How the platforms make money
Checkatrade charges an annual membership. Bark and MyBuilder charge per lead or per shortlist. Either way, the platform is paid whether you win the job or not, and many leads are shown to several tradesmen at once.
That's why platform customers often choose on price: they've got three or four quotes in their inbox within an hour. It's a good deal for the customer, and a hard one for your margin.
How your own website wins work
When a homeowner searches "roofer in Solihull" or "electrician near me" and finds you on Google, you're the only quote they're looking at. They've seen your work, your reviews and your prices. The conversation starts with trust, not a race to the bottom.
Your Google Business Profile does a lot of the work. Appearing in the map pack for local searches is free, and backed by a strong website and steady reviews, it's the most valuable lead source most trades will ever have.
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Platforms are quicker. You can get leads in days. But the cost never stops, and many trades find their cost per won job is several times the advertised lead price once you count the quotes they lose.
A website takes 1–3 months to start producing steady leads, and competitive searches build over 6–12 months. But it compounds: every month of content, reviews and rankings makes the next month cheaper per lead. After a year, most trades with a well-run website get the majority of their best work from it.
What we recommend
Don't quit platforms overnight. Keep them running while your website and Google Business Profile start ranking. Track where every job comes from. Once your own channels are producing reliably, scale the platforms back and keep the margin.
Ask every platform customer for a Google review too. It builds your own reputation instead of only theirs.
The bottom line
Platforms rent you customers; a website lets you own the relationship. If you want to see what your own lead source could look like, see our websites for tradesmen or book a free call.