Checkatrade, MyBuilder or Your Own Customers: Painters and Decorators

Checkatrade has three tiers. Free is £0 a month and gives you a free profile to collect reviews. Approved is £30 a month. Growth has prices from £59 a month, set by your trade, the postcode areas you pick and the number of leads you want each year. Checkatrade's support page says Approved members do not appear in standard search results.

MyBuilder is free to join and you can respond to as many leads as you like. Its sign-up page says: "If you're shortlisted, we charge you a fee for the customer's contact details."

Rated People is now part of Checkatrade Group. Its help page says memberships are closed and its leads go to Checkatrade tradespeople.

For the full price comparison, including Bark, read what Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Bark and Rated People cost in 2026.

A typical decorating job is smaller than most trades' work, so any fee for a lead or a standing monthly cost takes a larger share of it. The barrier to entry is lower, with no mandatory certification, so more decorators compete for each posted job. Customers know what a room costs to paint and some will do it themselves, so you are competing with a roller as well as other decorators.

Decorating also cannot be quoted from a description. Prices depend on surface condition, preparation and access, so a vague post such as "some painting needed" means a site visit that may not convert. Screen by phone, ask for photos, and answer well-described jobs first. State the scope in every quote: coats, preparation included, whether materials are supplied, working hours and what happens if extra preparation is needed. Do not undercut to win a job. Customers who choose the cheapest quote are the hardest to satisfy, and a clear scope prevents disputes.

Larger decorating projects, such as full-house repaints, exterior masonry and commercial work, appear on MyBuilder and often draw fewer competing quotes because many decorators avoid the longer duration and heavier preparation. They can be better value for a skilled decorator who is willing to price larger scope.

A platform makes sense for a new business with no Google reviews or referral base, for a move to a new area where nobody knows you, and to fill quiet spells such as winter and school holidays. Checkatrade's verified reviews are credible, so early jobs there build a review asset you can point to later. Checkatrade also attracts customers who searched for a decorator and are choosing between profiles on reviews, photos and presentation, which suits premium and specialist work. Checkatrade says Approved members do not appear in standard search results, so being seen depends on its paid tier. Reviews then help win the customer who finds you, so ask every customer to review through the platform and walk them through it.

Judge any platform on evidence. Divide what you spent by jobs won and compare it with the margin on those jobs. At each renewal, if the platform brought you fewer than a handful of jobs in the year, move the money into Google, Instagram or local search. Keep the platforms that work and cut the ones that do not.

Decorating is among the most visual trades. Before-and-after posts of rooms and exteriors cost nothing, and an Instagram profile with many posts works as a living portfolio, far more persuasive than a few photos on a directory listing. Use local hashtags and location tags, add short video walkthroughs of finished rooms, and share colour advice for different rooms and light. Customers who followed your work for weeks have already decided they like your style.

Estate agents need decorators for pre-sale refreshes and letting agents for tenancy changeovers. Vendors know a good finish helps the sale price, so they are less price-sensitive than retail customers. Visit local agencies in person with a card, stress turnaround and reliability, and follow up after two weeks. Interior designers need decorators they trust to carry out a scheme to a high standard, and one active designer can mean steady project work at better rates.

The Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) is the UK trade association for decorators. Its membership is a credential that you can show on any profile and that stays with your business whichever lead sources you use.

Decorating has a repeat-business advantage most trades lack. Every satisfied customer is likely to need another room within a few years, and referrals come naturally from "who did your living room?". Keep a record of past customers and the date of their last job, and write a few years later to say you are booking in. A platform job is a one-off where the platform keeps the relationship, and the customer often searches there again rather than finding you.

Landlords and property managers turn that into volume. Mention void-property and tenant changeover work in your profile, show short-notice availability, and offer fixed-price clean-and-repaint packages that landlords can budget for. One landlord with several properties who books you every year is worth more than the first platform fee.

Commercial decorating comes through other doors. Councils, housing associations and schools advertise painting contracts on procurement portals such as Contracts Finder. Commercial property managers, facilities managers and main contractors who need decorating subcontractors can be approached directly. Creating a business and being listed on Tradehand is free, there is no fee per lead, and Tradehand takes 5% of each payment taken through it, card fees included. Paid plans are optional: Paid plans from £19 a month, billed yearly.