Is Checkatrade still worth it for UK electricians in 2026?

The short answer

For the average owner-operator sparky in 2026: no, not for what it now costs. The maths changed when Homeserve bought the business and renewal invoices started doubling. The leads got no better. The fee did.

But “cancel Checkatrade” is only half a plan. The other half is where you redirect the money so the phone keeps ringing. That’s what this post is about.

What a year on Checkatrade actually costs in 2026

Pull out your last renewal email. Then pull out the one from three years ago if you’ve still got it. I’ll wait.

Here’s what I’ve been reading on sparky forums for the last six months, in the trades’ own words:

“I’ve just been told my renewal costs for Checkatrade has risen from £800 to a whopping £1800 plus VAT. That’s about a months pay after tax!!!”

— a plumber on tradesmansaver.co.uk

“My fee went up from apx £800 per year to £2500”

— an electrician on ElectriciansForums.net

Those aren’t one-off outliers. They’re where most sparkies are landing this year. The South East (Surrey, Sussex, Kent) is seeing some of the highest hikes, which makes sense. Checkatrade’s HQ is in Selsey and the South East is their home market, so price pressure lands here hardest.

Rough annual cost to you in 2026

Entry-tier membership	£499 + VAT on signup, often bumped to £800–£1,200 by year two
Established member (2+ yrs)	£1,500–£2,500+ VAT, South East tends higher
Your time answering rubbish leads	Easily 2–4 hrs/week on chaser calls and unanswered enquiries
Opportunity cost	That monthly bill would buy real Google visibility (more on that below)

Lead quality vs five years ago

This is the bit nobody at Checkatrade puts on the renewal email. The platform is bigger than ever, which means more tradesmen are competing for the same customer. Forums are full of the same four complaints:

• Race to the bottom. Whoever quotes lowest wins, and the bloke with two staff and overheads can’t compete with the part-timer who doesn’t.
• Customer doesn’t answer. You ring them back within 20 minutes. Voicemail. Never heard from again. Still paid for the lead.
• Three other sparkies already quoted. You’re the fourth quote and you’re the most expensive because you’re the most professional.
• The customer was always going to go with their mate’s cousin anyway. They just wanted a benchmark.

None of these are Checkatrade’s fault exactly. They’re what happens when any lead platform gets big enough. But you’re paying for it.

Where to put the money instead

The honest answer is the same customer is already Googling you. They’re typing “electrician burgess hill” or “fuseboard replacement [their town]” into their phone. The question is whether you show up on the first page or whether the three blokes above you do.

That first page has three sections that matter to a sparky:

1. The Google Map 3-pack

Three local businesses with star ratings, directions and a “Website” button. This is the money spot for domestic trades. You don’t need to be #1 in Google. You need to be in the top 3 of this map.

The tool that controls this is your Google Business Profile (the thing you half-set-up in 2018 and haven’t touched since). I wrote a whole post on why your GBP is the real reason the phone’s dead.

2. Reviews

Within the 3-pack, the customer picks whoever looks most trustworthy in 3 seconds. That’s the star rating and the number of reviews. A sparky with 47 reviews beats a sparky with 6 reviews, every time, even if the 6 are all 5-star.

The good news: you’ve already done the work. You’ve got 200+ happy customers in the last five years. You just never asked them. Here’s how to get your first 10 reviews from jobs you’ve already done.

3. Your website

Not a £5,000 bespoke masterpiece. A fast, mobile-first page that opens in under 2 seconds, has your NICEIC logo top-right, three photos of actual jobs, and a “WhatsApp a quote request” button. Half the sparky sites in Mid Sussex load in 8 seconds and look like they were built in 2014. If yours opens fast and looks sharp, you’ve already beaten them.

When Checkatrade IS still worth it

I’m not going to pretend it’s worth zero. There are cases where the membership pays:

• You just went out on your own and have no reviews, no website, no Google presence. Checkatrade gives you training wheels for 6–12 months while you build the real pipeline.
• You work in a patch where the competition is weak on Checkatrade but strong on Google. Flip the platform to match what they’re NOT doing.
• Your business model needs volume of small jobs (landlord PAT testing, EICRs). The platform is genuinely decent for this if your pricing model can absorb the fee.

If none of these apply to you, keep reading.

What to do this week

Don’t cancel today. Do this instead:

1. Note your renewal date. Put it in your phone calendar with a reminder 60 days before. You need runway to build the alternative.
2. Pull your last 12 months of Checkatrade invoices. Add them up. That’s your annual spend. Write the number down.
3. Google yourself. Go to Google Maps on your phone. Search “electrician [your town]”. See where you come up. If you’re not in the 3-pack, that’s the gap you’re going to close in the next 90 days.
4. Count your Google reviews. Not Checkatrade reviews. Google reviews. If the number’s under 10, that’s your first job.
5. Before next renewal, decide. Either the replacement is working (you’re in the 3-pack, reviews growing, phone ringing) and you cancel. Or it isn’t (yet) and you pay one more year while you finish the build.