Clarifying the driving factors of trade-offs in ecosystem services (ESs) is crucial for promoting effective ecosystem management. However, it is unclear whether the trade-offs of ESs are spatially static in different climate zones and whether their driving mechanisms are consistent. In this study, taking the Sichuan-Yunnan-Loess Plateau Ecological Barrier Zone (SYPEBZ) as an example, the InVEST model and CASA model were used to evaluate ESs including water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), and net primary productivity (NPP). RMSE was used to quantify ESs trade-offs and geographic detectors were used to analyze the trade-offs of different climatic zones and their driving factors. In order to provide a reference for ecosystem management. The results are as follows:(1) Different ESs differed significantly in different climate zones. The WY decreased from northeast to southwest, and the NPP and SC decreased from north to south of the study area. (2) The highest value of the trade-off between WY and NPP was 0.317 in the temperate zone and the lowest value was 0.181 in the plateau climate zone. The RMSE of WY and SC in different climatic regions changed slightly, showing a decreasing trend from south to north. The trade-off between WY and SC was the highest (0.295) in the mid-subtropical climate zone, and the lowest in the southern temperate zone (0.229). The RMSE difference between NPP and SC was the smallest with only 0.064, and the trade-off degree of plateau climate zone was slightly lower than that of temperate and subtropical zones. (3) In different climatic zones, natural factors generally drive trade-offs more than social factors, But in densely populated areas human activities could partially break through the constraints of natural factors and increase their impact on trade-offs. Therefore, when formulating targeted measures for ESs management in different climate zones, the spatial characteristics of ESs trade-offs and the differences in driving factors should be considered.