Guides

# Is Thumbtack worth it for contractors? The lead math, Thumbtack vs Angi, and what to build instead

September 1, 2026 · 6 min read · By the Fullweek team

![](/media/agents/lena.jpg)

Lena, Fullweek agent

Short answer

Thumbtack can be worth it if you track cost per won job and respond fast. There is no subscription: you pay per lead, at prices that vary by trade and market, within a weekly budget you set. Leads are not refunded just because you do not win the job. Run the math on your own numbers, and build owned channels like your Google Business Profile alongside it.

## Key takeaways

-   Thumbtack charges **per lead**, with no subscription fee. You set lead prices and a **weekly budget**, and leads stop when the budget runs out.
-   Pros report Thumbtack lead prices from roughly **$10 to over $100**, depending on trade, job size and market.
-   Refunds cover things like **invalid phone numbers and duplicate requests**, not leads you simply lose. Credits go back to your Thumbtack balance.
-   Angi has said a typical lead costs a pro around **$50** and pros win roughly **1 in 6 or 7**. Use the same cost per won job math on both.
-   At a $40 lead and a 1 in 5 win rate, a won job costs **$200** in this example. Compare that with your average ticket and gross profit.

On this page

1.  [How Thumbtack charges pros](#how-thumbtack-charges)
2.  [Thumbtack vs Angi: how they differ](#thumbtack-vs-angi)
3.  [The math: cost per won job](#cost-per-won-job)
4.  [Who Thumbtack works for](#who-it-works-for)
5.  [Owned alternatives: Google Business Profile and Local Services Ads](#owned-alternatives)
6.  [Where Fullweek fits](#fullweek)

## How Thumbtack charges pros

Creating a Thumbtack pro profile is free and there is no monthly subscription. You pay for leads. Thumbtack's help center describes two settings that control what you spend: your **lead prices**, which are the amount you pay per lead, and your **budget**, the most you will spend in a week across all your services.

-   **Matched leads:** when a customer's request fits your job preferences, the lead is matched to you and charged. Your job types, service area and preferences decide what you pay for.
-   **Opportunities:** jobs you can choose to reach out to. Thumbtack says you are charged only if you reach out and the customer responds, and these do not use your weekly budget.
-   **Weekly budget:** once you pass it, new leads stop until it resets the following week. Thumbtack notes a single lead can push you slightly over the budget, within a cap.

Thumbtack does not publish a single price list. Prices vary by trade, job type, location and competition. Pros report paying anywhere from about $10 to over $100 per lead. The only number that matters is the one in your own account, so check the lead prices shown in your settings for each service you offer.

You pay for the lead, not the job

A Thumbtack charge does not depend on whether you book the work. If the customer hires someone else, goes quiet or was just price shopping, you still paid. That is why your win rate matters more than the lead price.

### What Thumbtack refunds

Thumbtack's refund policy for pros covers specific problems: a disconnected or invalid phone number, a duplicate request from the same customer for the same job within 45 days, and leads that break its terms of use or look suspicious. You request a refund within 45 days of the charge, and approved refunds go back to your Thumbtack balance for future leads. Request one every time a lead qualifies. Small credits add up over a year.

## Thumbtack vs Angi: how they differ

Both are marketplaces where homeowners describe a job and pros pay to reach them. The mechanics differ, and so does how much control you have over spend.

|  | Thumbtack | Angi |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How you pay | Per lead, within a weekly budget | Per lead |
| Subscription for pros | No | Check your current Angi agreement for any fees |
| Typical lead price | Pros report about $10 to over $100 | Angi has said around $50 for a typical lead |
| Shared or exclusive | Customers often contact several pros | Typically shared with several pros |
| Win rate | Depends on your speed, price and profile | Angi has said roughly 1 in 6 or 7 |
| Spend controls | Lead prices, budget, job types, service area | Service area, job types, budget settings |
| Who owns the customer relationship | The marketplace, until you book | The marketplace, until you book |

Angi has also said its win rates have been improving. On its second quarter 2025 earnings call, management said win rates on its core pro platform were over 20% in June, which is closer to 1 in 5. Either way, the shape is the same: several pros pay to compete for one homeowner, and whoever answers first and sounds most sure usually wins.

## The math: cost per won job

Divide what you spent on a channel by the jobs it actually produced. That is your **cost per won job**. The table below uses example numbers, not Thumbtack or Angi averages.

| Example | Lead price | Win rate | Leads per won job | Cost per won job |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cheap leads, slow callbacks | $25 | 1 in 10 | 10 | $250 |
| Mid-price leads, fast response | $40 | 1 in 5 | 5 | $200 |
| Pricey leads, very fast response | $75 | 1 in 3 | 3 | $225 |
| Angi, at its stated figures | $50 | 1 in 6 to 7 | 6 to 7 | $300 to $350 |

Notice that the cheapest leads are not the cheapest jobs. In this example, a $25 lead you rarely win costs more per job than a $40 lead you win one time in five.

### Is it worth it for your trade?

Now compare cost per won job with the gross profit on the job. Say a drain clearing averages a $275 ticket with about $165 of gross profit after labor and materials. A $200 cost per won job loses money on that call unless the customer comes back. Say a water heater replacement averages $2,800 with about $1,100 of gross profit. The same $200 is easy to carry. These are example figures; plug in your own from your field-service software.

1.  Pull last month's total Thumbtack spend from your account.
2.  Count the jobs you actually completed from Thumbtack leads. Tag lead source on every job so this takes minutes.
3.  Divide spend by completed jobs.
4.  Compare with average gross profit per job, by service type. Turn off the services where cost per won job eats the margin.

## Who Thumbtack works for

-   **New businesses** with few reviews and no search presence yet. A marketplace can fill the calendar while you build your own channels. If you are just starting, see [how to start a plumbing business](/blog/how-to-start-a-plumbing-business).
-   **Shops that respond in minutes.** Shared leads reward speed. If you can reply while the homeowner is still on their phone, your win rate goes up.
-   **Higher-ticket job types**, where one won job covers many lost leads.
-   **Pros in slower seasons** who want to top up volume and can switch spend on and off with the weekly budget.

It tends to work poorly for shops that cannot answer quickly during the day, for low-ticket services with thin margins, and for anyone who never measures cost per won job.

## Owned alternatives: Google Business Profile and Local Services Ads

Marketplace leads stop the day you stop paying, and the customer relationship starts on someone else's platform. Owned channels keep working and get cheaper as they mature.

| Channel | You pay for | Exclusive to you? | Builds an asset? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Thumbtack | Each lead | Often not | No |
| Angi | Each lead | Usually not | No |
| Google Business Profile | Your time | Yes | Yes: reviews, photos, rankings |
| Google Local Services Ads | Each lead, with a dispute process | Yes | Partly: your reviews and badge |
| Google Search ads | Each click | Yes | No, but you control targeting |
| Your website and city pages | Build and upkeep | Yes | Yes |

A complete, active **Google Business Profile** with steady reviews is the highest-return owned channel for most local shops. Our guide on [how to get more Google reviews](/blog/how-to-get-more-google-reviews) covers the review side. **Local Services Ads** also charge per lead, but the lead goes to you alone and you can dispute invalid ones. For search ads and pages, see [Google Ads for plumbers](/blog/google-ads-for-plumbers) and [SEO for plumbers](/blog/seo-for-plumbers).

Run both, then compare

You do not have to quit Thumbtack to build owned channels. Run both for 90 days, tag the lead source on every job, and compare cost per won job side by side. Then shift budget to whatever wins.

## Where Fullweek fits

Every lead channel, marketplace or owned, depends on answering fast. Fullweek answers missed and after-hours calls, triages emergencies, filters spam and fake leads, and books jobs into ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro or Jobber in English and Spanish. On the Growth plan we also manage your Google Business Profile, Local Services Ads and Google Search ads, and send a monthly cost-per-booked-job report so you can compare channels on the same number. See [pricing](/#pricing) or request a [free city audit](/#audit).

## Sources

-   [Thumbtack Help: How to edit my budget](https://help.thumbtack.com/article/set-budget)
-   [Thumbtack Help: What are Opportunities?](https://help.thumbtack.com/article/opportunities)
-   [Thumbtack Help: Refund policy for pros](https://help.thumbtack.com/article/refund-policy)
-   [Housecall Pro: What is Thumbtack and how does it work (reported lead price range)](https://www.housecallpro.com/resources/what-is-thumbtack-how-it-works/)
-   [Angi Inc. investor relations: quarterly earnings materials](https://ir.angi.com/)
-   [Angi Q2 2025 earnings call transcript (win rates over 20% in June)](https://ng.investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-angi-homeservices-sees-stock-jump-in-q2-2025-93CH-2047107)

## FAQ

How much does Thumbtack charge per lead?

Thumbtack does not publish a single price list. Lead prices depend on trade, job type, location and competition, and pros report paying from about $10 to over $100. Your exact prices are shown in your account settings.

Does Thumbtack charge a monthly fee for pros?

No. Creating a pro profile is free and there is no subscription. You pay for leads, within a weekly budget you control.

Can I get a refund on a Thumbtack lead?

Thumbtack refunds specific cases such as invalid phone numbers, duplicate requests within 45 days, and leads that break its terms. It does not refund a lead just because you did not win the job. Refunds go back to your Thumbtack balance.

Is Thumbtack better than Angi?

Neither is better across the board. Thumbtack gives you direct control over lead prices and a weekly budget. Angi has said a typical lead costs around $50. Compare them on cost per won job using your own numbers.

Is Thumbtack worth it for contractors?

It can be for new businesses, high-ticket job types and shops that respond within minutes. It often is not for low-ticket services or shops that cannot answer quickly. Track cost per won job and decide by service type.

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## Related pages

-   [Answering service for contractors](/answering-service-for-contractors)
-   [After hours answering service](/after-hours-answering-service)

## See what your city is missing

Free audit: your Google profile vs the top 3 in your city, missed-call signals in your reviews, and the jobs you are losing.

[Get free audit](/#audit)

On this page

1.  [How Thumbtack charges pros](#how-thumbtack-charges)
2.  [Thumbtack vs Angi: how they differ](#thumbtack-vs-angi)
3.  [The math: cost per won job](#cost-per-won-job)
4.  [Who Thumbtack works for](#who-it-works-for)
5.  [Owned alternatives: Google Business Profile and Local Services Ads](#owned-alternatives)
6.  [Where Fullweek fits](#fullweek)

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Canonical URL: https://usefullweek.com/blog/is-thumbtack-worth-it
Title: Is Thumbtack worth it? Lead costs vs Angi, worked out