How much does a Checkatrade lead really cost?

The membership is only part of it. The true cost is the cost per won job: take your annual membership plus any pay-per-lead fees, then divide by the jobs you actually win. Because directory leads are usually shared with three or four other trades, your win rate is lower than on exclusive leads, which pushes the real cost per job higher than most people expect.

Is this calculator biased towards Scalepoint?

No. You enter your own numbers — your membership, your leads, your job value, your win rate — and the maths is shown in full. We think owning your leads beats renting them, but the figures are yours, not ours. Nothing is fabricated and there is no guaranteed-result claim.

What does "shared 3–4 ways" mean?

Lead-generation directories typically sell the same enquiry to several trades at once, so you are one of three or four businesses quoting the same customer. That competition is the main reason directory leads convert at a lower rate than leads from a channel you own.

What does "own your leads" actually mean?

It means the website, Google Business Profile, ad accounts and customer list are in your name, forever. Leads come to you exclusively rather than being shared, ad spend goes to the platform at cost with no markup, and if you ever leave there is no lock-in — you keep everything. That is what Scalepoint builds.

Is there VAT on the prices?

No. While we are under the £90,000 threshold we are not VAT-registered, so the price you see is the price you pay. The calculator works in plain pounds.

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Free tool

What does a Checkatrade lead really cost?

The membership is the easy bit. The number that matters is your cost per won job — once each lead is shared with three or four other trades. Put in your own figures and see it, then compare it to owning your leads outright. No signup, no VAT.

The short answer

A directory lead's true cost is its cost per won job: your annual membership and any per-lead fees, divided by the jobs you actually win. Because directory leads are shared with three or four trades, fewer convert — so the real cost per job is usually far higher than the headline membership.

The calculator

Your numbers, your true cost

Your directory costs

Directory membership£per monthWhatever you actually pay each month.Pay-per-lead fee£per leadLeave at 0 if your directory does not charge per lead.Leads receivedper monthEnquiries the directory sends you in a typical month.

Ways each lead is shared: 3Directories typically sell each lead to 3–4 trades at once. You are 1 of 3 quoting.

Average job value£What a typical won job is worth to you.Win rate on directory leads%Of the leads you get, how many you actually win.

True cost per won job

£60

From £1,440 a year to win 24 jobs. That is what each won job actually costs you in directory fees.

Monthly outlay£120

Annual membership£1,440

Annual pay-per-lead fees£0

Total annual directory cost£1,440

Jobs won per year24

Revenue from those jobs£10,800

And you own none of it — the leads stop the day you stop paying.

If you owned your leads instead

Redirect the same £120/month into a channel you own. To beat the directory at the same win rate, your own ads would need a cost per lead under £12.00 — and every one of those leads is yours alone, not shared 3 ways.

A target to aim at, not a guaranteed result — but the leads are exclusive and you keep the website, profile, ad account and customer list either way.

These figures are your inputs modelled out — not a survey, a guarantee, or a claim about Checkatrade specifically. Set every number to match your own situation. Prices are in £; no VAT applies.

Side by side

Rented leads vs leads you own

	Directory lead	Leads you own
Who the lead goes to	You + 2 other trades (shared 3 ways)	You only — exclusive
Ad spend markup	N/A — you pay per membership/lead	At cost, no markup
Who owns the website	The directory	You
Who owns the Google Business Profile	N/A	You
Who owns the ad account & customer list	The directory	You
What happens when you leave	Leads stop the day you stop paying	You keep everything — 14 days notice, no lock-in

This is the whole idea behind Scalepoint — read more on owning your lead machine.

The method

How to work out the true cost of a directory lead

Add up your annual directory cost

Multiply your monthly membership by 12, then add any pay-per-lead fees (fee per lead × leads per month × 12).

Count the jobs you actually win

Multiply your monthly leads by 12, then by your win rate. These are the jobs the spend actually produced.

Divide cost by jobs won

Divide your total annual directory cost by the jobs won per year. That is your true cost per won job — the number that matters.

Adjust for lead sharing

Remember each directory lead is shared with three or four other trades, so your win rate is lower than it would be on an exclusive lead. That is built into the figure above.

Compare to owning your leads

See what the same monthly outlay buys when the leads are exclusive and you own the website, profile, ad account and customer list.

FAQ

Common questions

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