Honest software comparison
Keystone Site vs Checkatrade: which is right for a UK trade business?
Checkatrade and Keystone Site solve different problems: one sells you enquiries, the other helps you win and keep the enquiries you already get.
Last updated 31 August 2026 · By the Keystone Site team
Side by side
| Keystone Site | Checkatrade | |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A system that converts and retains your own enquiries | Access to directory enquiries |
| Lead ownership | Your customers, your data, your record | Enquiries often shared with other members |
| Cost model | Fixed monthly subscription | Membership plus lead-related costs |
| Reviews | Review-ready jobs surfaced for follow-up to your Google profile | Reviews held on the directory |
| Long-term effect | Compounding reputation and repeat work | Flow stops when you stop paying |
Competitor details are summarised from publicly available product positioning. Confirm current plans and features with each provider.
Best for
- Trades who get enquiries but do not follow quotes up consistently
- Owners who want reviews on their own Google Business Profile
- Businesses trying to reduce dependence on paid lead sources
Not the right fit if
- Brand-new businesses with no enquiry flow and no existing customer base
- You need a full accounting ledger — Keystone Site handles job commercials, not bookkeeping
- You run large commercial contracts needing programme-level planning and cost codes
- You want a lead marketplace that sells you shared enquiries
The facts
- 14-day free trial, no card required, on your own live job
- UK product, UK support, built for owner-led construction businesses
- Published pricing: £129/month Sole Trader, £249/month for 1–10 employees, £399/month Growth for 11–25 employees
- Customers, quotations, proposals, live work, variations, site evidence and closeout stay connected around the job
- Morning Briefing and Keystone Priorities surface commercial, customer, progress and closeout actions
- Project Safety Pack included as a core feature on every plan; additional users are £5 + VAT each per month
How Keystone Site and Checkatrade differ in practice
Checkatrade sits in the lead directory space. Keystone Site sits around the construction job itself: one connected record for the customer, quotation, proposal, live work, site evidence, customer communication, commercial changes and closeout. The comparison above is written from verified product capability, and it deliberately avoids quoting competitor pricing because plans change.
- Evidence is captured once on site and reused by the office
- Variations are priced, sent and tracked instead of being remembered
- Completion evidence supports the report, sign-off and deliberate review follow-up
How to test the difference on a real job
Pick one live job. Put every photo, note, message and change through the system for two weeks. Then ask three questions: could you answer a customer dispute from the record, did any extra work go unpriced, and was the job ready for a review request the day it finished? That test is more useful than a feature list.
What Keystone Site costs
Pricing is published rather than quoted on request: £129 per month for a Sole Trader, £249 per month for businesses with 1–10 employees, and £399 per month for Growth businesses with 11–25 employees. The Project Safety Pack is included on every plan. Additional users are £5 + VAT each per month. There is a 14-day free trial and no card is required to start.
- 14-day free trial, no card required, on your own live job
- UK product, UK support, built for owner-led construction businesses
- Published pricing: £129/month Sole Trader, £249/month for 1–10 employees, £399/month Growth for 11–25 employees
- Customers, quotations, proposals, live work, variations, site evidence and closeout stay connected around the job
- Morning Briefing and Keystone Priorities surface commercial, customer, progress and closeout actions
- Project Safety Pack included as a core feature on every plan; additional users are £5 + VAT each per month
Questions people ask
Is Keystone Site a direct replacement for Checkatrade?
Not in every case. If you already receive enquiries but lose them to slow quoting or weak follow-up, Keystone Site is the higher-return choice; if you have no enquiry flow at all, a directory buys you time while you build your own. Compare the two on one live job before switching anything.
Does this page quote competitor pricing?
No. Plans and features change, so confirm commercial details with each provider directly.
How long does it take to get started?
You can begin with one existing live job rather than migrating years of history. Exact setup time depends on the business; the trial lasts 14 days and does not require a card.
Can I use Keystone Site alongside Checkatrade?
Yes, and that is the common pattern. Directory enquiries still need quoting, chasing and closing out, so they run through the same job record as every other enquiry.