How it works · Home and Property Owners
How Compare Builders works.
Three steps. Start your project in two minutes. We match you with verified tradespeople. You choose who quotes. Never a flood of cold calls.
Tell us about your job
Start your project in two minutes. Ten short screens: your details, project type, budget bracket, timeline, location. We verify your mobile, so no junk gets through.
We match verified tradespeople
We invite the best matched verified local tradespeople to your project, and the interested ones put themselves forward. We rank them on their Trust Portfolio: our checks, proof of their work, their reviews and their record with us. Free for homeowners.
You choose who quotes
Pick up to three tradespeople to quote, compare them side by side, and appoint the one you want. Only your appointed tradesperson ever sees your contact details, publicly verifiable by their CB-XXXXX number.
Your journey
Ten funnel screens plus the supporting flows around them.
Your details
Name, email and mobile first. Your progress saves, and only the tradesperson you appoint ever sees them.
Project type
Sixteen trades, from extensions, lofts and renovations to plumbing, roofing, flooring and driveways. One tap.
Project specifics
Sub-type and approximate size. Slider, not a free-text field: exact numbers aren’t useful at this stage.
Project status
Where the project is right now: ideas, drawings, structurals, planning. The biggest predictor of a smooth project.
Budget bracket
Pick a band. Tradespeople quote the project, not the band, and exact figures aren’t useful at this stage.
Proof of funds (optional)
Connect your bank (from the £20k band up) or attach a recent bank statement, and say how you plan to fund the job. Tradespeople never see the figure or your documents.
Timeline
ASAP through to just exploring. The ‘just exploring’ route is honest: useful planning info, not a hot-lead push.
Location
Your postcode drives the match radius. On jobs we estimate at up to £150k, only the tradesperson you appoint gets your address. On bigger jobs, the tradespeople you pick to quote also get it, for a site visit our team arranges.
Invite tradespeople (optional)
Pick up to five verified tradespeople near you to invite alongside the ones we match. No names are shown at this stage, and we send your invites when your job goes live.
Photos and plans (optional)
Site photos, floor plans and architect drawings: anything that helps a tradesperson quote accurately. Skip if you’d rather not.
Review, verify and consent
Check your summary, then confirm your email and mobile with the codes we send. Both are needed before we can start matching.
Holding page (submitted)
Project summary and what happens next. Your matched tradespeople appear in your account for you to choose from.
What happens behind the scenes
What we do between your submission and your quotes.
Matching
Verified builders are invited by trade, postcode and fit. Those who put themselves forward are ranked on their Trust Portfolio, never on who pays most.
Shortlist
Interested builders put themselves forward. We show you the strongest matches with their trust record, and you pick up to three to quote.
Quotes and appointment
Your chosen tradespeople quote through the platform. You appoint the one you want. Contact details are exchanged then, and never before.
Not ready to start yet?
Estimate your project by type, size and region, with VAT, fees and contingency shown in full, and read our guides while you plan.
Got more questions?
Common questions about matching, the verification standard, privacy and what happens if no builder comes forward, all answered in the Support Centre.
Visit the support centre