Angi and HomeAdvisor alternatives for contractors.
The main alternatives to Angi and HomeAdvisor are Google Local Services Ads, Google Ads search campaigns, your Google Business Profile with local SEO, other lead marketplaces such as Thumbtack, Porch, Networx and Bark, and your own referrals and reviews.
They differ mainly in how you pay (per lead, per click, per credit or not at all) and in who holds the customer relationship. The table below compares them, using each company's own pages.
Lead marketplaces can fill a calendar quickly, but many contractors end up paying for requests that were sent to several competitors at the same time.
Building your own lead sources gives you exclusive leads, your own reviews and data, and a cost per job you control.
Free, 30 minutes, no obligation. I only need view access to look at your account.
Compared
HomeAdvisor alternatives for contractors: how the options compare.
This table covers what a contractor could use instead of Angi and HomeAdvisor, or beside them. The payment and lead details are taken from each company's own public pages, linked in the last column, and they change, so check the page before you sign up. Not stated means I did not find it on the page I read. It does not mean leads are or are not shared.
| Option | How you pay | How the customer reaches you | Lead sharing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Local Services Ads | You pay for valid leads, not for clicks or impressions. Leads judged invalid or low quality at first assessment are not charged. | The customer starts the contact from your Google profile. Message leads go through Google-provided numbers and email aliases. | Not stated on Google's lead page. | Google: How leads work |
| Google Ads search campaigns | Pay per click. Google says you pay for each click on your ads. | People land on your own website or call your own number. You choose the keywords, ad text and landing page. | Not a lead product: you pay for clicks, not leads. Competitors can still appear on the same search. | Google Ads Help: Cost-per-click |
| Google Business Profile and local SEO | Creating and listing a Business Profile is free. Any SEO work you hire has its own fee. | Customers find your profile and website and contact you directly. Google says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking. | Not a lead product. Google lists relevance, distance and prominence as the local ranking factors. | Google Business Profile and local ranking help |
| Thumbtack | Pay per lead. When a customer reaches out and the job matches your preferences, you auto-pay, and you set your own lead prices. For Opportunities you message first and pay only if the customer responds. | The customer starts a conversation, and after that it is up to you to reply and win the job. | Not stated on those pages. | Thumbtack: lead prices and how Thumbtack works |
| Porch | You can buy leads one at a time, set a monthly budget so leads arrive automatically, or combine both. | Homeowners submit a project on Porch, and Porch matches them with local pros. | Porch's homeowner page says it matches a homeowner with up to 4 pros. | Porch for pros and how the network works |
| Networx | The Exclusive program is described as pay per qualified lead from a budget you set. Networx describes more than one program, so confirm which one applies to you. | Requests are sent to contractors in real time by text and email. The Exclusive program connects homeowners by direct phone call. | Networx describes the Exclusive program's calls as exclusive. Not stated for its other leads on the pages I read. | Networx: how it works and Exclusive leads |
| Bark | You buy credits and spend them to contact the customers you choose, and you see the cost in credits before you respond. Bark says it charges no commission. | You decide which leads to respond to and reach out to those customers yourself. | Not stated on its pricing page. | Bark: pricing for professionals |
| Your own referrals and reviews | No platform fee. It costs your time and the quality of the work. | Past customers, neighbors and local businesses contact you directly, and you keep the customer details and the reviews. | Not applicable. Nobody else receives these leads. | No third party involved |
I manage Google Ads, Local Services Ads and local SEO, so I am not neutral about those rows. The marketplace rows are summaries of what each company says about itself, and I have not tested every program. Whichever you use, compare cost per booked job rather than cost per lead, and keep a record of where each job came from. How tracking works.
Marketplaces
Sites like HomeAdvisor: what each is good for.
Angi and HomeAdvisor are lead marketplaces: a homeowner describes a job, and a platform connects them with contractors. Sites like HomeAdvisor work on the same basic idea and differ in how they charge. Marketplaces are good for starting quickly when you have no reviews or ad accounts yet, and for filling gaps in the calendar while your own channels build. They are rarely a mistake to try. The question is whether the cost per booked job beats your other sources.
Thumbtack
Good to know: you set your own lead prices, and Opportunities charge only if the customer replies. Check before you join: you are charged when a customer reaches out under your preferences, so track how many of those turn into booked jobs.
Porch
Good to know: you can buy leads one by one or set a monthly budget. Check before you join: Porch matches a homeowner with up to 4 pros, so expect to compete and answer quickly.
Networx
Good to know: the Exclusive program lets you choose your zip code, radius and budget, and describes its phone calls as exclusive. Check before you join: Networx describes more than one program, so confirm which one and which pricing you are signing up for.
Bark
Good to know: no commission, and the credit cost of each lead is shown before you respond. Check before you join: the fee is for responding to a lead, so track how many responses become jobs.
For the Google options, see Local Services Ads, Google Ads and local SEO. The guide to Local Services Ads vs Google Ads explains how the first two differ.
Shared vs exclusive
Marketplace leads vs your own leads.
| Criteria | Lead marketplaces | Your own marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets the lead | Often shared with other contractors | Only you |
| Who owns the customer data and reviews | Largely the platform | You |
| Control over job type and area | Limited to the platform's settings | Full control by service, area and schedule |
| What happens if you stop paying | Leads stop | SEO and reviews keep working |
| Speed to start | Fast | Paid ads fast, SEO builds over months |
Marketplaces are not always wrong. They can be useful while your own channels ramp up. The goal is to stop depending on them.
How the switch works
Moving from marketplace leads to your own.
Measure what marketplace leads really cost
Cost per booked job, not cost per lead, including the leads you never won.
Launch Local Services Ads and Google Ads
Exclusive leads within weeks, budgeted from your job values. Local Services Ads · Google Ads.
Build local SEO in the background
Google Business Profile, service pages and reviews that lower your cost per job over time. Local SEO.
Reduce marketplace spend as your own channels prove themselves
Shift budget only when the numbers show your own leads cost less per booked job.
Trades
Built for high-ticket trades.
This works best where one job is worth a lot: HVAC, roofing, plumbing, septic, remodeling and construction. See all industries.
The first 90 days
What working together looks like for a contracting business.
Weeks 1–2: audit and tracking
A read-only review of your ads, Google Business Profile, website and lead handling. Call and form tracking is fixed first, so every later decision rests on real numbers.
Weeks 3–6: launch and clean-up
Campaigns rebuilt or launched by job type and service area, negative keywords added, Local Services Ads set up where eligible, and landing pages matched to each service.
Weeks 7–12: optimise and expand
Budget moved toward the services and areas producing booked jobs, SEO work on the pages closest to ranking, and a monthly report on cost per booked job.
You keep ownership of every account and all the data. If it is not working, you will hear that first, along with what changes next.
Process
How the work runs.
Review
Read-only access to the account, analytics and tracking. I tell you what I see before any agreement.
Fix the foundations
Tracking, consent, conversion definitions and account structure are corrected first, so optimisation works from accurate data.
Optimise
Weekly changes to campaigns, budgets, pages and creative, each with a stated reason.
Report
Plain-language reporting tied to leads and pipeline, with a direct line to me.
FAQ
