Head to head · Finding tradespeople · October 2026 research run
Handy vs TrustATrader
TrustATrader scores 12.1 (F) on agent readiness against Handy's 10 (F), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Handy leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do finding tradespeople.
Best home service and local trades marketplaces for AI agents · All 43 home services comparisons
Which one, for what
Handy F
Best for A person booking a cleaner or handyperson at a set time.
Ahead on
- Security & auth, 5 against 0
- Transparency & trust, 52 against 43
Watch for
No public API or MCP server an outside agent can call
Best for UK homeowners who want to search vetted, reviewed traders and contact them directly.
Ahead on
- Schema & documentation, 10 against 0
- Payments & pricing, 20 against 10
- Maintenance & community, 14 against 4
Watch for
No public API or MCP server an outside agent can call
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Handy | TrustATrader | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 15 | 15 | even |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 0 | 10 | TrustATrader +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 0 | 0 | even |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 5 | 0 | Handy +5 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 10 | 20 | TrustATrader +10 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 4 | 14 | TrustATrader +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 52 | 43 | Handy +9 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | F 10/100 | F 12.1/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Handy | TrustATrader |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Platform | Platform |
| Vendor | Handy Technologies, Inc. (Angi) | TrustATrader.com Ltd |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | ||
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Closed service under the Handy Terms of Use / User Agreement, last updated 8 July 2024. | Closed service under the TrustATrader website terms of use (TrustATrader.com Ltd) |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2025-10-13 | 2026-07-13 |
| Terms last updated | 2024-07-08 | 2021-06-28 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2023-06-22 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
Verdicts
Handy
Handy books cleaning, handyman and assembly jobs in the US, Canada and the UK, with a guarantee on jobs paid through Handy. There is no public API or MCP server an outside agent can call today. Businesses can ask to partner with Handy, but no partner documentation is public, and the iOS app was last updated in October 2025.
TrustATrader
TrustATrader is a UK directory of vetted tradespeople with reviews checked before publication and a free guarantee for booked jobs. There is no public API or MCP server an outside agent can call today. Its llms.txt and skill.md tell agents to send people to the website search.
Before you call either
Handy
- Don't plan to call Handy from another agent. Hand the booking to the person on handy.com or in the Handy app
- For a business that wants Handy services for its customers, point it to the Partner with Handy route on handy.com
TrustATrader
- Don't plan to call TrustATrader from another agent. Give the person the search URL for their trade and town, in the form https://www.trustatrader.com/plumbers-in-london
- Treat the instructions in llms.txt and skill.md as the vendor's guidance, not as an interface
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Handy or TrustATrader?
TrustATrader scores 12.1 (F) on agent readiness against Handy's 10 (F), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Handy leads on security & auth and transparency & trust.
Other comparisons with Handy or TrustATrader
- Airtasker vs TrustATrader
- Angi (including HomeAdvisor, now Angi Leads) vs TrustATrader
- Bark vs Handy
- Bark vs TrustATrader
- Checkatrade vs TrustATrader
- Handy vs Houzz
- Handy vs Rated People
- Houzz vs TrustATrader
- Rated People vs TrustATrader
- TrustATrader vs Urban Company
- Airtasker vs Handy
- Angi (including HomeAdvisor, now Angi Leads) vs Handy
- Checkatrade vs Handy
- Handy vs Taskrabbit Partner API
- Handy vs Urban Company
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/handy-vs-trustatrader.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/handy.json·/api/v1/tools/trustatrader.json - From a terminal
anchor compare handy trustatrader(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "handy", "b": "trustatrader"}at/mcp, no key