Angi vs HomeAdvisor vs Thumbtack: cost per booked job
Angi, HomeAdvisor and Thumbtack sell shared leads at $80 to $300+ each. Here is how to work out your real cost per booked job, and how it compares with an exclusive-lead plan.
Cost per booked job is your total lead spend divided by jobs you actually closed. On Angi, HomeAdvisor and Thumbtack, shared leads go to 3 to 8 contractors at $80 to $300+ each, so the number climbs fast. Below: the math on one real contractor account, a side-by-side table, and where Apex's clip-first plan lands against it.
Why cost per lead is the wrong number
A lead is a contact. A booked job is money on the calendar. Marketplaces bill the first and you live on the second.
Here is the example we hear from owners. One contractor told us he spent $3,400 on HomeAdvisor and closed 7 jobs out of about 60 leads. Most were ghosted or sold to multiple contractors.
Do the division. $3,400 across 7 booked jobs is about $486 per booked job. Roughly 1 lead in 9 turned into work. The sticker price per lead never showed that.
That is one account, not an industry average. We use it because it shows the formula. Run it on your own last quarter before you spend another dollar.
How the three marketplaces compare with exclusive leads
We are not going to rank Angi against HomeAdvisor against Thumbtack. The numbers we stand behind describe the shared-lead model they have in common: one inquiry, 3 to 8 contractors, $80 to $300+ per lead. Check each platform's current terms for its own billing rules.
| Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack (shared leads) | Apex Growth tier | |
|---|---|---|
| Lead exclusivity | Sold to 3 to 8 contractors at once | Exclusive, geofenced to your service area and trade, limited contractor sharing under the SLA |
| Cost per lead | $80 to $300+ each | About $200 blended per lead, bundled in $1,200 per month |
| Attribution | No clear line from spend to closed work | A transparency report per lead: service type, geography, sharing policy |
| Commitment | Check each platform's terms | 3-month commitment, no separate lead bills |
The Growth price also covers the clip work, so the $200 is a blended figure. It is not a bare per-lead fee. Details sit on the Growth tier page.
Where the clip changes the math
Most of the lost money in the $486 example is not the lead price. It is the call that goes nowhere. A homeowner gets your number, Googles you in three seconds, finds nothing recent, and calls the next name.
Apex starts earlier in the chain. Your tech films a 90-second job clip on a phone. Our AI clipping turns it into short-form video and ad creative for your service area. The homeowner has seen your work before your name reaches them.
We turn your job clips into ad creative that books jobs. The lead arrives warmer. That is the clip-to-close mechanism, and this post walks through it step by step. We have not published close-rate results yet, and we will not guess at one here.
Cost per booked job on the Growth tier, worked out
Growth is $1,200 per month for 4 to 6 exclusive leads plus the clip pipeline. The cost per booked job depends on how many of those leads you close. Here is the arithmetic, not a forecast:
| Booked jobs in the month | $1,200 plan, cost per booked job |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,200 |
| 2 | $600 |
| 3 | $400 |
| 4 | $300 |
Read it plainly. Against the $486 example, you need 3 booked jobs from the month's leads to come in lower. Two jobs would not. Our own planning note is that one booked job from one exclusive lead typically covers the plan cost, which is why the 3-month window is enough to judge it.
Your ticket size matters here. A $4,000 install changes this table. A $150 cleaning visit changes it the other way.
Is paying for Angi leads worth it?
It is worth it when your cost per booked job, counted from the invoice and not from the lead count, sits below what a job earns you. For many owners it does not. That is why ICP complaints read the same: "sold to everyone," "ghosted," "hundreds spent, poor close rate."
A quick audit takes ten minutes:
- Add up the last 90 days of lead spend on each platform.
- Count jobs you booked and finished from those leads. Not calls. Jobs.
- Divide spend by jobs. That is your number.
- Compare it with the ticket size on those jobs.
If the result beats what you would pay for exclusive leads, keep the marketplace. If not, the money has a better place to go. For the plumbing version of this comparison, see exclusive leads for plumbers. For the wider case, read why shared leads feel like an auction.
Test it before you commit
You should not take a 3-month commitment on our word. Start with the free pilot. Send 1 to 3 raw job clips or phone photos. Within 3 business days we return a sample clip package: a trimmed vertical clip, a Facebook and Instagram ad variant, a caption set, and a sample transparency report row. No payment. No commitment.
Want to see the format first? The sample clip page shows the output, labeled illustrative, with no invented results.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Angi or HomeAdvisor?
We cannot rank them on booked jobs, because we have no cost data for each platform separately. Both sell shared leads. Measure each one by spend divided by jobs closed over 90 days, and compare that with your average ticket.
Is Angi better than Thumbtack?
The same test applies. Cost per lead tells you little. Cost per booked job tells you everything. Pull your last quarter of spend and closed jobs for each platform, then keep the one that pays back and drop the one that does not.
What does exclusive lead delivery cost with Apex?
Growth is $1,200 per month: 4 to 6 exclusive, geofenced leads plus clip production, about $200 blended per lead. Lead credits are bundled, so there are no surprise bills. All tiers carry a 3-month commitment.
Next step
Request your free sample clip package on the pilot form. Send one job clip, see the output, then decide.