Free construction leads in the UK exist, but free only means you aren't paying for each enquiry. You still pay with your time. Here's the honest ranking, updated 18 October 2026. Public tenders and council planning registers cost nothing to read. Paid planning-data platforms save you the digging. Marketplaces charge you for every shot at a job. The fee-free routes, meaning your own clients, main contractor supply chains and referrals, are where the margin actually is.
I started on the tools. Then I ran a property maintenance company in London that worked for housing associations and letting agents through a network of subbies. So this isn't theory. Here's how I'd rate every source if I had to start the lead hunt again tomorrow.
What does a construction lead really cost you?
Forget what a lead costs. Ask what a won job costs.
Cost per won job = (money spent on leads + the hours you spend chasing them, priced at what your time is worth) divided by the jobs you actually win.
Illustrative example, made-up numbers, not real platform prices: you pay £15 a lead, buy 20 and win 2. That's £150 per won job before you count the evenings on the phone. Now take a council tender that eats a full day to write, where you win one in five. That's five days of work per job and zero pounds spent. Which one is cheaper depends on what your day is worth and how much margin is in the job.
Here's the part people hate hearing. The cheapest lead you'll ever get is from a client who already trusts you.
Free planning data: council planning registers
Every local planning authority across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publishes its planning applications. Most have an online register you can search, and plenty publish a weekly list of new and decided applications.
How to work it
- Pick two or three councils you can realistically cover with the van.
- Go through the weekly list of decided applications. Approved ones matter more than new submissions, because an approval means the build might actually go ahead.
- Filter for your kind of work: extensions, loft conversions, change of use, small new builds.
- Write down the agent or architect named on the application. That's your contact, not the homeowner.
- Send the agent a short letter or email. Who you are, what you do, the area you cover, and that you can price off their drawings.
Stay inside data protection and direct marketing rules. Writing to an architect's practice is not the same as scraping a homeowner's details and cold-calling them. If you're planning a proper campaign, get advice first.
Verdict: it's free, it's slow, and it works. Architects keep sending work to builders who price properly and turn up when they say they will.
Paid planning-data platforms
Barbour ABI and Glenigan are the names most UK contractors know. They take the same public planning data, add their own research, and package it up with project stages, value bands, contacts and alerts.
They sell subscriptions, and what you pay depends on the package, so get a current quote directly. I'm not printing figures here because they change, and I'd rather you saw the real number than an old one.
Who are they for? Firms going after bigger commercial and public sector projects, with someone in the office whose actual job is working the list. If you're a small firm doing extensions and refurbs in one area, the free council register gets you most of the way. Paying for data nobody has time to chase is just an expensive spreadsheet.
Public sector tenders
These are free to search and free to bid on. Use the right portal for where the work is:
- Find a Tender and Contracts Finder for England and UK-wide notices
- Public Contracts Scotland
- Sell2Wales
- eTendersNI for Northern Ireland
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, newer procurements run under the Procurement Act 2023, so read each notice properly for how that buyer wants you to respond. Don't just copy last year's bid.
The catch isn't the money. It's the paperwork. Buyers want insurance at set levels, health and safety accreditation, policies and case studies. Accreditation schemes charge fees, so check the scheme's own website for current pricing. Councils and housing associations also run frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems, and getting onto one of those can put you in front of repeat work instead of one-off bids.
Verdict: worth it once your paperwork is in order. Before that, you're writing essays you can't win.
Marketplaces: Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Rated People, Bark
These all use different models. Some charge a membership fee, some charge per lead, some charge when you get shortlisted, and some use credits. Check each one's current terms before you sign up, because they do change.
The problem isn't that they charge you. It's that you're often one of several firms getting the same enquiry, and the customer is comparing prices before they've even met you. It's not the price, it's the service. On a marketplace, though, the price usually gets judged first.
I'd use them to fill gaps in the diary, nothing more. Work out cost per won job on every platform each month. Drop the one that doesn't pay for itself. Simple.
The fee-free routes
This is where I'd put most of my effort. No per-lead fee, and the client comes back.
Your own clients, run through Plan@Job
To be straight about it: Plan@Job isn't a lead marketplace and it doesn't sell enquiries. It's AI-powered project and operations management for construction and property businesses. In Plan@Job, an Operator is the contractor business that manages clients, project delivery, subcontractors and in-house operatives. If that's you, you're the operator.
Where it helps with finding work is turning clients you already have into repeat jobs without paying anyone per enquiry. Main contractors get a customer portal with saved and requested job links, and access is based on membership. You still agree the service with them directly. Creating an account doesn't mean anyone gets hired automatically.
Then there are the AI staff. Sophie Bennett, the AI Enquiries Coordinator, checks incoming job briefs for missing information and asks the client to fill the gaps. If she can't get an answer in two tries, she hands it back to you. Daniel Reed, the AI Operations Manager, follows up on quotes and proposed dates, and sends you a morning brief. Neither of them prices a job, awards work or makes promises for you. First contact with a client normally needs your approval. That's how it should be, because the client relationship is yours.
Once you win the job, you can split it into stages with scope, dates, status and costs, whether the work is subcontracted or done in-house. The client sees the agreed scope and price. Your stage costs and the names of your subbies stay internal. That's your margin, and it stays protected.
Main contractor supply chains
Lots of main contractors have their own supply chain registration. Get on the lists in your area, keep your documents current, and price fast when something comes in.
If you're the subbie, operators who already run Plan@Job can share eligible jobs with their vetted network. In supported workflows you can price before vetting is finished. Checks and approval still happen at whatever stage that operator sets.
Referrals, letting agents and your Google profile
My London company worked for housing associations and letting agents. That kind of work keeps coming back, which a one-off lead never does. A free Google Business Profile with real photos of finished jobs does more than most people expect. And talking to other contractors helps. That's why I run Contractor Club, a community for people building contracting businesses.
Every source compared, as of 18 October 2026
| Source | What you pay | Competition | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council planning registers | Nothing, just your time | Low to medium | Extensions, refurbs, small new builds |
| Paid planning-data platforms | Subscription, ask for a quote | Medium | Larger commercial and public projects |
| Public tenders and frameworks | Free to bid, accreditation costs extra | High at first | Firms whose paperwork is ready |
| Marketplaces | Membership, per lead or credits | High | Filling gaps in the diary |
| Plan@Job client links and supply chains | No per-lead fee | Your own relationships | Repeat work and margin |
| Referrals and Google profile | Nothing | Low | Local domestic work |
Where I'd start
Go through one council's weekly list this week. Register with two main contractor supply chains. Keep one marketplace at most, and measure it. Then put your energy into making every client you win easy to work with again.
If you run the business side, with clients, subbies and operatives, look at how Plan@Job works for UK contractors. When you're ready, set up your operator account and get your existing clients sending work through it. Leads you pay for run out. Clients who come back keep the business going.
FAQ
Are there genuinely free construction leads in the UK?
Yes. Council planning registers and public tender portals cost nothing to search, and a Google Business Profile is free. What they cost you is time, so measure what each won job really costs, not just what you spend on leads.
Is a paid planning-data platform worth it for a small firm?
Usually not to start with. If you cover one area and do domestic work, the free council lists get you most of the way. Paid platforms make sense when you're chasing bigger projects and someone in the office can work the leads every day.
Does Plan@Job sell construction leads?
No. Plan@Job is project and operations management, not a lead marketplace, and there's no per-lead fee. It helps you run the clients you have and win repeat work, with AI staff checking job briefs and following up on quotes, and anything client-facing waits for your approval.