AllSorted vs Checkatrade: Which Is Better for UK Homeowners?

AllSorted vs Checkatrade at a glance

How Checkatrade works in 2026

Checkatrade is a paid directory. Tradespeople apply, are vetted (ID, insurance, qualifications, public liability) and pay an annual membership of around £900–£1,400+ in 2026 depending on the package. As a homeowner you search the directory by postcode and trade, browse profiles and reviews, then either call the tradesperson or submit a quote request. The platform doesn't generally negotiate the price — that's between you and the trade.

Checkatrade's strengths: long-established profiles with hundreds of reviews, a strong public brand, a guarantee scheme on jobs up to £1,000. Its weaknesses: tradespeople often only respond to a fraction of quote requests because they're paying a high fixed fee regardless, and the homeowner does most of the chasing.

How AllSorted works

AllSorted is a real-time bidding marketplace. You post the job — describe what you need, add photos, set your timeframe — and verified tradespeople in your area bid live with their price. You see bids appear in real time (usually within 5–30 minutes for common jobs), compare quotes, profiles, ratings and reviews on one screen, and book the pro you want.

Pros pay no annual membership fee — they win work by being competitive, fast and well-rated. Because there's no fixed cost burden, the bids you see are typically closer to the genuine market price for the job rather than inflated to recover an annual fee.

How both verify tradespeople

Both AllSorted and Checkatrade verify the same core credentials: photo ID, business address, public liability insurance and trade-specific qualifications (Gas Safe, NICEIC, OFTEC etc.). Both also re-verify on a rolling basis to catch expired insurance or qualifications.

Where they differ: Checkatrade's vetting is mostly done at signup. AllSorted re-runs a credential check on every bid the tradesperson places — so if something has lapsed, the bid is flagged before you even see it.

Reviews — can you trust them?

Both platforms only allow reviews from verified completed jobs (no buying reviews, no anonymous reviews). Checkatrade has a much larger historical review base because it's been operating longer. AllSorted requires photos with most reviews, which makes them harder to fake but means there are fewer of them per pro right now.

If you're hiring for a high-value job (£3,000+), pulling up the same tradesperson on both platforms is a sensible cross-check. Genuine pros with good track records show up consistently across both.

Does the model affect what you actually pay?

Yes — measurably. Tradespeople paying £1,200/year in directory membership build that cost into their hourly rates. Tradespeople paying nothing in fixed fees can quote tighter on individual jobs because they don't need to recover an overhead.

Internal AllSorted data from 2025 showed that across like-for-like jobs (boiler swaps, full bathrooms, electrical rewires), homeowners receiving 4+ live bids paid 18–27% less than the average single quote homeowners reported when going via directories. The bigger the job, the bigger the saving.

Speed: how fast do you get quotes?

Checkatrade requires the homeowner to either call profiles individually or submit a quote request that pros opt-in to respond to. Realistic time to a usable quote: 1–3 days, sometimes longer.

AllSorted's bidding model is built for speed. The job is broadcast to nearby verified pros in the relevant trade, who can bid in 30 seconds from their phone. Most popular jobs receive their first bid within 10 minutes, with multiple bids in under an hour.

Which one should you use?

• Choose AllSorted if you want fast quotes, multiple competing prices, and don't want to chase tradespeople. Especially good for time-sensitive jobs (boiler down, leaking pipe, urgent electrical work).
• Choose Checkatrade if you specifically want to browse long-standing profiles with hundreds of historical reviews, or if you've got a relationship with a particular Checkatrade member already.
• Use both for very large jobs (£5,000+) — post on AllSorted to get competitive bids, then cross-reference your shortlisted pros' Checkatrade profiles for review depth.

What it means for tradespeople

If you're a tradesperson reading this — Checkatrade's annual fee makes sense for established pros with strong existing review counts who get most of their work from passive search. AllSorted suits pros who can respond quickly to live jobs, want to set their own prices per job, and don't want a £1,200/year fixed cost to recover before they make a penny. Many UK tradespeople use both: Checkatrade for inbound passive leads, AllSorted for active live work.