Angi vs Thumbtack: should you pay for leads yet? (free lead cost calculator)

Published November 4, 2026 · Platform terms read November 4, 2026

• Free. The lead cost calculator comes as a Google Sheets copy or an Excel file; the links come by email.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors. We don't sell leads, and none of the companies on this page pays us. One section, the one before the FAQ, says how Deepsel connects to this page.
• Prices and terms come from each company's own pages and change often, so read the current version before you sign. Owner numbers come from Reddit; I left out accounts that sell leads, marketing or software.
• Not legal advice. One section touches state rules on advertising your license number.

Not yet, for most new contractors, and never on an annual contract. Angi, Thumbtack and Google's Local Services Ads all charge per lead, and you pay whether you win the job or not. A $40 lead you close one time in four costs $160 per job won. On a $250 repair at a 50% margin that's more than the job leaves you; on a $4,000 panel change it's small change. So start with your free Google profile, and once you have prices and a few reviews, test one pay-per-lead platform with a $500 cap on the jobs that leave you the most.

The lead cost calculator does that math for up to three platforms side by side and keeps a log of the test, lead by lead. Get it two ways: make your own copy in Google Sheets or download the Excel version (.xlsx). Pick one, enter your email and I'll send the link.

What ranks for "Angi vs Thumbtack" and "is Thumbtack worth it" is Facebook groups, Reddit threads, Quora and vendor or agency blogs. None of them quotes the platforms' own terms, so I read those: Angi's pro agreement (updated October 6, 2026) and its help center, Thumbtack's help center, Google's Local Services pages, and Yelp's and Nextdoor's pricing pages. Then I went through what owners say, which needs a filter on this topic. In our research one account posted the same Angi question in eight subreddits, and the threads fill up with people selling leads.

How Angi, Thumbtack, Google, Yelp and Nextdoor charge contractors

The short version, from each company's own pages. None of the three lead platforms publishes a price per lead.

Angi leads and HomeAdvisor: how Angi charges contractors

HomeAdvisor and Angi are one company now. The agreement you sign is with "HomeAdvisor Inc. d/b/a Angi Pro," and it gives three ways to pay: "as part of a subscription, per Lead, or as part of a bundle of Leads."¹

• Pay per lead. You set a monthly budget and Angi sends leads up to it, sometimes one past it: at $480 of a $500 budget, a $40 lead still comes. You're billed weekly.^{1, 2}
• Subscription. "An automatically renewing, fixed term commitment" where you prepay for leads at a discount. Angi "may increase the Subscription Fee up to ten percent" at each renewal, you stop the renewal by giving notice before the new term, and quitting early can cost an Early Termination Fee written into the contract you sign at onboarding.¹
• Opportunities. Requests outside your budget or area. If you show interest and the homeowner does too, you pay, on top of your budget and without any subscription discount.³

You pay for the contact, not the job: "You will pay for the leads you receive, even if you do not win the job."¹ That holds "whether or not you open or respond to them," each request goes to "no more than five pros," and on price Angi says only that "Lead fees change based on task, homeowner location, and demand for the work."⁴

Credits are narrow. Within 45 days, and only if you tried to call within 24 hours, you can ask for one when the phone number is dead, the job is outside your ZIP codes or services, it's a duplicate, or you were charged while paused. The credit pays for future leads and expires after six months. Nothing comes back when the homeowner doesn't answer, hired someone else or is shopping, or when "You provided a quote but did not win the job." And: "If you have an annual subscription, you can report leads, but credits are not offered for those leads."⁵

To leave, you phone Customer Care at (877) 947-3639 on a weekday and pay the termination fee if your contract has one, or pause leads for up to two weeks.^{6, 1} Owners also mention Angi Ads, a separate placement that one remodeler calls "a flat rate that you pay every month."⁷

Thumbtack cost per lead, refunds and leaving

Thumbtack shows your profile for free and charges when a customer who matches your job preferences contacts you.⁸ You set a price for each service, and "the price you set for a lead is the exact amount you'll pay." Thumbtack sets minimums, and a price sitting at the minimum "may increase automatically when the minimums change."⁹ The aim is "to make the cost match how valuable the job is."¹⁰

• Weekly budget. The last lead of the week can take you over, by up to 40% of the budget or $40 plus 2% of it, whichever is less. Leads stop until Monday.⁹
• Opportunities. Customers who've contacted other pros. Sending a quote is free; you pay only if they reply.¹¹
• Preset jobs. Booked jobs you claim, with "no upfront cost. Instead, a percentage of the job price is kept as a fee." They need, for example, three or more reviews.¹¹
• Credit packages. Offered at sign-up. They aren't refundable.^{12, 13}

Leads are shared, with a limit: "Customers can contact no more than five pros from search results per project within four hours of making their first contact. After four hours, customers can contact additional pros."¹⁴

Refunds beat Angi's, with conditions. A "Fair Shot" refund is automatic when the customer replies to no pro within 72 hours, if you answered through Thumbtack within four business hours and didn't hand out your own number first.¹⁵ Other cases (the job changed a lot, an invalid number, a duplicate) are judged one by one within 45 days, and the money goes to your Thumbtack balance unless you ask for it on your card within 10 business days.¹³ An electrician who paid for a promotion he says he clicked by mistake got the short version: "No refunds, only credit."¹⁶

There's no contract to leave. You can hide your business for up to 30 days, switch off a service, or deactivate, which "is a permanent decision" and deletes your reviews and balance.¹⁷

Google Local Services Ads cost and the Google Verified badge

"You're charged for each valid lead": a call you answer, a missed call in business hours where the caller stays on the line more than 20 seconds, a text, an email, a voicemail or a booking request. Calls back and forth with the same customer within 15 days aren't charged again. You set an average weekly budget with a monthly cap, and the price "may vary depending on your location, the job type, the type of lead, or your bidding mode."¹⁸ You can let Google bid for the most leads (it suggests a budget for at least 10 a week) or set a target cost per lead.¹⁹

The lead is closer to yours alone than on the other two. Google's line: "You only hear from customers who have specifically selected your profile out of all the rest."²⁰ The customer can still call others, and Google prices message leads partly on "Whether the customer has contacted other Local Services advertisers."¹⁸ Low-quality leads are credited automatically, usually within 30 days, but "Google no longer supports credits for 'job type not serviced' and 'geo not serviced' leads."²¹ Set your service area and job types tight before the first lead, because you can't claim them back afterwards.

Two changes most articles haven't caught up with. Google Guaranteed and Google Screened are gone: Google moved to "a single badge for all advertisers," Google Verified, and discontinued the money-back guarantee that came with the old Google Guarantee.²² And Local Services Ads are moving into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns "with pay-per-lead goals," starting in August 2026 with some US home-service advertisers (plumbing, HVAC, electrical and roofing among them) and reaching service-area businesses without a storefront in late 2026. You still pay per lead and the ads show in the same places, but manual "max per lead" bidding goes away, and you can pause at any time.²³

Yelp ads cost

A Yelp page is free and lets customers request quotes. Yelp Ads start at "$150/ month" and say "Cancel anytime"; there are "no term contracts with self-serve advertisers."^{24, 25} You pay per click at an auction price that moves, and Yelp says it "will never charge you more than the monthly budget you've set," and doesn't bill "clicks that come in rapid succession from the same user."^{26, 27} So Yelp has no lead price. Work yours out afterwards: the month's spend divided by the calls and messages it brought.

Nextdoor

A business page is free, and so are business posts, up to two a month. Local Deals "start as low as $1." General contractors and roofers can advertise only as a Neighborhood Sponsor, and that price shows only inside your account.^{28, 29}

Others will call you too: Networx, Porch, Bark, Modernize, Houzz Pro, roofing appointment setters. I didn't read their terms for this article. Ask each one four questions in writing: what one lead costs, how many other companies get it, what gets credited and within how many days, and what it costs to leave.

What owners say about Angi and Thumbtack

What owners say they pay

Since none of the three publishes a lead price, here's what owners on Reddit say they paid, each in their own words. None named a city, so read each line as one person's bill, not a market rate.

The one benchmark I found with a sample behind it comes from a firm that sells analytics to contractors: about $57 for a plumbing lead on Google's ads, across 760 businesses.⁴¹ Treat it as his number.

You pay for the race, not the job

Shared leads go to whoever calls first. A contractor who tried Angi: "My experience in the little time I used angi, was a very low conversion rate, around 10-20%. Where my referrals customers are above 75%." And: "I called a lead within minutes of receiving the notification, and the homeowner had already hired someone else for the job."⁴² Another: "They send me 3-5 leads at $170-$270 a lead. Out of the 5 leads, 3 or more, They won't answer or reply to my calls or emails."³⁰

It isn't always a crowd. A contractor on Thumbtack: "when I'm visible I'd say 50% of the customers who contact me only contact me and no one else," and "Biggest thing is response time."³⁵ Thumbtack's other version is the price shopper. A plumber "paid Thumbtack 230 or $250 for a water heater lead," gave his price, and heard "well I was hoping to pay about $500."³¹ Angi's own advice is speed: "Calling your leads within 15 minutes more than doubles your chances of connecting with the homeowner." That's Angi's figure, not a measured one.⁴³

Credits and contracts

Credits depend on who you ask. An electrician on Angi: "I'm always getting panel change leads that aren't for panel changes. They cost me $115 a piece. They refuse to credit me for these." A remodeler with wrong phone numbers: "I almost always get credited for these leads."³¹ Angi's rules do credit a service mismatch on pay-per-lead accounts, so ask in writing each time and keep the reference. A contractor on HomeAdvisor stopped when the refunds did: "Once they started denying the refunds on bad leads I cancelled. Got lucky with one job. $250k kitchen reno."³¹

The subscription is where people get stuck: "I wish I would've known before I got locked in I'm paying a crap load to only have shitty ass leads and a huge fee if I want to cancel." A contractor 28 years in, on Angi's paid placement for over 10 years: "I pay around $375/mo for 1st page searches," and "the past year or 2 they're 'leads' are terrible."³¹

Where it worked, and why

• A handyman in his first year: "In 2.5 months, spent $1000 on leads, that turned into $15k worth of invoiced work, with a few quotes still pending. You have to ensure your preferences are tight on the app."⁴⁴
• A pressure washer starting out: "I'm getting 3-6 jobs a week sitting doing nothing from thumbtack."⁴⁵
• A GC on Angi for about five years: "I do primarily kitchens and bathrooms and have closed 4 to 8 a month." He pays a flat monthly rate, "cheaper than the long term building of a website that gets me the leads."³¹
• The electrician above, despite the credits: "Lead cost me 25 bucks. The whole month cost me 350. Yes, Angi sucks. But it has been profitable for me." The $25 lead was a $10,000 lighting retrofit he was working to land.³¹
• A handyman who used Angi for his first two or three years: "Generally If I put in $500 at $100 a lead average I'd get 2 bunk leads 3 decent leads and 1 sale." It paid, and "allowed me to grow my business and find better and cheaper ways to acquire customers."³²
• On Google's ads, a handyman: "I think it was like $24 bucks a lead give or take. They were decent and probably the best for paid leads."³⁷

The common thread: jobs big enough to carry the lead, tight settings, fast replies and a budget someone watched. Plenty of owners never paid at all ("Started my business over 35 years ago. Have never advertised"), and one handyman's whole verdict was "Not Thumbtack or Angi. Not ever."⁴⁴ Free isn't guaranteed either. A plumber four years in: "BBB brings no leads. Yelp brings no leads. Google page brings no calls," and "I have spent more than most people make in a year in 2 years just on pay per leads."⁴⁶

Roofing: the appointment sellers

Roofers get a different pitch: prepaid "set appointments" from lead companies. One roofing company, 20 years in the trade and starting over in a new state, paid "$80–$120 per lead" and wrote up the first test. "We paid $6,000 for 42 residential leads and 5 commercial leads." Eighteen were no-shows and over 20 roofs were one to three years old. "We signed 2 roofs," for "About $28,500 in revenue" and "Roughly $3,000 gross profit." After a second company: "I've now been burned by two different lead gen companies and I'm into this for over $11,000."⁴⁰ Those weren't Angi or Thumbtack leads, but the arithmetic is the same.

The math: cost per won job against the gross profit

One division settles most of it. Cost per won job = lead price ÷ close rate. If the platform has a monthly fee, add it to the month's lead spend and divide by the jobs you won. Then hold that against the gross profit on the job: what's left of the price after materials and the labor on it. If you do the work yourself, count your hours at the wage you pay yourself, or every job looks profitable. (If markup and margin get mixed up, the contractor markup page sorts them out.)

Here it is for six jobs. The prices and lead costs come from owners and our trade pages; the margins and most close rates are made up, so put in your own.

Sources for the rows: the handyman price list (the middle half of owners' minimums runs $125 to $250), the HVAC pricing guide example, one analytics firm's plumbing benchmarks⁴¹, the $3,500 to $6,000 most electricians charge on the 200-amp upgrade checklist with the electrician's $115 Angi lead, and roofers' median repair minimum and $536-a-square reroof on roofing price per square, where roofers target 35 to 50% margins on reroofs and 50 to 70% on repairs. The reroof's 5% is the appointment test's real result: 2 roofs from 42 homes.

• Cheap jobs need close rates shared leads rarely reach. The repair rows only break even at 32% to 45%. Owners report 10 to 35% on Angi,^{42, 34} and the same analytics firm cites an industry estimate of 5 to 15% for shared lead sites.⁴¹ A plumbing service call (most owners charge $160 to $245, on the plumber pricing page) or an electrician's first hour (most charge $125 to $180, on the electrician rate page) sits in the same trap.
• Big jobs pay at close rates you'd call bad. The reroof breaks even at 1.9% and the panel change at 7.2%.
• The reroof row is the theory. The roofing company's real test cost about $128 a lead ($6,000 for 47) and brought $3,000 of gross profit against $6,000 of leads: $3,000 down before counting a month of its salespeople's time. The table can't see no-shows, roofs that were nearly new, or the time spent driving to them.
• A monthly fee works the same way. A $375 placement that brings two jobs costs $187.50 a job before anything else.
• Repeat work isn't in the table. A $250 repair customer might call again or refer a neighbor. Count that once it happens, not in advance.

When paying for leads makes sense, and when it doesn't

It can pay when:

• The gross profit on the job is many times the lead price: remodels, replacements, reroofs, panel changes, water heaters.
• You have slow weeks with nothing else to fill them, and your own time is already priced into the margin.
• You have a helper or a crew whose calendar has to be full, because an empty day costs their wages anyway.
• You can answer in minutes, from the job site.

It usually doesn't when:

• You have no reviews yet. Angi labels new advertisers "New to Angi" until their first review,⁴⁷ Thumbtack ranks you partly on "Your star rating and reviews,"⁹ and Google can require reviews by category before your ad runs.²⁰ You'd pay full price to lose to the profile with 200 of them.
• You have no prices ready. Whoever gets a number back first usually wins, so have prices for the five jobs you do most before the first lead comes in.
• The job is cheap, as the table shows.
• You can't take a call while you're working.

Free first: your Google profile and Nextdoor

• Google Business Profile. Free, and Local Services Ads require a verified one anyway, so set it up first.⁴⁸
• Nextdoor. A free business page and free posts, plus answering neighbors who ask for help: "I've done well on it. Not advertising through it - just answering people looking for help."^{44, 29}

Give the free route time. A roofer: "after about 6-7 months the number of organic/word of mouth appts started to increase."⁴⁹

The license and insurance checks: have your number ready

Google and Thumbtack check your license against the state's public lookup, under your exact business name. Angi checks the owner and has you attest to your licenses.

• Google. Screening "may include background, business registration, insurance, and license checks, and minimum review requirements." Google validates licenses "against the state or country databases," and you confirm your county and city licenses yourself. The certificate of insurance has to be valid for at least 14 days, show a policy number, and carry the name you advertise under (or come with a DBA document).⁵⁰ HVAC, plumbing and electrical are "urgent" categories with extra background checks on the people who go into homes, and the whole process takes "3–4 weeks" on average.⁴⁸ Accounts already verified don't redo the license and insurance checks when they move into Google Ads.²³
• Angi. "The pro's owner must pass a criminal background check," and you "attest to maintaining all applicable state and local licenses."⁴⁷ The agreement also lets Angi run "financial screening" for bankruptcies, liens and judgments, and ask for proof of license and insurance at any time.¹ New licenses you add are confirmed by its Admissions team.⁵¹
• Thumbtack. "All account owners must take and pass a criminal background check" when they sign up; it's free.⁵² License verification takes 1 to 2 business days, but only for licenses "searchable on the state licensing board's public databases," and a name that doesn't match takes longer.⁵³

For a new license that means three things before you apply anywhere: the license or registration number, your business name exactly as the state's lookup shows it, and a certificate of insurance in that same name. If the state's lookup doesn't show you yet, or the names differ, verification stalls while the lead money waits.

The number may also have to appear in the ad itself. In Massachusetts "Every contract, building permit and advertisement shall display" the registration number,⁵⁴ and Minnesota wants license numbers on "all other advertising including websites."⁵⁵ I'd treat a platform profile as advertising. Our license pages cover the rule in Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York City, Connecticut and New Jersey.

My answer: wait, then test one platform with a cap

Pay now only if you already have three things: prices for the jobs you do most, a few reviews, and jobs big enough that the lead is small next to the gross profit. An established shop with a crew to keep busy is often there already.

Wait if you have no reviews or no price list. Set up the free Google profile and Nextdoor page, ask your first customers for reviews, and keep the money. A handyman owner put it bluntly: "You Don't need to spend a dollar on marketing until you have some revenue first."⁵⁶

Test one with a cap once you have prices and reviews and the calendar has gaps you can't fill for free:

1. Pick one platform for the job you most want. My read by trade: urgent service work (plumbing, HVAC, electrical) on Google's Local Services Ads once you're verified; small jobs and handyman work on Thumbtack; remodels on Angi's pay per lead. Roofers: skip prepaid appointment packages.
2. Pay per lead only. No annual subscription, no prepaid package, no paid "trial."
3. Cap it at $500 or one month, whichever comes first, and set the cap as the platform's own budget, not just in your head.
4. Before the first lead, work out how many paid jobs the $500 has to bring: $500 ÷ the gross profit on one job, rounded up. At $175 of gross profit that's 3 jobs. At $1,600 it's 1.
5. Log every lead, answer in minutes, and ask for every credit or refund you qualify for in the same week.
6. Judge at the cap. If it brought that many paid jobs, run a second month with the same cap. If it brought none, stop. In between, read the log (did you reach them, quote them, lose on price?), fix one thing and run one more month. Keep a platform for good only while its cost per won job stays at or below half the gross profit per job.

Lead cost calculator (free spreadsheet)

Four tabs. Lead cost takes three platforms side by side (lead price, leads a month, close rate, average job, gross margin, monthly fee) and gives the cost per won job, profit after lead cost, the break-even close rate, a one-line verdict and how many paid jobs a test cap must bring. Test log takes one row per lead and works out your real close rate and cost per won job. Trade examples is the table above with live formulas, and Notes explains each formula and example number. Sourced examples are marked EXAMPLE, placeholders MADE-UP EXAMPLE.

1. Copy the Google Sheet or open the .xlsx and start on Lead cost.
2. Name your platforms and put in the lead price from the platform's app or quote, not from this page.
3. Put in your average job and an honest gross margin, with your own hours counted.
4. Start the close rate low, 10% for Angi or Thumbtack and 20% for Google's ads (under the benchmarks above), and replace it with your own once the log has 20 leads.
5. Set the test cap and note how many paid jobs it has to bring, then log every lead in Test log.

More for new contractors

• How to find work as a new contractor: where your first customers come from, with a free first customers plan.
• Google Business Profile for contractors: setup, verification and your first reviews, with a free checklist.
• How much to set aside for taxes: self-employment tax, quarterly payments and your state, with a free calculator.
• Hiring your first employee: W-2 or 1099, workers comp and what a helper really costs, with a free checklist.
• Contractor insurance: what you need from day one, what it costs and what can wait, with a free checklist.
• Change order template and hidden damage clause: rot behind the wall, charge more or eat it.
• Punch list template: stop a small list holding your final payment.
• Should you pull a permit for someone else? The asks you will get, and the answers.
• When a customer won't pay, the lien deadlines and a demand letter, by state: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Virginia.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel doesn't sell leads, run ads or connect to Angi or Thumbtack. What it does is hold the leads you get. Every plan, Free included, has a public request form at an address you choose in Settings: a customer fills it in, it lands in your Requests list with the source "Web form," and you get an email (the customer gets no automatic reply). Requests you enter yourself carry a source too: Phone, Web form, Email, Walk-in, Referral or Other. There's no Angi, Thumbtack or Google choice, so log a platform lead as Other with the platform's name in the title; searching the Requests list for that name then shows how many were converted and how many declined. Deepsel doesn't record what a lead cost or work out a close rate, which is what the spreadsheet is for. A request becomes a quote the customer approves online with an on-screen signature and, if you want, a card deposit. Customer messages (quotes, visit confirmations, "on my way") go by email on Free and Pro; sending them by text is part of Max. On Pro, every customer also gets a Google review request by email once the job is finished. You can import customers from a spreadsheet or from a Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, FieldEdge or Service Fusion export. The Free plan covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team; Pro is $29 a month for unlimited estimates and invoices. Details are on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Angi worth it for contractors?

For some contractors, on bigger jobs, and only on pay per lead. Angi charges for every lead you receive whether you win the job or not, matches each request with up to five pros, and doesn't credit leads who never answer or hire someone else. Contractors on Reddit report $33 to $270 a lead and close rates from 10 to 35%. That pays on a kitchen, a bath or a panel change and loses money on a $250 repair. Skip the annual subscription in your first year: it renews automatically, can rise up to 10% a term, may carry an early termination fee, and its leads get no credits.

Is Thumbtack worth it for contractors?

It can be, for small and mid-size jobs, if you set tight job preferences and answer fast. You set your own price per lead and a weekly budget, there's no membership, and Thumbtack refunds a lead automatically when the customer answers no pro within 72 hours, as long as you replied through Thumbtack within four business hours. Owners report $10 to $50 a lead. One new handyman spent $1,000 in two and a half months and invoiced $15,000; others call it a race to the bottom.

Angi vs Thumbtack: which is better for a new contractor?

Thumbtack is the easier test: no contract, your own lead price, automatic refunds when the customer goes silent, and you can hide your profile for up to 30 days. Angi's pay-per-lead option can work for remodels and other bigger jobs, but avoid its subscription. For urgent service work (plumbing, HVAC, electrical), Google Local Services Ads is often the better third choice once your license and insurance pass Google's checks, which take 3 to 4 weeks on average.

How much do Angi leads cost?

Angi doesn't publish a price. Its help center says lead prices vary with the task, the homeowner's location and demand. Contractors on Reddit report about $33 for a landscaping lead, $70 to $80 to start for handyman work, $115 for an electrical panel change, about $120 for a bathroom remodel and $170 to $270 in general contracting.

Does it cost to be on Thumbtack?

Joining and showing up in search results is free. You pay for each lead that contacts you and matches your job preferences, at the price you set for that service, and for an Opportunity only if the customer replies. Preset jobs cost nothing up front; Thumbtack keeps a percentage of the job instead. Credit packages are optional and not refundable.

How much do Google Local Services Ads cost?

You pay per valid lead (a call, message or booking request), inside a weekly budget with a monthly cap, and there's no monthly fee. Google doesn't publish prices; they vary with your location, the job type, the lead type and your bidding. Owners report about $24 a lead for handyman work and $73 to $89 for pressure washing, and one analytics firm puts a plumbing lead at about $57. Google Guaranteed and Google Screened have been replaced by one Google Verified badge.

Can you get out of an Angi contract?

You cancel by calling Angi Customer Care at (877) 947-3639. A subscription is a fixed-term commitment that renews automatically unless you give notice before the next term, and leaving early may cost an early termination fee set in the contract you sign at onboarding. Ask for the term, the renewal price and the fee in writing before you sign.

What do contractors on Reddit say about Thumbtack and Angi?

Mostly that leads are shared and the fastest caller wins, that you pay for customers who never answer, and that Angi contracts are hard to leave. The ones it worked for set tight job preferences, answered within minutes and sold bigger jobs: a remodeler closing 4 to 8 kitchens and baths a month on Angi, a handyman who turned $1,000 of Thumbtack leads into $15,000 of work.

Is there a lead cost calculator?

Yes. The free spreadsheet on this page takes the lead price, leads a month, close rate, average job price, gross margin and any monthly fee for up to three platforms side by side, and gives the cost per won job, profit after lead cost and the break-even close rate. A test log works out your real numbers lead by lead. It comes as an Excel file or a Google Sheets copy.

Sources

1. Angi, "Angi Pro Agreement" (last updated October 6, 2026), between the pro and "HomeAdvisor Inc. d/b/a Angi Pro" - "Will I have to pay for the lead if I do not win the job? A. Yes. You will pay for the leads you receive, even if you do not win the job."; "frequently a Lead is sent to several other Approved Pros, including to contractors that use Angi Services (our pre priced job platform)"; "Approved Pros will pay for Leads as part of a subscription, per Lead, or as part of a bundle of Leads."; Subscription: "an automatically renewing, fixed term commitment", "Angi may increase the Subscription Fee up to ten percent (10%) more than the price you paid during the previous term", "You may prevent the Agreement from automatically renewing by providing notice to Angi before the beginning of a new renewal term", "may be subject to an Early Termination Fee (“ETF”)"; Pay-per-lead: "You will have a monthly budget", which "may be exceeded in the normal course of events by a Lead or two"; "You may cancel your account by contacting Customer Care at (877) 947-3639, and, where applicable, paying the ETF."; licensing and insurance evidence "promptly upon request"; authorization for checks of "criminal record, as well as financial screening (including but not limited to searches for bankruptcies, liens and civil judgments)". angiads.pactsafe.io, read November 4, 2026.
2. Angi Help Center, "Billing: Frequently Asked Questions" (March 5, 2026) - subscriptions billed monthly; without a subscription "you are billed weekly"; "Lead pricing varies based on task, homeowner location, and demand for the work." intercom.help/angi, read November 4, 2026.
3. Angi Help Center, "Leads and Opportunities" (August 14, 2026) - Opportunities: "the lead fee is charged immediately in addition to your monthly budget or subscription fee. If you're a subscriber, it doesn't include your subscription discount." intercom.help/angi, read November 4, 2026.
4. Angi Help Center, "Opportunities and Leads: Frequently Asked Questions" - "Lead fees change based on task, homeowner location, and demand for the work."; "Each time a homeowner submits a project request, we will match them with no more than five pros."; "You are charged for leads whether or not you open or respond to them." intercom.help/angi, read November 4, 2026.
5. Angi Help Center, "How to Request a Lead Credit" (August 14, 2026) - "Credits issued to an account are automatically applied toward future lead charges. Please note that credits will expire if not used within six months"; "If you have an annual subscription, you can report leads, but credits are not offered for those leads."; reasons: invalid contact info, wrong location, service mismatch, duplicate lead within 45 days, paused leads; "The lead must be less than 45 days old."; "You should have attempted to call the homeowner within 24 hours of being sent the lead."; not eligible: the homeowner doesn't answer, hired another pro, decided not to move forward, is shopping, "You provided a quote but did not win the job." An older HomeAdvisor page, "Lead Credit Guidelines", still gives 30 days. intercom.help/angi, read November 4, 2026.
6. Angi Help Center, "How to Cancel Your Angi Agreement" (September 2, 2026) - "To cancel your agreement, you'll need to reach out to our Customer Care team at 877-947-3639"; "You can pause your leads for up to 2 weeks." intercom.help/angi, read November 4, 2026.
7. r/Contractor, "ANGI" (comment by a remodeler, April 12, 2026) - "Angi Ads is advertising on the Angi website. It's a flat rate that you pay every month. Angi Leads is formerly HomeAdvisor. You pay per lead. Roughly $120/lead for bathroom remodels." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
8. Thumbtack Help, "How Thumbtack works" - "We show customers your business, for free." help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
9. Thumbtack Help, "How to set my lead prices" - "the price you set for a lead is the exact amount you'll pay"; budget overshoot "up to 40% of your budget amount or $40 plus 2% of your budget, whichever is less"; leads stop "until it resets the following Monday"; "If your lead prices are at or near the minimum, they may increase automatically when the minimums change."; lead count also depends on "Your star rating and reviews" and "How quickly you respond to new leads". help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
10. Thumbtack Help, "How much do I pay for leads and opportunities?" - "On Thumbtack, you pay for leads"; "Our goal is to make the cost match how valuable the job is. Prices will vary since a job's value can change based on things like the type and size of the job, how many pros are available, and your market."; Opportunities: "You only pay the price shown if the customer responds to you." help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
11. Thumbtack Help, "What are leads, preset jobs, and opportunities?" - Preset jobs "have no upfront cost. Instead, a percentage of the job price is kept as a fee." and are for pros "who offer specific services and meet certain criteria (like having three or more reviews)"; Opportunities: "It's free to send a quote to an opportunity you're interested in. You're only charged if the customer responds to your quote." help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
12. Thumbtack Help, "Your guide to your first two weeks on Thumbtack" - "When you first sign up, you can purchase a credit package to get started." help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
13. Thumbtack Help, "Refund policy for pros" - "you can request a refund within 45 days of the charge"; cases that "will most likely qualify": the job changed significantly, a first reply of "no thanks" on an Opportunity, a lead that violates the Terms of Use, a fixed date outside your calendar, an invalid phone number, a duplicate within 45 days; "By default, your refund will be sent to your Thumbtack account balance"; to your card if you "contact us within 10 business days"; "the credit package isn't refundable." help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
14. Thumbtack Help, "Thumbtack's Quality Commitment Terms" (last updated September 28, 2026) - "Customers can contact no more than five pros from search results per project within four hours of making their first contact. After four hours, customers can contact additional pros."; "If a customer doesn't reply to any pro they contacted within the first 72 hours, we'll automatically give those pros a refund for the lead." help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
15. Thumbtack Help, "Fair Shot Refund policy" - qualifies if "You communicated through Thumbtack", "The customer was unresponsive to all pros", "You accepted the lead and sent a response within four business hours of the request. Business hours are 8am – 8pm in your local time.", and "You didn't share your personal phone number or email before the customer's first reply"; "Refunds are added to your Thumbtack balance to use on future leads." help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
16. r/electricians, "Beware of Thumbtack" (August 26, 2025) - "they charged me a little over $100 for a promotionI mis-clicked and never wanted."; "Their responses was 'No refunds, only credit.'" reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
17. Thumbtack Help, "How to stop receiving and paying for leads" - "You can hide your business from customers' search results for up to 30 days."; "Deactivating your Thumbtack account is a permanent decision. All of your account information, including reviews, profile information, projects, your account balance, and more will be deleted." help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
18. Google, Local Services Help, "How leads work" - "You're charged for each valid lead you receive through your Local Services ad. Lead prices may vary depending on your location, the job type, the type of lead, or your bidding mode"; valid leads include a missed call during business hours where "the customer stays on the line for more than 20 seconds", a text, email, voicemail or booking request; weekly budget and "monthly max"; message lead price considers "Whether the customer has contacted other Local Services advertisers"; follow-ups within 15 days from the same number or email are not charged again. support.google.com, read November 4, 2026.
19. Google, Local Services Help, "How bidding works for Local Services Ads" - Maximize leads ("It is recommended to set a minimum budget of 10 leads per week"), Target cost per lead, Max per lead. support.google.com, read November 4, 2026.
20. Google, Local Services Help, "Getting started with Local Services Ads - United States" - "Customers choose you: You only hear from customers who have specifically selected your profile out of all the rest."; pre-badge ads need a license or business registration, "Reviews, subject to category requirements" and billing, and are placed "below providers who've completed all onboarding requirements". support.google.com, read November 4, 2026.
21. Google, Local Services Help, "About Automated Local Services Ads lead credits" - "Charged leads get reassessed by our models over time, and may be issued credits automatically"; "In most cases, credits will be applied to your account balance within 30 days."; "Google no longer supports credits for 'job type not serviced' and 'geo not serviced' leads." support.google.com, read November 4, 2026.
22. Google, Local Services Help, "About Google Verified badge" - "we're simplifying our advertiser badging by launching a single badge for all advertisers"; "Google will be discontinuing the Money Back Guarantee associated with the Google Guarantee badge."; reimbursement requests had to be submitted "before December 7, 2025". support.google.com, read November 4, 2026.
23. Google Ads Help, "Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals" - "You still only pay for valid leads (such as phone calls and messages) rather than ad clicks."; "August 2026: The first phase of the migration begins for select home and storefront service advertisers in the United States (including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving)."; "Late 2026: The migration expands to broader advertiser groups, including service-area businesses without physical storefronts"; "Manual bidding (such as setting a maximum cost-per-lead) is no longer supported"; "Insurance and license reverification are no longer required"; "You can temporarily stop receiving leads at any time." support.google.com, read November 4, 2026.
24. Yelp for Business, "Yelp Local Business Pricing" - Yelp Business Page "Free", "Customers can request quotes from you"; Yelp Ads "From $150/ month", "Cancel anytime."; Upgrade Package "$180/ month", "No competitor ads on your page keeps focus on you"; "Minimum budgets subject to change." business.yelp.com, read November 4, 2026.
25. Yelp for Business, "Yelp Ads" FAQ - "There are no term contracts with self-serve advertisers so you're never locked into running your Yelp Ads for a specific period of time." business.yelp.com, read November 4, 2026.
26. Yelp Support, "How does Yelp's Cost Per Click (CPC) advertising program work?" - "Each time your ad is clicked, we will charge you according to your CPC price"; "we will never charge you more than the monthly budget you've set for your advertising spend". yelp-support.com, read November 4, 2026.
27. Yelp Support, "How do I know my competitors are not driving up my traffic and clicking on my Yelp ads?" - "we do not bill for clicks that come in rapid succession from the same user". biz.yelp.com, read November 4, 2026.
28. Nextdoor Help, "How much does Nextdoor cost?" - "Businesses can also claim or create a business page for free. Additional services such as advertising or opportunity alerts are available at a additional cost. You can view the most up-to-date pricing for these services by accessing them through your business or advertiser account". help.nextdoor.com, read November 4, 2026.
29. Nextdoor Editorial Team, "The Most Commonly Asked Questions from Local Businesses About Nextdoor" - "Prices for Local Deals start as low as $1 with neighborhood targeting."; "general contractors ... and roofers can participate in Nextdoor advertising as a Neighborhood Sponsor."; Business Posts up to "two times per calendar month", "At this time, there is no fee to make a Business Post." business.nextdoor.com, read November 4, 2026.
30. r/Contractor, "Angi Leads..." (comment, April 19, 2025) - "They send me 3-5 leads at $170-$270 a lead. Out of the 5 leads, 3 or more, They won't answer or reply to my calls or emails. Angi says they are not responsible for verifying the leads, so I have to pay for them. They refuse to refund for the bad leads." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
31. r/Contractor, "Angi tried to sell me 'high demand' leads..." (January 2026; the post itself isn't quoted). Replies: a plumber, January 16: "some few months ago, I paid Thumbtack 230 or $250 for a water heater lead" ... "he said well I was hoping to pay about $500. I told him I just paid $250 so that I could have a conversation with him" (reddit.com); an electrician, January 17: "Lead cost me 25 bucks. The whole month cost me 350. Yes, Angi sucks. But it has been profitable for me." (reddit.com) and "I'm always getting panel change leads that aren't for panel changes. They cost me $115 a piece. They refuse to credit me for these." (reddit.com); a remodeler, January 17: "I have had issues with leads that had incorrect contact information or a customer that denied wanting a quote in the first place." ... "I almost always get credited for these leads." (reddit.com); January 16: "I wish I would've known before I got locked in I'm paying a crap load to only have shitty ass leads and a huge fee if I want to cancel" (reddit.com); January 16: "I used home advisor briefly. Paid for s ton of crap leads. Once they started denying the refunds on bad leads I cancelled. Got lucky with one job. $250k kitchen reno." (reddit.com); a GC, January 16: "I do primarily kitchens and bathrooms and have closed 4 to 8 a month." ... "I am on a monthly flat rate, but it is cheaper than the long term building of a website that gets me the leads." (reddit.com); a contractor 28 years in, February 7: "I pay around $375/mo for 1st page searches" ... "However the past year or 2 they're 'leads' are terrible." (reddit.com). Quotes checked November 4, 2026.
32. r/handyman, "Angi dishonest company" (comment, August 23, 2025) - "I used Angi's for the first 2-3 years of business"; "Generally If I put in $500 at $100 a lead average I'd get 2 bunk leads 3 decent leads and 1 sale."; "In the end I was making far more than I put in and it allowed me to grow my business and find better and cheaper ways to acquire customers." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
33. r/handyman, "Angie" (comment, February 27, 2026) - "When I stopped using them, the leads were costing between 30 and $40. Angie's starts at about $70-$80 per lead. Between the two Thumbtack is much better." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
34. r/HandymanBusiness (comment by a landscaper, October 20, 2026) - "Am I spending to much (average $250 per month) in leads from Angis List as a Landscaper? I have about a 35% close rate on the leads, which cost around $33 each." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
35. r/Contractor, "New business" (comment, August 21, 2025) - "when I'm visible I'd say 50% of the customers who contact me only contact me and no one else"; "Biggest thing is response time."; "Thumbtacks lead prices are not too crazy, $10-30 a lead depending on how the customer sets up the lead. I used to set a budget of $120 a week or so." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
36. r/pressurewashing, "How did you get your first client(s)?" (comment, April 2, 2025) - "The fees have gotten steeper, so be sure to check before you quote. Some for pressure washing are $25-50 per lead." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
37. r/handyman, "What's your monthly cost to keep the phone ringing?" (comment, May 21, 2026) - "I did Google local service ads when I first started, I think it was like $24 bucks a lead give or take. They were decent and probably the best for paid leads." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
38. r/pressurewashing, "Can't get jobs" (comment, June 23, 2026) - "Google LSA now charges $73 to $89 a lead in my area, absolutely insane! I had to block many towns that simply can't advertise in because the average ticket makes it not worth it. At $73 to $89 a lead, you have to have tickets well over $900 to be worthwhile." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
39. r/sweatystartup (comment by a former junk removal owner, April 8, 2025) - "GLSA (Google guaranteed) is hella expensive for junk removal leads. My last month before selling was 4k in spend at $80 ish dollars per lead." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
40. r/RoofingSales, "Thinking of Using a Roofing Lead Gen Company? Read This Before You Spend a Dollar." (April 24, 2026) - "I've now been burned by two different lead gen companies and I'm into this for over $11,000."; "You're typically paying $80–$120 per lead for what they call a 'set appointment.'"; "We paid $6,000 for 42 residential leads and 5 commercial leads."; "18 were no-shows"; "Over 20 were newer roofs (1-3 years in age)"; "We signed 2 roofs", "About $28,500 in revenue", "Roughly $3,000 gross profit". The author, in a reply: "We've been in roofing for 20 years, but have recently moved to a different state (sold our old company and opened up new)" (reddit.com). Post: reddit.com. Quotes checked November 4, 2026.
41. August Severn (founder of Capitol Data Analytics, which sells reporting to home service companies), "What a Booked Plumbing Job Actually Costs," Contractor Magazine, September 1, 2026 - Local Services Ads: "A plumbing lead runs about $57", "the cost per paying customer comes out around $263, on an average ticket near $1,700", close rate "Local Services Ads 23 percent"; shared marketplaces: "$30 to $100", "industry estimates put the close rate on shared leads between 5 and 15 percent". His figures, not a survey. contractormag.com, read November 4, 2026.
42. r/Contractor, "Question about leads" (comment, October 19, 2026) - "My experience in the little time I used angi, was a very low conversion rate, around 10-20%. Where my referrals customers are above 75%. They are not exclusive leads, they will sell them to anyone and everyone. I called a lead within minutes of receiving the notification, and the homeowner had already hired someone else for the job." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
43. Angi Help Center, "Why It's Important to Call Quickly" (August 14, 2026) - "Calling your leads within 15 minutes more than doubles your chances of connecting with the homeowner." Angi's own figure. intercom.help/angi, read November 4, 2026.
44. r/handyman, a thread started April 5, 2026 by a 65-year-old opening a handyman business, who asked "Would you guys recommend services like thumbtack, to get started with new customers." - replies: "Lot of folks trash talk Thumbtack, but it was a great tool for me when I got started earlier this year. Went back and looked at the numbers. In 2.5 months, spent $1000 on leads, that turned into $15k worth of invoiced work, with a few quotes still pending. You have to ensure your preferences are tight on the app" (reddit.com); "Not Thumbtack or Angi. Not ever." (reddit.com); "Word of mouth takes years of build up before it really gets rolling. Google is instant if your seo is good. Thumbtack is a race to the bottom" (reddit.com); "Started my business over 35 years ago. Have never advertised" (reddit.com); "I started by advertising on yelp, and I did get jobs that way but I don't know if I would recommend that." (reddit.com); "Next door is a race to the price bottom." (reddit.com); "I've done well on it. Not advertising through it - just answering people looking for help." (reddit.com). Post: reddit.com. Quotes checked November 4, 2026.
45. r/pressurewashing, "Angi's List in 2025?" (comment, July 27, 2025) - "I've been doing thumbtack and it's great for me as a beginner and I have good conversion rate. I'm getting 3-6 jobs a week sitting doing nothing from thumbtack." reddit.com, quote checked November 4, 2026.
46. r/smallbusiness, "One man plumbing business LLC" (August 12, 2026), by a plumber 4 years in business - "BBB brings no leads. Yelp brings no leads. Google page brings no calls."; "Pay per lead is the only route and I have spent more than most people make in a year in 2 years just on pay per leads". The post has since been deleted on Reddit; quoted from our archived copy. reddit.com.
47. Angi, "Frequently Asked Questions" - "Our revenue comes from three sources: service professionals, who pay to advertise services on Angi, paid memberships ... and Angi Services"; "To become Angi Approved and pay to advertise their services on Angi, pros must maintain an average rating of at least 3.5 stars. New advertisers on Angi will be identified as 'New to Angi' until they have at least one review. The pro's owner must pass a criminal background check ... and the pro must attest to maintaining all applicable state and local licenses." angi.com, read November 4, 2026.
48. Google, Local Services Help, "Business screening and verification requirements - United States" - "Local Services advertisers must have a public and verified Google Business profile"; "On average, this process takes 3–4 weeks to complete after submitting your documents."; HVAC, plumbing and electrical are "urgent" categories whose professionals "undergo an additional level of screening, which includes service professional background checks"; roofing, handyman and general contractor: business and owner checks, general liability insurance, business and owner license on state level ("Where applicable by local law"). support.google.com, read November 4, 2026.
49. r/Roofing, "Low overhead roofing company" (comment, February 11, 2026) - "after about 6-7 months the number of organic/word of mouth appts started to increase". reddit.com.
50. Google, Local Services Help, "Understand the screening and verification process" - "The process varies by business category and location and may include background, business registration, insurance, and license checks, and minimum review requirements."; insurance: "The document must be active and valid for at least 14 days after the time of submission.", "The name on the documentation must match the name you want to advertise with", "A policy number must be displayed."; licenses: "Google validates these licenses against the state or country databases."; "Businesses must also confirm that they hold applicable county, city, and province-level licenses". support.google.com, read November 4, 2026.
51. Angi Help Center, "How to Update Your Licensing and Insurance Details" (July 14, 2025) - "Our Admissions team will confirm any edits made to existing licenses, as well as any new licenses added." intercom.help/angi, read November 4, 2026.
52. Thumbtack Help, "How to take a background check" - "All account owners must take and pass a criminal background check through a nationally accredited third-party provider when they create a Thumbtack account."; "Background checks are free"; an SSN or a photo ID. help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
53. Thumbtack Help, "How to manage my business license" - "The process of verifying your license usually takes 1 - 2 business days."; "All licenses must be government-issued and searchable on the state licensing board's public databases"; a name that doesn't match the license needs a form and "will take longer to process". help.thumbtack.com, read November 4, 2026.
54. Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 142A, section 13(c) - "Every contract, building permit and advertisement shall display the contractor's or subcontractor's certificate of registration number." malegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
55. Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, "Residential contractor FAQs" - "License numbers must be on all business cards, contracts, notices and statements relating to the filing of mechanics liens and all other advertising including websites." dli.mn.gov, read November 4, 2026.
56. r/HandymanBusiness (March 24, 2026) - "You Don't need to spend a dollar on marketing until you have some revenue first." reddit.com.