How it works · for homeowners
One auction.
One winning builder.
No flood of cold calls.
Two minutes through the funnel. A sealed-bid auction among Verified Premium builders. One winner contacts you with a tailored quote and clear next steps.
01
The category problem in a sentence
Both sides of the existing market are broken. Compare Builders fixes both.
Checkatrade is a directory
Pay-to-list. Light-touch verification. Reviews are gameable. You still do the heavy lifting of vetting.
Bark is a lottery
The same enquiry sold to up to ten trades. Builders buy credits and race to call you first. You field a flood of cold calls and still don’t know who’s any good.
Compare Builders
A curated marketplace. One Verified Premium builder bids and wins exclusive access. Verification is the moat. Trust is the product.
02
Your journey
Seven screens, two minutes. Then we run the auction in the background and email you the matched builder.
- 01
Pick your project type
Extension, loft conversion, renovation, kitchen, bathroom, landscaping, new build, or something else. One tap.
- 02
A handful of specifics
Sub-type and approximate size. Slider, not a free text field — exact numbers aren't useful at this stage.
- 03
Postcode
Drives the match radius. We don't share your address with builders until the auction is paid.
- 04
Budget bracket
Pick a band. Builders quote the project, not the band — exact figures aren't useful at this stage.
- 05
Timeline
ASAP through to just exploring. The 'just exploring' route is honest — you get useful planning info, not a hot-lead push.
- 06
Readiness
Where the project is right now — ideas, drawings, structurals, planning. The biggest predictor of a smooth project.
- 07
Contact details
Last bit. We send a verification text to your mobile to keep junk out, then run the auction.
- 08
Holding page
Project summary, what happens next, optional add-ons. The winning builder is in touch within the hour.
03
What happens behind the scenes
The bit that's invisible to you, but does the heavy lifting on trust and quality.
Matching
We pick three to five Verified Premium builders by trade, postcode, capacity, and minimum job value. Each gets an auction invite by email.
Sealed-bid auction
Builders bid for exclusive access. Sealed — they can’t see each other’s bids. Highest valid bid wins. Lost bidders pay nothing.
Lead release
The winning builder pays for the lead, your contact details unlock for them only, and they’re in touch with a quote within the hour.
Not ready to submit yet?
Do your homework first — get a postcode-accurate budget with the Project Cost Tool, and browse the verified builders already accredited in your area. No sign-up needed.
04
Common questions
Direct answers — no marketing copy.
How is this different from Bark, Checkatrade or MyBuilder?
Bark sells the same lead to up to ten trades simultaneously — you get cold-called by half a dozen builders within a day. Checkatrade and MyBuilder are paid directories where the trust signal is light-touch and gameable. Compare Builders is a curated marketplace: one Verified Premium builder wins exclusive access to your project via a sealed-bid auction. You hear from one builder, with full project context, expecting your call.
Is it really free for homeowners?
Yes — and always. We make money from the winning builder paying for the lead, not from you submitting it. Charging consumers anything at the comparison stage cuts completion rates by half and undermines the trust we're trying to build.
Why do builders bid on my project?
Because they want it. Bidding is how a builder signals what your job is worth to them. The highest sealed bid wins exclusive access — losing bidders pay nothing. The bid is what the builder pays the platform, not what they charge you for the work; the project quote comes from the builder directly when they contact you.
Will I be cold-called by lots of builders?
No. By default, exactly one verified builder wins exclusive access to your contact details. The fallback path — "if no builder accepts the project, introduce me to up to three" — only kicks in when the auction fails to clear. You'll always know which path applies.
What does "Verified Premium" actually mean?
Eight independent checks: Companies House, public liability insurance verified directly with the insurer, trade-body memberships cross-referenced against published lists, VAT registration, photo-verified portfolio with site visits, two written customer references contacted by us, DBS check on the principal where work is in occupied homes, and annual re-verification. Every Verified Premium builder has a public verification page at /verify/CB-XXXXX that anyone can audit.
How long does the auction take?
Four hours from when invites are sent. You'll receive an email when the winning builder is matched and contact details have been released. We aim for builder contact within an hour of release.
What happens if the auction doesn't clear?
If no Verified Premium builder bids — usually because the project doesn't fit any builder's current capacity or scope — you'll be offered an introduction to up to three suitable builders from our wider network. We'll always tell you which path you're on.
What about my privacy?
Your contact details are never shared until a verified builder has paid for exclusive access. Until then, builders see enough to bid intelligently — trade, postcode area, budget bracket, timeline, readiness — and never enough to bypass the platform. We hold your data per UK GDPR; see the privacy policy for full detail.
Ready when you are