# Should tradesmen put prices on their website?

> Most trades avoid putting prices on their website because every job is different. Why a price range brings in better enquiries, and how to do it safely.

Source: https://roughfigure.com/blog/should-tradesmen-put-prices-on-their-website (updated 2026-05-01)

Should tradesmen put prices on their website? Ask most trades and you’ll hear the same answer: “no, every job is different.” It’s true. A crown reduction on a small birch in an open garden isn’t the same job as one on a big oak next to a conservatory.

But customers still want to know roughly what they’re getting into before they pick up the phone. When your website doesn’t tell them, a few things happen:

- some ring round several firms just to get a rough idea, and you spend time quoting for people who were never going to go ahead;
- some don’t ring at all, because they assume you’ll be too expensive;
- and some book a visit with a very different budget in mind.

## The case for showing prices on your website

**Customers want a rough idea first.** “How much will it cost?” is the first question almost everyone has. If your site answers it and your competitors’ don’t, you’ve given people a reason to contact you rather than them.

**Better enquiries.** People who’ve seen a price before they get in touch are much less likely to be shocked by your quote. You spend less time on [wasted site visits](https://roughfigure.com/blog/stop-wasting-time-on-quotes).

**It works when you don’t.** A lot of people look for a trade in the evening or at the weekend. A price on your website answers them at 10pm on a Sunday, when you’re not picking up the phone.

**Google and AI search like it.** Pages that give real answers, including rough prices, are more useful to searchers, and more likely to be picked up when someone asks a search engine or AI assistant what a job costs.

## The worries, and how to deal with them

**“Competitors will undercut me.”** They can already find out your prices by asking for a quote. A range doesn’t give away much, and you win on more than price anyway: reviews, speed and how you come across.

**“Every job is different.”** That’s why you show a range, not a fixed price, and ask the questions that change the price.

**“Customers will hold me to it.”** Label it clearly as an estimate, confirmed after you’ve seen the job. Customers understand the difference between a ballpark figure and a quote.

**“Some jobs I’d never price without seeing.”** Then don’t. For jobs near power lines or anything where safety depends on what you find, ask for a site visit instead.

## Show a range, not a price list

The answer isn’t a fixed price list. It’s a **ballpark range** based on the things that actually change the price: the size of the job, access, waste, height and how many. “$585 to $910 including tax” tells a customer what to expect without promising a number you haven’t seen. We explain how to set a sensible range in [how to give a ballpark price customers trust](https://roughfigure.com/blog/how-to-give-a-ballpark-price).

There are three common ways to do it:

1. **A few typical prices** on your services page: “Felling a small garden tree usually costs $520 to $1,050.”
2. **A price guide table** with typical jobs and ranges.
3. **An [instant estimator](https://roughfigure.com/blog/instant-quote-calculator-for-your-website)**, where customers answer a few questions and see a range for their job.

The estimator gives the most accurate ranges, because it adjusts for each answer, and it collects the customer’s details so you get the enquiry.

## Getting the ranges right

Start from what you’d normally quote for a typical job, then think about what makes it cheaper or dearer. Keep the range honest: wide enough to cover the usual surprises, narrow enough to be useful. Our free [pricing calculator](https://roughfigure.com/tools/pricing-calculator) can help you work out your numbers from your costs, and [how to price a job](https://roughfigure.com/blog/how-to-price-a-job) walks through the method.

If you charge tax, show it clearly: **including it** where homeowners expect that, or saying it’s added where it usually is. More on that in [should prices include tax?](https://roughfigure.com/blog/should-prices-include-vat)

## Questions

### Is a price on my website legally binding?

A price clearly labelled as an estimate or a guide, to be confirmed after you’ve seen the job, isn’t a firm quote. Make the wording clear on the page and in what you send customers.

### Will showing prices put customers off?

It puts off the people who were never going to afford the job, which saves you a visit. Most other customers find it reassuring: they get in touch knowing roughly what to expect.

### What if my prices change?

Update your ranges whenever your prices change. With an estimator you change the numbers once and every customer sees the new range straight away.