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Ace Services vs Checkatrade

Checkatrade charges tradespeople a monthly membership whether or not they win work. Ace Services charges 2%, capped at £10, only when hired, and keeps your contact details private until you accept a quote.

How Checkatrade works

Checkatrade is a directory of vetted tradespeople. Customers search it and contact a tradesperson directly, or post a job for members to respond to. Tradespeople pay a monthly membership to be listed, so their cost is the same whether a listing brings them work or not.

How Ace Services works

Ace Services is a UK home services marketplace. You post a job, or your tenant reports one through a property link, and up to three local tradespeople send a price. Nobody quoting sees your address or phone number. When you accept a quote, only that tradesperson receives your details.

What tradespeople pay

A Checkatrade member pays a monthly membership, typically £80 to £180 a month, with no separate fee per job. On Ace Services a tradesperson pays nothing to quote and 2% of the job, capped at £10, only when a customer accepts their quote.

This matters because a fee paid win or lose is a cost of doing business, and it is recovered from the customers who do hire. A fee paid only on the job that was won, and capped at £10, has nothing to recover.

FeatureAce ServicesCheckatrade
Your contact details stay private until you hireDecides whether your phone rings while you are still comparing. Yes No
What a tradesperson pays when they win your jobFees paid win-or-lose get built into the price you are quoted. £10 cap, only if hired Subscription either way
Cost for a tradesperson to submit a quoteWhere quoting costs money, smaller jobs are often skipped. £0 always Included in sub
Monthly subscription charged to tradespeopleSubscription costs are recovered from the customers they quote. None £80–£180/mo
AI-assisted job postingFewer questions to answer before accurate quotes arrive. Yes No

† Information based on publicly available pricing pages and platform documentation from each platform, as of April 2026. Bark states a maximum of 5 professionals per lead; real-world reports indicate this is sometimes exceeded. Subject to change.

Where Checkatrade may suit you better

  • You want to browse a large, long-established directory and choose a tradesperson yourself rather than have quotes come to you.
  • You would rather have more quotes to choose between than a lower fee behind each one. Checkatrade is long established and has far more members than Ace Services.
  • You want to read years of reviews for a specific tradesperson before you get in touch.

Common questions

Is Ace Services cheaper than Checkatrade?

Both are free for the customer to use. The difference is what sits behind the quote. A Checkatrade member pays a monthly membership whether or not they win your job, and that cost is recovered from the customers they do win. On Ace Services a tradesperson pays nothing to quote and 2% of the job, capped at £10, only when a customer accepts their quote. There is no membership and no fee to quote, so there is nothing to build into your price.

Does Checkatrade keep my phone number private?

No. On Checkatrade you contact tradespeople directly or your job details go to the members who respond. Ace Services keeps your phone number and email hidden until you accept a quote, and only the tradesperson you accept receives them.

Can I use Ace Services and Checkatrade at the same time?

Yes. Posting a job on Ace Services is free and nothing is agreed until you accept a quote, so there is no cost to comparing the two. Many customers use Ace Services for a quick price with photos attached and a directory for a specific tradesperson they already have in mind.

Which is better for a landlord, Ace Services or Checkatrade?

Ace Services gives each property a permanent link the tenant uses to report a repair with photos, and the landlord sees quotes before anything is agreed. Checkatrade is a directory the landlord searches themselves, so the landlord stays in the middle of every repair. Ace Services is free for landlords with no fee per property.

Other comparisons

Post a job free. See the price before anything happens.

Nothing is agreed until you accept a quote, and nobody gets your number until you do.

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