Is Rated People any good for tradespeople?

Rated People can generate work for established tradespeople with strong profiles, particularly in popular trades like plumbing, electrical work and building. The platform has around 700,000 monthly visitors and a maximum of three tradespeople per job, which limits competition more than some alternatives. However, tradespeople report inconsistent lead quality, difficulty cancelling contracts, and price increases at renewal. Most negative reviews on Trustpilot and trade forums come from tradespeople rather than homeowners.

Which is better — Checkatrade or Rated People?

Checkatrade has stronger brand recognition and more homeowner traffic than Rated People, but costs more and does not cap the number of tradespeople competing for an enquiry as strictly. Rated People limits job responses to three tradespeople, which improves your odds. For most UK trades, Checkatrade will generate more enquiries in absolute terms; Rated People may generate better conversion rates per lead due to lower competition. Neither is a substitute for owning your own website and Google presence.

How much does Rated People charge?

Rated People charges a subscription fee of approximately £35 + VAT per month, paid annually (so committed upfront for 12 months). On top of this, you spend credits to contact customers, with leads typically costing around £15 + VAT per contact. The platform has raised prices significantly — reports indicate the subscription roughly doubled in 2025. Total monthly costs for an active member typically range from £50 to £150+ depending on how many leads you pursue.

Does Checkatrade actually work?

Yes — Checkatrade generates real enquiries for many UK tradespeople, particularly in emergency trades like plumbing and electrical work where brand recognition matters. Whether it works for your specific business depends on your trade, your area, the competition in your category and whether you track your cost per job won carefully. The platform works best as a supplement to your own website and Google Business Profile, not as your only source of leads.

Can I cancel Rated People easily?

Rated People operates on a 12-month contract and cancelling early may result in a fee. Multiple tradespeople report difficulty cancelling and customer service being hard to reach. It is worth reading the terms carefully before signing up and ensuring you know exactly what the cancellation process involves before committing to an annual subscription.

What is Rated People and how does it work?

Rated People is a UK lead generation platform for tradespeople. Homeowners post a job they need done and the platform matches them with tradespeople in their area. Unlike some competitors, Rated People limits responses to three tradespeople per job. You pay a monthly subscription plus credits to contact customers. Tradespeople must pass a vetting process including Equifax checks, Action Fraud UK screening and TrustMark verification before they can access leads.

Blog · Platform Reviews

Is Rated People Worth It for Tradespeople in 2026?

Rated People sits in a slightly different position to Bark and Checkatrade — less well known to homeowners but with some structural advantages that make it worth understanding properly. Here's an honest look at what it costs, how it compares, and whether UK tradespeople are actually getting value from it in 2026.

Quick answer

Rated People can work for established tradespeople who are selective about the leads they contact. The three-competitor cap per job is a genuine advantage. But the 12-month contract, prices that have increased significantly and a customer service track record that draws consistent complaints make it a higher-risk commitment than most tradespeople realise going in.

How Rated People Works

Rated People operates on a hybrid subscription and pay-per-lead model. Homeowners post a job on the platform and are matched with tradespeople in their area. Unlike Bark — where an unlimited number of tradespeople can potentially contact a customer — Rated People caps responses at three tradespeople per job. That is a meaningful structural difference.

To access leads, you pay a monthly subscription and a credit allowance that lets you contact a set number of customers. If you want to contact more than your allowance covers, you buy additional credits. The homeowner must then accept your quote before any work is agreed.

Vetting is more thorough than most platforms. Rated People requires Equifax identity checks, Action Fraud UK screening and TrustMark verification. This gives homeowners more confidence and filters out some of the unverified profiles that cause problems on Bark and MyBuilder.

The platform has around 700,000 homeowner visitors per month — smaller than Checkatrade's audience but enough to generate meaningful lead volume in most trade categories across most parts of the UK.

How Much Does Rated People Cost in 2026?

Rated People's pricing structure involves two layers of cost:

Subscription Fee

The subscription is charged annually at approximately £35 + VAT per month (paid as an upfront annual lump sum). This locks you into a 12-month contract from the outset.

It is worth noting that Rated People significantly raised its subscription prices — reports from UK tradespeople indicate the cost roughly doubled in 2025. If you joined on an older rate, your renewal may be considerably higher than you expect.

Credit Costs (Per-Lead Fees)

Your subscription includes a credit allowance, but most active tradespeople will exhaust this and purchase additional credits. A typical lead costs around £15 + VAT to contact, though this varies by trade, job size and location.

Total monthly spend for an active Rated People member typically ranges from:

Light usage: ~£50–£70/month (subscription + minimal additional credits)
Active usage: ~£100–£150/month (subscription + consistent lead purchasing)
High volume: £150–£250+/month for tradespeople chasing significant lead flow

~£15/lead

Typical Rated People credit cost per customer contact — before you know if they'll respond. Maximum three tradespeople compete per job, which is better odds than most platforms.

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What UK Tradespeople Actually Say About Rated People

Rated People has a 4-star rating on Trustpilot with over 19,000 reviews — but there is an important nuance. The majority of positive reviews come from homeowners, not tradespeople. When you filter for tradesperson feedback, the picture is noticeably different.

The most common complaints from tradespeople:

No refund on non-responsive leads — you pay to contact a customer who never replies and the credits are gone. This policy has not changed despite repeated complaints.
Difficult to cancel — multiple reports of accounts being difficult to close and renewals going through without clear warning.
Customer service is hard to reach — contact details are not prominently listed and response times draw consistent criticism in negative reviews.
Price increases at renewal — the cost roughly doubled in 2025 and existing members were caught off guard by the scale of the increase.

"The leads can be good. The problem is what happens when things go wrong — getting a refund, changing your plan, or cancelling. That is where Rated People consistently lets tradespeople down."

Where Rated People Does Work

It would be unfair not to acknowledge where the platform genuinely delivers. Rated People works well when:

You are in a popular trade category — plumbing, electrical, building, decorating, landscaping — where the platform's 700,000 monthly visitors generate consistent job postings
You have a strong completed profile with genuine reviews and qualifications displayed — the three-competitor cap means your profile actually gets read before a homeowner decides who to call
You are selective about which leads you contact — only pursuing jobs that genuinely suit your trade, location and pricing means your credits go further and your conversion rate improves
You use it as one channel alongside your own website and Google Business Profile rather than your sole source of work

For plumbers, builders and landscapers with good profiles, Rated People can be a worthwhile supplement — particularly in areas where Checkatrade is heavily saturated.

Rated People vs Checkatrade: Which Is Better?

The honest comparison:

Audience size: Checkatrade wins — significantly more homeowner traffic
Competition per lead: Rated People wins — three competitors maximum versus no cap on Checkatrade
Brand recognition: Checkatrade wins — homeowners know and trust the name more
Monthly cost: Rated People wins — typically lower all-in cost for active members
Contract flexibility: broadly similar — both use 12-month commitments
Customer service: Checkatrade wins — Rated People's support track record is weaker

For most UK tradespeople, Checkatrade's larger audience outweighs Rated People's lower competition per lead. But in areas where Checkatrade is saturated with listed competitors, Rated People's three-competitor cap can deliver a better win rate even on lower overall volume.

The Bigger Picture: What None of These Platforms Build

Rated People, like every other lead platform, has the same fundamental limitation: you are renting access to their audience. The reviews you build on Rated People belong to Rated People. Your profile lives on their platform. Stop paying and you lose everything you've built there overnight.

The most successful UK tradespeople use platforms like these as a short-term supplement, not a long-term strategy. The goal is to use the leads to build a customer base and a review profile — then make sure those reviews are on Google where they compound over time and help homeowners find you directly, without going through a platform at all.

"Every job you get through Rated People should be helping you build your Google reviews and your own reputation. If it's only helping you build theirs, something's wrong."

We help UK trade businesses build lead systems they own — websites that convert, Google profiles that rank, and review systems that run automatically after every job. The result is a pipeline that does not depend on renewing a subscription or hoping a platform's algorithm favours your listing this month.

So, Is Rated People Worth It in 2026?

For an established tradesperson with a strong profile, a popular trade category and a disciplined approach to filtering leads — yes, it can be worth it, particularly as a lower-cost alternative to Checkatrade in competitive areas.

But go in with clear expectations. Track your cost per job won from day one. Read the cancellation terms before you sign. And treat it as a tap to supplement your pipeline while you build the assets you actually own — not as the foundation of your marketing.

If you cannot say after six months whether Rated People is generating profitable work, it probably is not. And at that point, the same annual subscription investment would go further building a website and Google presence that compounds over time.

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