Simple pricing. Every feature. No noise.
One flat membership for Colchester-area business owners. Pick a plan and start your 14-day free trial — every feature is included.
Simple, Transparent Pricing
Here's what membership will cost at launch. Join the waitlist to be first in line when founding-member spots open.
Why pay for this when LinkedIn is free?
Because "free" platforms cost you in time, attention, and bad-fit leads. Here's how Colchester.Network compares to everywhere else you might be looking for local work.
Scroll sideways to compare other options →
| Feature | Colchester.Network | Facebook Groups | Chamber of Commerce | Indeed / job boards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verified Colchester-area members only | |||||
| Ad-free, no algorithm | |||||
| Searchable member directory | Limited | Limited | |||
| Topic-based discussion spaces | Noisy | ||||
| Chronological, ad-free home feed | Algorithm | Algorithm | |||
| Free direct messaging to any member | InMail credits | Limited | Email only | ||
| Opportunity board (post & find work) | Informal | Hire-only | |||
| Local hiring without per-click fees | £ per click | £ per click | |||
| Business challenges (cohort-based) | Sometimes | ||||
| Long-form member articles (SEO-indexed) | |||||
| Curated weekly digest | Quarterly | ||||
| Member spotlight features | Sometimes | ||||
| Cost | £9.95/mo | Free / £40+ Premium | Free | £300+/yr | Free / £ per post |
What's included
- Full member directory access
- Unlimited discussion spaces
- Chronological community feed
- Unlimited opportunity board posts
- Jobs board & open-to-work
- Direct messaging with every member
- Weekly digest email
- Member spotlight eligibility
- Business challenges (cohort-based)
- Long-form member articles
- Mobile-friendly PWA (install to home screen)
- 14-day free trial — no charge until day 15
What you get
Member Directory
Find trusted local businesses in seconds
The member directory is the heart of Colchester.Network. Every member is a verified Colchester-area business owner — no anonymous accounts, no recruiters, no overseas agencies.
Search by sector, service, or keyword to find exactly who you need. Every profile shows what the business offers, what they're looking for, and how to get in touch.
Discussion Spaces
Ask the questions you can't ask on Facebook
Discussion spaces are topic-based forums where members share advice, compare notes, and help each other through the day-to-day realities of running a business.
Ask about accountants, share a supplier horror story, float a half-formed idea — it's a private room full of people who get it. No algorithm, no ads, no strangers.
Opportunity Board
Post what you need. Find what others need.
The opportunity board is where real business happens. Post a project you need help with, a piece of equipment you're looking for, or a service you can offer.
Every post goes to the whole network. Most opportunities get a response within 24 hours, and many turn into ongoing work.
Jobs Board
Hire from within the network — or get quietly tapped
The jobs board is a private hiring channel for the Colchester-area network. Post a role and reach every member directly, without paying per-click to a national job site.
Not actively looking? You can still be found. Members hire from members first, and most roles get filled before they ever touch a public board.
Direct Messaging
Skip LinkedIn. Just message them.
Spotted someone interesting in the directory? Message them directly. No connection requests, no InMail credits, no guessing whether they'll see it.
Every member has agreed to be reachable by other members, so conversations actually start — and actually lead somewhere.
Weekly Digest
Catch up in five minutes on Monday morning
Every Monday morning, you get a short email summarising the most useful things that happened in the network last week — the best discussions, new opportunities, and new members worth knowing.
It's the one email you'll actually want to read before your first coffee.
Member Spotlight
Get featured without having to self-promote
Every month, we feature members across the network — their story, their business, and what they're looking for.
It's warm, word-of-mouth visibility you can't buy on social media, and it's included with every plan.
Community Feed
One stream. Every space. In order.
The community feed is your home timeline across Colchester.Network. Every new post from every space you belong to shows up here, in plain chronological order — newest first, no exceptions.
No engagement ranking, no sponsored posts, no "you might also like". You see what's happening right now, skim what matters, and get on with your day. It's the feed LinkedIn and Facebook used to be, before they got optimised against you.
Business Challenges
Get unstuck by working alongside other members
Business challenges are time-boxed cohorts where members pick a shared goal — launch a newsletter, land five new clients, ship a new service — and work on it together for a few weeks.
You share progress, swap tactics, and finish what you started. No course, no coach, no fluff. Just other business owners who are doing the same work at the same time.
Member Articles
Write once, get read by the whole network — and by Google
Members can publish long-form articles to the community. Share what you're learning, document how you work, or write the thing you wish you'd read when you were starting out.
Articles are indexed publicly for SEO, so your writing works for you long after publish day. Great for building a reputation without burning hours on LinkedIn.
Mobile PWA
Install Colchester.Network to your home screen
Colchester.Network is a Progressive Web App. Open it in Safari or Chrome on your phone, tap "Add to Home Screen", and it behaves like a native app — full screen, offline-ready, instant launch.
No app store, no 50MB download, no waiting for updates. The web app is always the latest version.
14-Day Free Trial
Two weeks to decide, no charge until day 15
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. You get full access to every feature — the directory, discussion spaces, opportunity board, jobs, messaging, digest, spotlight, challenges, articles — from the minute you sign up.
We don't charge your card until day 15. Cancel any time before then and you pay nothing.