hipages charges you per lead. Airtasker takes a cut of your invoice. Trade Handy takes nothing from the tradesperson — the client pays a small protection fee. Here's the real picture, side by side.
| What it costs | Trade Handy | hipages | Airtasker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee on the tradie's job | ✓ 0% — nothing | Pay per lead, win or lose | 10–20% of the job |
| Who pays the platform | The client (1% protection) | The tradie | The worker |
| Paid per lead you don't win | Never | $30–$80 per accepted lead | N/A (bidding) |
| Monthly membership | Free to start — paid tiers from $29 | $200–$600 | Optional $9.99–$29.99 |
| Lock-in contract | None | 6–12 months | None |
| Same job sold to rivals | No — your work | Shared leads | Open bidding |
| Payment protection | ✓ Protected pay | No | Held by platform |
| Licence & insurance verified | ✓ Every member | Partial | Limited |
| Tradie paid exactly the quote | ✓ Always | ✗ | ✗ |
Same job, three platforms. This is what each takes before you've even been paid.
We take 1% from the client to protect the payment — the tradie is paid straight away, and the client can be refunded until the job's signed off. The bank charges more than we do. That's the whole fee — and the tradie never pays a cent on the job.
Join freeComparison based on publicly available pricing as of July 2026: Airtasker service fee 10–20% of worker earnings; hipages monthly subscription plus per-lead credits; hipages was found by the ACCC to have engaged in likely misleading conduct over subscription terms (2018–2022). Figures are indicative and vary by trade, location and plan — always check each platform's current terms.