Rated People or MyBuilder; Which is the Best Choice for my Business?

Which tradespeople comparison site should you use?

It’s never been easier to post a job online and find someone to do it. The days of people flicking through the yellow pages to search for tradesman are over. Instead, it has become common practice to use the internet to find reliable tradespeople. There are two main players in this particular game; are Rated People and MyBuilder. Both of these services make it very simple and convenient for people to post their jobs online, connect with skilled tradespeople, and ultimately hire them. Both sites have seen a lot of growth in the past few years.

However – for a business it would take a lot of effort to manage a presence on both platforms. It makes better sense to focus your efforts on just one. But which one is best? We took a look at both sites and put together a list of pros and cons to help you decide. We also recently took a look a selection of a few other tradespeople comparison sites.

Getting Started

Both sites make it pretty simple to sign up and get started. All you need to do is provide some basic information and an email address.

It’s completely free to register on MyBuilder. They give you a short quiz about the common problems someone in your trade could face to make sure that everyone on their site knows the basics. You’ll also need to provide details about your driving license or passport for identification purposes. Lastly, you need a recent photo on your profile page.

Rated People or MyBuilder; Which is the Best Choice for my Business? Workever

Rated People charges you £5 to set up an account on there. There is also a monthly fee of £15 per month to keep your profile active. While you can upload your credentials to show off your skills there isn’t a quiz, like with MyBuilder.

Rated People makes it much easier to sign and get started. Not having to fill in lengthy quizzes allows you to get straight into setting up an account and uploading details about your qualifications, credentials, and work portfolio. The charge might put some people off but remember that you get what you pay for. By investing in Rated People you can be sure you’ll see more business, which is more money for you in the long run.

WINNER: RATED PEOPLE

Let’s Talk Money

Both MyBuilder and Rated People make money by charging a small fee to find work. It’s free to search for work with both services but you need to pay to apply for the job. With MyBuilder a potential client will shortlist all the people they feel can do the best job. If you get shortlisted then there is a fee charged to your account. You pay the fee whether you end up getting the job or not. Fees of between £2 and £35 apply for jobs under £75 to over £3,000. For example, there might be a £12 charge if you’re shortlisted for a £500 job and you might not even land it.

Both sites have seen a lot of growth in the past few years. It’s never been easier to post a job online and find someone to do it.

Rated People base their fee on a number of different factors. This makes it difficult to work out how much you’re going to pay. Generally the cost of getting a “lead” – the contact details for the customer – is £15. However, according to the tradespeople we spoke with, you can end up paying much more than just £15. Consider £15 the average and think yourself lucky if you end up paying less.

While both sites charge you to get work, MyBuilder makes it easy for you to know what you’re paying. It makes it much easier to budget around these costs. So if you have £50 a month to find work on MyBuilder then it’s easy to set it up so that you aren’t shortlisted if you can’t afford it. If being on the platform leads to more success, then you can increase your pot so that you can bring in even more offers.

WINNER: MYBUILDER

Finding Work

Finding work is similar on both sites: customers post their jobs and you search through them and submit an offer. The customer will decide the budget and jobs, with jobs put into a category based on the budget. If you feel that the budget is wrong you can submit a counter offer, but the fees you receive depend on their budget. If a customer thinks the job will cost £500 but you think it’s going to cost more you’re charged the fees for a £500 job. It sounds complicated but in many cases clients undervalue their jobs in order to get a better deal.

With MyBuilder, a customer can go through the profiles of people who apply for the job. They look at your credentials and feedback and decide if they want to “shortlist” you or not. If you get shortlisted then you’re charged the fee and put in direct contact with the customer. You can discuss the project and arrange a site visit to see the job for yourself and make arrangements.

Rated People use a slightly different process. When customers post a job you purchase their contact information. They call it buying a “lead”. After you buy the lead you can call up the customer and arrange a site visit. The difference between the two platforms is how customers find builders. With MyBuilder the client has all the control. With Rated People you have the control.

It’s easier to find work and contact customers through Rated People. While you are paying to do so it helps to know that, when the right job comes along, you’re able to get the right details and have a chat with the client about the job.

WINNER: RATED PEOPLE

QUICK TIP!

If you’re bidding on a job it’s best to get in quick. Being the first person to call the client gives you a significant advantage. Potential customers don’t tend to wait around for all their choices to contact them and are more likely to spring for one of the earliest options. 

The Winner

So who came out on top? Both have their advantages, but in what we have seen, we feel that Rated People is the better choice. It’s much simpler and you can tell this as soon as you start working through them.

It’s more expensive than working through MyBuilder when you’re getting started, but the costs level out over time.

Another advantage of Rated People is that clients are able to find your profile and receive a quote directly. You can also add the quote form from Rated People to your business website. This way you are able to take on quotations and get all your work in one place.

It can be a real challenge to find work but Rated People make it easy and affordable to reach out to clients in your area that genuinely need your help. Just remember to budget properly so you can keep your profile active. Don’t forget to take pictures of your work and ask your clients to leave feedback. If you add to your profile like this you increase your chances of getting work.

Things to consider

Remember to factor into your budget that some customers will not be looking for someone to start work immediately. At worst, some may even just be window shopping. We’d suggest working on the basis that one in three or four will not be serious purchasers.

If you decide to move forward with either MyBuilder or Rated People, find out if you get refunded for “bad leads”. These are leads provided with wrong or missing customer information. Receiving multiple bad leads can be expensive and potentially a deciding factor when choosing which provider to move forward with.


Rated People or MyBuilder; Which is the Best Choice for my Business? Workever

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