Pay checker
Check trade pay before you move.
Plan a day rate from your own costs, compare salary offers and add up training quotes. Start with figures from your budget, an employer or a training provider.
Free planning tool
Work out a day rate
Enter your annual earnings target, business costs and the days you expect to charge for. The result shows the daily revenue needed to cover those figures, before tax.
Enter your figures to see the daily revenue your plan needs.
This is a budget calculation, not a local market rate or take-home pay estimate. It does not calculate tax, National Insurance, pension contributions or VAT.
Check what the job includes, its hours and who covers materials and other costs before agreeing a price. Keep your own copy; this tool does not save or email results.
Compare current job advertsGOV.UK: business expenses and taxSalary route
Compare employed salary
Compare two annual salaries before deductions, using your current pay and an advert or offer.
Retraining cost
Estimate route costs
Add the course, assessment, equipment and travel costs you expect to cover.
Live jobs
Compare against adverts
Check advertised pay, hours and requirements for jobs in your area.
Salary comparison
Compare employed salary
Compare your current annual pay with the salary in a job advert or offer. Use gross pay before deductions for both figures, with the same treatment of overtime and bonuses.
Enter two figures to see the difference before deductions.
Check contracted hours, paid leave, pension, travel and benefits as well as salary. This is not a take-home pay calculation or a prediction of what you could earn.
Find an advert to compareRetraining budget
Check the cost before you pay
Add written quotes and the other costs you expect to pay. Check what each quote includes so you do not count the same fee twice. Enter 0 only where a cost does not apply or someone else has confirmed they will cover it.
Complete every item to total the costs you expect to cover.
Ask the employer which route and qualifications they accept. Confirm training, assessment and funding arrangements before paying. Keep your own copy; these tools do not save or email results.
Historical advertised pay
Explore the June to August 2026 Trade Pay Index.
A frozen advert sample with published methods and limits. Some unreliable figures are withheld, and the original advert-level snapshot is unavailable. Use current adverts when weighing up an offer.
Before paying for training
Check whether local employers recognise the course and whether you also need site experience, cards, a driving licence or an apprenticeship route. A course can help, but it should fit the first job you are trying to win.