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Comparison

Werkspot alternatives: finding jobs as a tradesperson

Werkspot is Dutch only. Where tradespeople in Belgium find work, and what each route costs per lead.

4 options side by side

  • Bobex
  • Solvari
  • Trustup
  • Your own channels
Werkspot alternatives: a new house built by SN Group, a construction company in Ghent that gets enquiries through its own site

By , COO

7 min read
On this page
  1. 01Werkspot in short
  2. 02Why tradespeople look for an alternative
  3. 03Werkspot alternatives in Belgium side by side
  4. 04What an enquiry costs: platform or own channel
  5. 05What each route asks of you
  6. 06After the enquiry: follow up fast
  7. 07When a platform remains the better choice

Most people looking for Werkspot alternatives work in Belgium, or have moved there: Werkspot is a Dutch platform with no Belgian version. A tradesperson who wants jobs through a platform in Belgium looks at Bobex, Solvari or Trustup. One who would rather get enquiries that go only to them builds their own channels: a Google Business Profile, a website with a quote form and, where it pays, Google Ads.

This page lines those routes up: how each platform works, what an enquiry costs, who owns the customer, and which route fits whom. We are none of these platforms. We do build the own channels, so on that point we are not neutral, and we say so. If you are an English-speaking contractor in Belgium or the Netherlands, the logic is the same in both countries.

Werkspot in short

Werkspot is a Dutch platform where homeowners post a job for free and tradespeople respond. It counts tens of thousands of tradespeople in more than 25 trades, mostly in Dutch cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Groningen. Werkspot checks identity, company details and certificates when a tradesperson signs up.

A tradesperson pays per lead: the contact details of a customer who shows interest. The price depends on trade, surface, quantity and material, is shown before you respond, and runs from 3 to 75 euros per lead. Werkspot invoices on the first of each month.

Turn that lead price into a job. If you win one lead in five, a job costs five times the lead price: at 25 euros a lead, that is 125 euros per job won, before you have written the quote. On a 400 euro job that is almost a third of the revenue; on a 15,000 euro renovation it disappears.

Why tradespeople look for an alternative

  • You work in BelgiumWerkspot only shows Dutch jobs.
  • You pay per lead, including for jobs you do not winOn any platform where several tradespeople respond to the same request, you pay for contact, not for work.
  • The customer comparesA platform request goes to several firms at once. Whoever wins on price wins there.
  • You build nothingA platform lead is a one-off. A review on your own Google Business Profile or a page on your own site still works next year.

A year of enquiries, two routes

Through a platform40 leads at 25 euros, wins 1 in 5

12,000 euros1,000 euros a month

  • + your customers
  • + reviews on the platform

Through an own site24 enquiries at 50 euros, wins 1 in 3

15,900 euros1,200 euros a month, plus the site

  • + your customers
  • + a site in your name
  • + reviews on your Google profile
  • + pages that keep working

Our own worked example, before VAT. The win rates are assumptions; measure your own. Part of the enquiries later arrive without a click price; that is not included here.

Werkspot alternatives in Belgium side by side

RouteHow an enquiry arrivesWhat you payWho owns the customer
BobexThe customer posts a project, Bobex calls back and passes it to firms in the regionOn requestShared with several firms
SolvariThe customer asks for free quotes, Solvari finds firms in the regionFree sign-up, price per enquiry on requestShared with several firms
TrustupThe customer posts a request, tradespeople respond in the appOn requestShared with several tradespeople
Your own channelsThe customer finds you in Google and contacts only youYour site once, hosting yearly, clicks if you advertiseYou

Bobex has been around for more than twenty years, Solvari has matched projects with specialists since 2009, and Trustup works through an app for tradespeople. With all three, ask the price before you sign up, and ask too: how many firms get the same request, do you pay per request or by subscription, and do you get anything back when the details are wrong? The platforms work mostly in Dutch and French; check whether you can work with them in English if you need to.

What an enquiry costs: platform or own channel

Our own worked example. A painter wants eight jobs a month and wins one in five enquiries.

Through a platformThrough an own site with Google Ads
Enquiries per month40 leads40 enquiries
Price per enquiry25 euros per lead, inside Werkspot's range of 3 to 75 euros2.50 euros a click at 5 percent conversion: 50 euros per enquiry
Per month1,000 euros2,000 euros in clicks
One-offnothinga website, from 1,500 euros
CompetitionSeveral tradespeople on the same leadNobody: the enquiry is yours
After a yearNothing built beyond your customersA site, reviews and pages that keep working

Per enquiry, an ad is not cheaper than a lead. The difference lies elsewhere. An enquiry through your own site does not go to four competitors at once. If you therefore win one in three instead of one in five, 24 enquiries are enough for the same eight jobs: 1,200 euros in clicks. And part of your enquiries arrive after a while with no click price at all, through your Google Business Profile and your own pages. Measure your own win rate before you choose. How to work back from enquiries to an ad budget is in Google Ads cost.

What each route asks of you

  • On a platformrespond fast: the first to call has a head start. Keep your profile, photos of your work and reviews up to date.
  • On your Google Business Profileset your service area, services, photos of your sites and opening hours, and ask for a review after every job. See get more Google reviews, make a review link with the Google review link generator, and check is a Google Business Profile free.
  • On your own sitemake one page per service and per region, show photos of real work and keep the form short enough to fill in on a phone in a minute. What such a site needs is on website for contractors.
  • With Google Adsstart small, on a few terms with clear intent. How that works for a business with a fixed region is in how does Google Ads work for local businesses.

After the enquiry: follow up fast

Whichever route you choose, the job goes to whoever answers fast and clearly. Call back the same day, plan a visit and send a quote with a clear price per item within a few days; a starting point is the quote template. Many tradespeople combine routes: a platform fills the diary while their own channels grow, and they buy fewer leads as their own enquiries increase.

When a platform remains the better choice

If you are just starting, without reviews or a site, a platform is the fastest route to your first customers. It also suits anyone who does not want to spend time on marketing: enquiries come in without you building anything. Work in a category where a platform is strong, such as energy or insulation at Solvari, and you find plenty of demand there. And when your diary has gaps, a platform fills a quiet month faster than a new page in Google.

Werkspot and its alternatives, briefly

Is an own website more expensive than buying leads?

Up front yes, per enquiry not always. An enquiry through your own site goes only to you, and part of them arrive without a click price through Google. Work it out with your own win rate.

How do I get customers as a tradesperson without a platform?

With a complete Google Business Profile and a review after every job, a site with a page per service and region, and possibly a small Google Ads campaign on terms with clear intent.

Can I combine a platform and my own channels?

Yes, and many tradespeople do: a platform fills the diary while the own channels grow. Track each month where your jobs come from and shift budget to what pays most.

Local SEO

How VBS helps you get your own enquiries

We build a site with a page per service and region and photos of your work, a quote form that works on a phone, a Google Business Profile that is right, and where it pays a small Google Ads campaign. Site and accounts stay in your name; a website starts at 1,500 euros, in several languages if your customers need it. For SN Group, a construction company in Ghent, we built a site whose cost calculator draws the most impressions in Google outside the brand name. More on local SEO and multilingual websites, or book a call and bring your current lead invoice.

Rather have enquiries that are only for you?

Tell us your trade, your region and what you pay for leads now. We will work out what your own enquiries would cost.

Optional, if you prefer a call.

What do you want to achieve, and what is already there?

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