually buying
MyBuilder does not work like a directory membership either, and its mechanics differ from other pay-per-lead marketplaces in one real way: you are not charged simply for replying. These are the mechanics, taken from MyBuilder’s own published tradesperson terms and conditions.
No membership fee, and MyBuilder’s terms define “Express Interest” — messaging a customer or requesting their details — as the free first step. A fee is only owed once the customer’s contact details are actually shared with you.
Owed the moment a customer’s contact details are shared with you — what MyBuilder calls being “Shortlisted.” MyBuilder does not publish a fixed price list, and the fee is non-refundable whether or not you go on to win the job.
Our fixed Google Ads management fee, with ad spend passed to Google at cost and every enquiry exclusively yours. A fee that does not rise because more customers picked you this month. £500/month minimum recommended spend.
Paying to be shortlisted vs owning your leads
| Factor | Owning your leads | Pay-to-be-shortlisted marketplace (e.g. MyBuilder) |
|---|---|---|
| What your money buys | Visibility to everyone searching | Contact details for one job you were chosen for |
| When the fee is due | Never — you pay to be visible, not per customer | Once a customer shares their details with you |
| If you don’t win the job | Costs you nothing extra | The Shortlist Fee is spent anyway |
| Cost predictability | Fixed monthly fee, set by you | Calculated per lead — no published price list |
| Unused budget | Rolls into ongoing visibility | Account Credit expires on its set date |
| What you own | Website, GBP, ad account, customer list | A profile on their platform |
| Reviews build on | Your own Google profile | The MyBuilder profile |
| If you stop paying | Assets and rankings remain | Visibility stops |
Put in what you spend, how many leads it buys and how often you win. The calculator returns your true cost per won job — the only figure worth comparing. It is built around directory memberships, so set the membership field to £0 and put your Shortlist Fee spend in the per-lead field.
Being shortlisted is still not the same as winning
MyBuilder’s fee only becomes due once a customer picks you and shares their contact details — a genuinely fairer trigger than platforms that charge simply for responding. But being shortlisted is not the same as being hired. You can be one of several tradespeople shortlisted for the same job, send a quote, and still lose the work to someone else.
The fee was owed the moment your details were shared, regardless of what happens next — MyBuilder’s terms state it is non-refundable either way. Get shortlisted for ten jobs and win three, and your real cost per won job is more than three times what any single Shortlist Fee looked like on its own. The number that matters is not what one shortlist costs, but everything you have paid divided by the jobs you actually booked.
That is not an argument against ever using the platform — it is an argument for measuring it properly before you rely on it as your main channel. Run the numbers in the cost calculator, then compare against a channel where the enquiry is exclusively yours from the first click: Google Search Ads for trades from £495/month, spend at cost, or local SEO so the map-pack traffic compounds for free.
Where MyBuilder genuinely helps.
This is not a hit piece. MyBuilder’s fee structure is genuinely fairer than some competitors, and for some trades at some moments it is the right call.
- No membership to commit to. You are not locked into an annual fee before a single job comes your way. If it does not work, you stop Expressing Interest.
- You do not pay just to respond. Under MyBuilder’s own terms, Expressing Interest is free — the fee is only owed once a customer actually shares their details with you. That is a real, verifiable difference from platforms that charge the moment you open a conversation.
- A vetting process behind the badge. MyBuilder requires identity checks and, where relevant, other verification before a Trade Account goes live, which gives homeowners some baseline confidence in who they are contacting.
The problem is what happens after you are shortlisted: the fee is due, non-refundable, and spent whether or not the quote turns into work. Used as your only channel, costs still scale with how many jobs you win access to — none of it accumulates into anything you keep. Trades in construction and the building trades feel this hardest, because a single lost job can be thousands of pounds of work you already paid to be considered for.
How to move off pay-to-be-shortlisted in 90 days
You do not need a hard switch — and with no membership to cancel, tapering is easier here than with most directories. Build the owned channels alongside MyBuilder, then wind the Shortlist Fee spend down as your own pipeline grows.
- Work out your real cost per won job
Before changing anything, divide what you have spent on Shortlist Fees over a few months by the jobs you actually booked from them. That single number — not the fee on any one lead — tells you whether the channel is profitable and gives you a target to beat.
- Claim and optimise your Google Business Profile
Your map-pack listing is the highest-leverage replacement for a marketplace profile. Complete every field, add real photos of finished jobs, and start asking happy customers for reviews so your reputation builds somewhere you own.
- Put a fast, simple site on your own domain
One or two pages that load quickly and convert, on a domain in your name. It gives Google and any ads somewhere to send people, and unlike a marketplace profile it cannot be switched off or re-priced by someone else.
- Open a search ad account in your own name
Start with a modest local budget on high-intent searches. You set the spend, pay the platform directly at cost, and every enquiry that arrives is exclusively yours — with no separate fee due when the customer picks you.
- Taper the Shortlist Fees as owned enquiries grow
Keep Expressing Interest in the leads worth chasing while your own pipeline builds, then reduce what you spend as your profile, ads and reviews start carrying the load. Because there is no membership to cancel, tapering off is easier than leaving a contract.
See what owning your leads would look like.
Tell us your trade and your area. We send back a free written audit within 3 business days — no call required, no lock-in.
Common questions about MyBuilder alternatives
What is the best alternative to MyBuilder?+
The strongest alternative is owning the channels that produce your leads — an optimised Google Business Profile, a website on your own domain, and ad accounts in your name. Instead of a fee every time a customer shares their contact details with you, win or lose, you pay a fixed cost to be visible and keep every enquiry that arrives exclusively yours. The assets keep producing work even if you stop paying an agency.
How does MyBuilder charge tradespeople?+
MyBuilder has no monthly membership fee. Under its own tradesperson terms and conditions, you can "Express Interest" in a Job — message the customer, request their contact details — and a "Shortlist Fee" only becomes owed once the customer’s contact details are actually shared with you, which MyBuilder calls being "Shortlisted." MyBuilder does not publish a fixed price list; the fee is calculated per lead.
Do I pay MyBuilder just for expressing interest in a job?+
No — per MyBuilder’s own terms, Expressing Interest is the free step (sending a message or requesting a customer’s details). The Shortlist Fee is only owed once those contact details are actually shared with you. That is a real difference from platforms that charge simply for opening a conversation: on MyBuilder, the customer has to pick you first.
Is the MyBuilder Shortlist Fee refundable?+
No. MyBuilder’s terms state the Shortlist Fee is non-refundable. Where MyBuilder does choose to offer a refund, it is issued only as Account Credit — not cash — and that credit cannot be exchanged, returned for cash, or transferred to another Trade Account.
Does MyBuilder Account Credit expire?+
Yes. MyBuilder’s terms state that Account Credit is provided with an expiry date, and any credit left unspent when that date is reached is removed from your account balance. If work slows down or the leads on offer are not right for you, unspent credit can lapse before you use it.
Is MyBuilder worth it for tradespeople?+
It can be, particularly because you are not charged simply for replying to a job — the fee is tied to actually being shortlisted, which is a fairer trigger than some competitors use. The trade-offs are that MyBuilder does not publish its pricing, the fee is spent whether or not you go on to win the work once shortlisted, and everything you build — the profile, the reviews — stays on MyBuilder. Whether it works out depends on your win rate after being shortlisted.
Can I use MyBuilder and build my own leads at the same time?+
Yes, and that is usually the sensible route. Keep MyBuilder running while your own Google Business Profile, website and ads build up, then taper what you spend on Shortlist Fees as your owned pipeline grows. There is no membership to cancel and no hard switch required.
What happens to my MyBuilder reviews if I leave?+
They stay on MyBuilder. Reviews and feedback earned on any marketplace belong to that marketplace, which is the central risk of building your reputation somewhere you do not own. Reviews collected on your own Google Business Profile are tied to an asset that stays yours, keep working across Google Search and Maps, and follow you regardless of which marketing channels you run.
Keep reading
Your true cost per won job
The membership model compared
The pay-per-lead model compared
The full model
The economics in detail
Own your area on Google
Exclusive, high-intent leads
GBP, reviews and citations guide
Fees only, ad spend at cost
The mechanics described here — the “Express Interest” and “Shortlist Fee” definitions, the absence of a membership fee, the non-refundable status of the fee, and the expiry of unused Account Credit — are taken directly from MyBuilder’s own published tradesperson terms and conditions, checked on 1 August 2026. MyBuilder does not publish a fixed price list for the Shortlist Fee on that page; independent 2026 trade-cost reporting puts typical fees in the region of £5–£35 for everyday jobs and £50 or more on larger projects, but we have deliberately not treated that range as an official MyBuilder figure — model your own numbers with the cost calculator rather than relying on a third-party average. Scalepoint pricing is our current published rate. Terms on any marketplace change — if you spot something out of date here, tell us and we will correct it.