What is the best app for odd jobs in the UK?

For general odd jobs with payment protection, a fixed-price task marketplace is the right shape, Airtasker has the most UK supply as of September 2026, having booked 81,000 UK tasks in the year to June 2026. For flat-pack assembly specifically, TaskRabbit has a dedicated IKEA channel. For anything involving gas, water or electrics, use a trade directory and check the registration yourself.

Is there a UK version of Airtasker?

Airtasker itself operates in the UK, having launched here in October 2023. UK alternatives with a similar fixed-price marketplace shape include Taskerama, and TaapCraft has announced a launch for late 2026. Beyond those, the UK field is mostly trade directories and lead-generation sites, which work differently: you arrange and pay the trade directly and no platform holds your money.

Which handyman apps charge the customer nothing?

As published in September 2026, MyBuilder, Checkatrade, Rated People and Bark are all free to the homeowner because the tradesperson pays for the introduction, and Taskerama charges the poster nothing. Airtasker charges a connection fee of £4.95 to £39.95 at assignment unless you hold its £49.90 yearly membership, and TaskRabbit adds fees to the customer bill. Free to you does not mean protected, only the marketplaces hold your money until the job is done.

How do I know a handyman on an app is any good?

Look at completion history rather than star average, since almost every profile has a high star average. Read the three-star reviews. Check whether any badge on the profile is a check the platform ran or a document the person uploaded, and for anything regulated, look the registration up yourself on the relevant register. Then ask for a written scope and price before anyone starts.

Best handyman apps in the UK (2026): 9 options, honestly ranked

There is no best handyman app, only a best one for your job, your postcode and your tolerance for admin. This page ranks nine of them against stated criteria, and every entry has a "not for you if" line, including ours.

How we ranked them

Four criteria, weighted in this order for a typical household odd job:

Will it actually find you someone, in your area, this week.
Is the total price visible before you commit, with nothing added later.
Is your money protected if the job goes wrong.
Can you tell the good from the bad before you choose, reviews, checks, completion history.

Cost to the customer is deliberately not a criterion on its own. A free platform that leaves you unprotected is not cheaper, it is just cheaper up front.

1. Airtasker, the biggest UK network for odd jobs

Post a job with a budget, receive fixed-price offers, pick one. It booked 81,000 UK tasks in the year to June 2026, up 35.6%, having launched here in October 2023 in London and expanded to Birmingham and Manchester.

Costs, as published September 2026: the poster pays a connection fee at assignment, £4.95 under £30 rising in bands to £39.95 at £180 and over, waived by a £49.90 yearly membership. The tasker pays 12.5% to 20% plus VAT, tiered by their earnings over the previous 30 days. Money is held in escrow until you confirm completion. Full breakdown: Airtasker fees explained.

Best for: anything unusual, anywhere it has supply, quickly. Offers usually arrive fast and you can compare ratings, completion rates and prior work side by side. Not for you if: you want the total on screen when you post, the connection fee appears at assignment. You also cannot message a tasker privately until you have hired them, so scoping happens in public comments.

2. Taskerama

Fixed-price offers, money held until you confirm the job is done, refunds to the card rather than platform credits, and a single commission taken from one side only. What we charge is on our fees page, which is the only place it will be right.

Best for: people who want the Airtasker shape without a fee on the customer side of the job. Not for you if: you are outside our coverage. We are London-first and the smallest network on this page by a wide margin, that is a real reason to use something else today.

3. TaskRabbit, best for flat-pack

Hourly booking rather than bidding: you choose a person and a time. Owned by IKEA since 2017, with a dedicated assembly channel at fixed task-based prices.

Costs, as published September 2026: the customer pays a Service Fee and a Trust and Support Fee, both charged per hour worked as a percentage of the rate. TaskRabbit does not publish the percentages; its own blog puts the Trust and Support Fee at 5% to 15%, and third-party 2026 reviews report an all-in customer mark-up of roughly 20% to 25%. Taskers pay a one-off registration fee, published as US$25 on the US page with no UK figure given, and no commission. Your card is charged after the task; there is no escrow.

Best for: IKEA assembly, and any job where you would rather book than run an auction. Not for you if: the job might overrun, you pay the meter, or the job is under an hour, since there is a one-hour minimum.

4. MyBuilder, best for real trade work

Not an odd-jobs app. You post a job, tradespeople express interest, you shortlist. Free to the homeowner; the trade pays when shortlisted, reported from about £7 and typically £5 to £35, more on large jobs. No money is held.

Best for: building, plumbing, electrics, roofing, jobs where you want vetted trades and quotes in person. Not for you if: you want a shelf put up on Saturday, or you want payment protection.

5. Checkatrade, best for finding an established local trade

A directory rather than a marketplace: members pay monthly, you browse and call. Members are vetted, including ID and an insurance check, and must hold their own public liability cover. Published membership starts at £30 a month plus VAT for the entry tier, with a lead-carrying tier from £59 a month; the real price depends on trade and postcode, and members report a wide range.

Best for: larger jobs where you want an established business with a paper trail. Not for you if: the job is small, most members will not turn out for it, or you want your payment held.

6. Rated People

Post a job, get matched with up to a handful of trades. Trades pay roughly £35 plus VAT a month billed annually plus roughly £15 plus VAT per lead, on a twelve-month auto-renewing term.

Best for: mid-sized trade jobs, as a second source of quotes alongside MyBuilder or Checkatrade. Not for you if: you want a fixed price agreed before anyone attends, or you would rather not be called by several trades who have each paid for your details.

7. Bark, widest category coverage, most persistent follow-up

Describe what you need, and professionals pay to unlock your details, reported at £7 to £40 plus VAT per lead, whether or not they win. Free to you, and it covers far more than trades: tutoring, photography, accountancy, events.

Best for: specialist services no marketplace has a category for, and areas the marketplaces do not reach. Not for you if: you dislike being called. Several people have each paid for your number, so they will follow up. There is no payment protection.

8. Fantastic Services and Handy, managed, not marketplaces

You book a fixed price with a company and the company sends someone. Neither publishes full pricing in the sources we checked; both run subscription plans for recurring cleaning.

Best for: recurring cleaning, and anyone who wants one company accountable rather than one individual. Not for you if: you want to choose the person, see their reviews, or negotiate.

9. Nextdoor, Facebook groups and Gumtree

Free, immediate, completely unprotected. No ID checks, no money held, no recourse, no insurance. Nextdoor at least verifies addresses. Plenty of people find a good local handyman this way; a few get badly burned and have nowhere to go.

Best for: small jobs where you already have a recommendation from someone you know. Not for you if: the job involves your home being empty, water, gas, electrics, or more money than you would hand to a stranger in cash.

One to watch, not to use yet

TaapCraft advertises a UK marketplace with a trader commission of 5% to 12.5% including VAT and no consumer fees, plus escrow, with insurance and verified profiles marked as coming soon. As of September 2026 it is a waitlist describing itself as launching late 2026.

Choosing in thirty seconds

Odd job, want it protected, want a fixed price: a task marketplace, Airtasker or Taskerama.
Flat-pack furniture: TaskRabbit.
Anything involving gas, water or the consumer unit: MyBuilder or Checkatrade, three quotes, and check the registration yourself. Read how to check a tradesperson first.
Specialist service with no obvious category: Bark.
Recurring cleaning: a managed service.
You already have a recommendation: just call them.

What none of them do well

Worth saying plainly. Every platform on this list, ours included, is weaker than it sounds on three things.

Vetting is point-in-time. A badge means someone passed a check on a date. It does not mean they are insured today, or competent at your specific job. Sight the certificate yourself.

Reviews skew positive. People review when delighted or furious, and the vast middle stays quiet. Read the three-star reviews, not the one-star ones.

Coverage claims are national, experience is local. Every platform on this page will accept your postcode. Whether anyone actually turns up is a different question, and the honest test is to post the job and see what comes back before you commit to anything.

Airtasker figures verified from its published UK help centre and pricing pages on 5 September 2026. TaskRabbit does not publish its fee percentages; figures are from its own help pages and 2026 third-party reviews. MyBuilder, Checkatrade, Rated People and Bark prices are from 2026 third-party trackers with stated verification dates, gathered September 2026, and vary by trade and postcode. Fees in this category change frequently, check each company's current page before relying on any figure here.