For a deeper look at Angi alone, see my guide to Angi leads, pricing and credits.
| Thumbtack | Angi (Angi Leads, formerly HomeAdvisor) | |
|---|---|---|
| Joining or membership fee | None, per Thumbtack help center | Pro FAQ describes a per-lead fee; ask your rep about any other fees |
| Who sets the lead price | You do | Angi, varies by job size |
| Published price list | No | No; FAQ says call for details |
| Pay only if customer responds | Yes, on Opportunities | No; you pay when matched |
| Bad-lead remedy | Refund to Thumbtack balance | Store credit, expires 6 months after issue |
| Time limit | Duplicates within 45 days qualify | Request within 30 days of the charge |
| Decline a lead that doesn't fit | Declined Smart Match leads refunded automatically | Wrong job type outside your profile: full credit; inside your profile: partial |
| Homeowner never responds | No charge on Opportunities | Not creditable |
| Volume guarantee | None published | FAQ: no guarantee |
| Public regulatory record | None found in my research | FTC 2023 order against HomeAdvisor, up to $7.2 million |
Sources: Thumbtack: paying for leads, Thumbtack refund policy for pros, Angi Leads pro FAQ, Angi Lead Credit Guidelines, FTC press release, January 2023.
More on this in is Thumbtack worth it.
The trade-offs are covered in is Angi worth it for contractors.
| Trade | Leaning | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Handyman, small repairs, assembly | Thumbtack | Small jobs, fast decisions, price control matters |
| Plumbing repair, drain | Test both | Urgent jobs reward speed on either |
| HVAC install, roofing replacement | Angi or neither | Long bid cycles make per-lead costs add up; owned rankings often win here |
| Garage door, locksmith | Neither first | Emergency buyers call from Google Maps, so the Maps listing matters more |
These are leanings from how each model works, not guarantees. Run 30 leads and measure.
Neither gives you the customer relationship. The homeowner found the platform, not you. When you stop paying, calls stop (my breakdown of what Angi leads really cost shows how fast that adds up). That is why I treat both as a bridge while you build channels you own. The options, including Google Local Services Ads, your Google Business Profile and SEO, are in alternatives to Thumbtack, Angi and HomeAdvisor. If Networx is on your shortlist too, see my Networx review.
Thumbtack. Per its page on how to request a refund, you send a request with as much detail as possible and up to six screenshots. Thumbtack emails a decision, usually within 24 to 48 hours, sometimes up to four days. You can track it under Profile, the gear icon, Payments, View your balance and charges.
Angi. Per Angi's Lead Credit Guidelines, you must request credit within 30 days of the charge. Credit comes back as store credit, not cash, and expires six months after it is issued. A homeowner who simply never answers is not creditable, so do not wait on those.
Either way, the habit that matters is the same: review last week's leads every Monday and file what qualifies before the window closes.
On Thumbtack, the help page on how to improve my profile stresses photos of your real work, a specific introduction, reviews (it suggests at least 10), the free background check and your license. On Angi, the lever you control is your job types and zip codes: under its credit rules, a lead for a job type outside your profile earns full credit while one inside it earns only partial credit, so keep the profile to work you actually want.
A lead platform is a bet you can measure. Here is the test I walk owners through before they add budget or quit.
| Column | What to write |
|---|---|
| Date and platform | When the lead arrived and where from |
| Job type and zip | So you can see which categories and areas pay |
| Price paid | The charge on your statement, not the list price |
| Minutes to first reply | Speed is the variable you control most |
| Reached the customer? | Yes, no, or bad number |
| Credit or refund requested | Date requested and outcome |
| Quoted, won, lost | And the job value if won |
| Gross profit | Job value minus materials and labor |
Thirty days is short for big-ticket work, so for installs and replacements keep logging until the quotes from those 30 days have been decided. Then keep, trim or cut.
Worked example with assumed numbers. Not platform prices, not a client result. Same business, same month, $1,500 budget.
| Line | Thumbtack (example) | Angi (example) | SEO (example) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed price per lead | $40 (you set it) | $60 (set by platform) | No per-lead fee |
| Leads for $1,500 | 37 | 25 | Depends on rankings |
| Assumed close rate | 18% | 15% | n/a |
| Jobs | about 6.7 | about 3.8 | Often few early, grows over months |
| Cost per job | about $224 | about $395 | Falls as rankings grow |
| Left when you stop paying | Nothing | Nothing | Rankings, reviews, pages |
Swap in your real numbers. Trade pages with specifics: roofing lead generation, HVAC lead generation, plumbing leads.
Neither publishes a price list. Thumbtack lets you set your own lead price and has no membership fee; Angi sets fees by job size. Compare using your own quotes.
Thumbtack refunds qualifying leads to your balance and auto-refunds declined Smart Match leads. Angi gives store credit that must be requested within 30 days and expires after six months.
Yes. HomeAdvisor's pro lead product is Angi Leads.
Testing both for 30 leads each is reasonable if you track close rate by source. Keep the one that clears break-even and cut the other.
On Angi you must request credit within 30 days of the charge. On Thumbtack, duplicate leads within 45 days qualify, and requests are usually answered in 24 to 48 hours.
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I specialize in home services SEO: taking websites that sit invisible on page three and turning them into the business Google and ChatGPT recommend first. I started on the developer side, writing software and doing SEO on the side, until I saw how much home-service owners were overpaying for work that quietly hurt them. So I built a method that fixes the broken technical work and the outdated thinking behind it.
From garage door companies to plumbers, roofers, locksmiths and cleaning services, the playbook is the same: rank where your customers actually search, earn real reviews, and back it with a fast site that books the job. No PBNs, no bought reviews, no directory spam. Only work that survives Google’s next five updates. See exactly how it’s priced on the pricing page.
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