Who pays for your pro?

Part 1 · Follow the money

Where the money comes from

On a lead marketplace, the pro is the customer: they pay for the chance to reach you. On Find a Pro, nobody pays to reach you, so nothing is for sale to rank first.

Angi's own numbers show what that costs a pro. In August 2026 its CEO said an average small pro on Angi pays about $600 a month for about 12 leads and wins about 2 of them, and that pros win roughly 1 in 6 of the leads they pay for, up from about 1 in 9 in the summer of 2024.22Until early 2025, about 40% of Angi's leads were matched to pros automatically, without the homeowner choosing them; Angi says essentially none are now.23

When the same request goes to several pros, the quickest reply has the edge. In a 2011 Harvard Business Review study of online sales leads, companies that replied within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to reach the decision-maker as those that waited even an hour longer.24 Fastest isn't the same as best, so our order comes only from our own checks, never from who calls first or who pays.

Part 2 · Side by side

The rules, side by side

From each company's own help pages and terms, read October 31, 2026. Their rules change; the numbered sources below have the details.

Part 3 · Freshness

How often a license gets checked

A license can lapse, get suspended or expire any day of the year. A check at sign-up says what was true then. Here's each company's published schedule over a pro's first year.

Each company's published schedule. Thumbtack's license check is optional for the pro; where a license never expires, Thumbtack asks the pro to renew the details every two years.4,7,8,9

Part 4 · Behind the scenes

How our morning check works

Every state keeps its own license list. In 16 states and DC we download the whole file every morning. Elsewhere we hold the newest list the state gives us, and still check every license against it, and its expiry date, every morning. Nobody types a license in for us; it comes from the state.

1. The state's file

   We start from the licensing board's own list: number, holder, class, status and expiry.

2. Matched to the business

   Each pro is matched by license number, name, address and phone. Close calls go to a person, not a guess.

3. A badge that says what

   The listing shows which license, which agency, and the day we last checked it.

4. Checked again every morning

   Every license we show is held against the state's list and today's date before most people are up.

5. Off the list that day

   Expired, suspended or gone from the file? The licensed badge comes off that morning.

State license records on file, by state

Active records in each state's license list as we hold it, and the last time a pro's license there was checked. Updated hourly.

Part 5 · What a badge means

Licensed, registered or not checked

States license different trades. A plumber needs a license almost everywhere; a roofer, a painter or a lawn crew often doesn't. So every listing says exactly what was checked.

Part 6 · Paid home apps

If you pay for a home app

Some apps charge you, not the pros. Here's what Premium includes next to the best-known paid home apps. Casa and Honey Homes include a handyman's hours, so they're a different kind of product: compare what's included, not just the price.

Prices and features from each company's own site and App Store page, read October 31, 2026.

Not in the table: Angi Key, which Angi no longer offers to new customers;20 Thumbtack and Angi, which are free for homeowners (the pros pay); and Hint, which is free for now and says a subscription is coming.21 Hint also says it reads your insurance policy, so we're not the only ones doing that.

Part 7 · Before you hire anyone

Whatever you use, do this

“Check with your state or county government to confirm a contractor's license.”14Federal Trade Commission

• Write the job down first, with photos and measurements, so every quote prices the same work.
• Get at least three written quotes, and compare what's included: permits, haul-away, materials, warranty and payment schedule.
• Ask whose license number goes on the permit, and for a current certificate of insurance.
• Don't pay most of it up front. In California, a down payment generally can't be more than 10% or $1,000, whichever is less.
• Get changes in writing before extra work starts, and keep the contract, invoices, photos and warranty in one place.
• Worth knowing: in 2023 the FTC ordered HomeAdvisor, Angi's lead business, to pay up to $7.2 million over alleged misleading claims about its leads; HomeAdvisor denied the allegations.13 Ask any lead service how it works before you hand over your number.

Sources

Read October 31, 2026. Each company can change its rules; tell us at support@findaprohub.com if something here is out of date and we'll fix it.

1. Angi: billing FAQ, and opportunities and leads FAQ: intercom.help/angi/en/articles/11024858-billing-frequently-asked-questions · intercom.help/angi/en/articles/6221483-opportunities-and-leads-frequently-asked-questions
2. Thumbtack: types of leads, paying for leads, and its quality commitment: help.thumbtack.com/article/types-of-leads · help.thumbtack.com/article/pay-for-leads · help.thumbtack.com/article/quality-commitment
3. Google Local Services Ads: how you're charged for leads: support.google.com/localservices/answer/7195435
4. Angi: consumer FAQ (Angi Approved, background checks, licenses): angi.com/landing/faq
5. Thumbtack: setting lead prices, and your rank in search results: help.thumbtack.com/article/set-lead-prices · help.thumbtack.com/article/my-rank-in-search-results
6. Google Local Services Ads: how ads are ranked, and bidding: support.google.com/localservices/answer/7527305 · support.google.com/localservices/answer/10125017
7. Thumbtack: managing your license: help.thumbtack.com/article/manage-my-license
8. Google Local Services Ads: verification and screening (US): support.google.com/localservices/answer/12174778 · support.google.com/localservices/answer/6226575
9. Google Ads: Local Services Ads moving to Performance Max: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17213585
10. Angi Happiness Guarantee: page and terms: angi.com/landing/happiness-guarantee · legal.homeadvisor.com/#guarantee
11. Thumbtack Guarantee: thumbtack.com/guarantee · help.thumbtack.com/article/the-thumbtack-guarantee
12. Google Verified, and the end of the Google Guarantee: support.google.com/localservices/answer/16498018 · blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-verified-august-2025/
13. FTC: final order in the HomeAdvisor matter (April 2023): ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/04/ftc-approves-final-order-against-homeadvisor-inc-deceptively-marketing-its-leads-home-improvement
14. FTC: how to avoid a home improvement scam: consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-home-improvement-scam
15. BBB: how to hire a reliable general contractor: bbb.org/all/home-improvement/how-to-hire-a-reliable-and-trustworthy-general-contractor
16. HomeZada: homeowner pricing, maintenance and Homeowner AI: homezada.com/homeowners/pricing · homezada.com/home-maintenance · homezada.com/homeowners/homeowner-ai
17. Frontdoor: membership: frontdoor.com/membership
18. Casa: plans, and its App Store listing: getcasa.com/ · apps.apple.com/app/id6504832346
19. Honey Homes: pricing and service areas: honeyhomes.com/pricing · honeyhomes.com/service-areas
20. Angi: Angi Key membership: support.prepriced.angi.com/servicesdirect/s/article/What-is-Angi-Key-Membership--Account--Membership--and-Plans
21. Hint: App Store listing: apps.apple.com/us/app/id6758353765
22. Angi: Q2 2026 earnings call, August 5, 2026 (webcast, and a transcript): ir.angi.com/quarterly-earnings · investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-angi-q2-2026-loss-widens-as-stock-sinks-31-93CH-4837909
23. Angi: Q1 2025 earnings call, on Homeowner Choice (transcript): investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-angi-homeservices-beats-q1-2025-forecasts-stock-surges-93CH-4028746
24. Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, "The Short Life of Online Sales Leads," Harvard Business Review, March 2011: hbr.org/2011/03/the-short-life-of-online-sales-leads

Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack and Google are trademarks of their owners. Find a Pro isn't affiliated with them; we name them only to compare.