Trust plays an important factor for many customers in the home service industry. Google Reviews and Yelp Reviews are very important for customers in the services industry. But customers are also increasingly using directories like HomeAdvisor and thumbtack to find trusted service providers. There are many such directories available now but here I will compare two top home service platforms, Thumbtack and Home Advisor, for your benefit.

Thumbtack Vs. Home Advisor – What Are Their Features?

Thumbtack markets itself as the technology leader in modern home management platforms. It has a two-pronged strategy; facilitate people in looking after their homes and empower small businesses. Home Advisor is pretty similar to Thumbtack; it is a home service platform that connects homeowners looking for home improvement, maintenance, and remodeling services with home service professionals who can provide these services. Both Thumbtack and Home Advisor are utilizing the online marketplace sphere to revolutionize the way homeowners and home service professionals buy and sell.

To make this happen, Thumbtack and Home Advisor provide the following features:

• Service Provider Profiles –Professionals who want to sell their services can create their profiles on Thumbtack & Home Advisor. The pro profiles show the name, photo, business description, pricing, rating & reviews, number of projects completed successfully, background check verification, and other elements that can influence a user’s opinion. Profile Rankings – Professionals can increase their reach, i.e., ensure that their business is visible to more people and appears on the top of consumer search results on Thumbtack by enhancing their profiles. They can do so by adding a clear description of the business, adding pricing information, publishing reviews, responding to customers quickly, and creating a trustworthy and approachable profile.

• Background Checks - Thumbtacks allow professionals to build their credibility through business background checks. Service providers simply need to provide their SSN or Photo ID to become verified sellers. On the other hand, Home Advisor has a very extensive background check policy for every professional other than corporations. It conducts civil and criminal screening before allowing a profile to be created.

• Profile Preferences – Professionals can customize their profile preferences, job type, location, travel radius, and working hours for greater flexibility. Similarly, Home Advisor also lets users control their profiles.

• Paid Lead Generation– Service providers can promote their profiles by buying leads. Thumbtack & Home Advisor helps businesses plan their budget, track leads, and make the most of every dollar spent.

• Easy Payment Options – Users can sync their credit and debit cards for easy payment. Professionals can pay via Home Advisor Pay, an online payment method, along with credit and debit cards.

• Guarantees– Thumbtack offers Money-Back and Property Damage guarantees that cover claims of up to $1000. Home Advisor offers the Happiness Guarantee, a policy in which they offer damage protection for up to $2,500 for fixed-price services and $50,000 for all other services that qualify for the guarantee.

Business Features	Thumbstack	HomeAdvisor
Service Provider Profiles	•	•
Profile Rankings	•	•
Background Checks	•	•
Profile Preferences	•	•
Paid Lead Generation	•	•
Easy Payment Options	•	•
Gurantees	•	•

Thumbtack Vs. Home Advisor – Which Service Areas Are They Covering?

To date, Thumbtack has helped start 70 million+ projects in 500+ project categories in all 50 US states. The project categories include home improvement, Event Planning, data & IT management, HR & administrative support, sales & marketing, private investigation services, writing & translation, legal services, and design & development services. On the other hand, Home Advisor is a purely home improvement platform; it has more than 200 home improvement job categories, including plumbing, electrical repairs, roof repairs, solar installation, and more, in all 50 US states.

Thumbtack Vs. Home Advisor – How Do They Work?

Thumbtack and Home Advisor are both giant networks with a traffic volume of 10 million+ visitors every year. So how can you benefit from their service? Find out how they work! Thumbtack has a simple 3-step working model for homeowners and people seeking services on their platform:

1. Search

2. Chat

3. Hire

Users can login to the platform via the mobile application, search the services providers for their chosen project category, chat with them online to discuss their business offering, price, availability, and suitability, and hire a chosen profession.

Source: Thumbtack

Similarly, home Advisor also has a 3-step process:

1. Tell Us About Your Project

2. Get Matched by Our ProFinder Technology

3. Get Connected to The Best Pros

Users can browse through the home improvement job categories on the Home Advisor app, answer a few questions to narrow down the search, and get matched with 4 pre-screened professionals according to your preferences. Once you choose the professionals you like, Home Advisor will connect you to the professionals for further details and negotiations.

Source: Home Advisor

Thumbtack Vs. Home Advisor - How Much Do They Cost?

- Customers/Users/Homeowners

Customers can create a profile on Thumbtack without any cost. However, the free membership comes with limited features. The Thumbtack Plus Membership, priced at $49/year, is the premium membership plan that allows users to access all features.

Source: Thumbtack

The Thumbtack Plus Membership offers the following perks:

• Support from Thumbtack home specialists

• Discounts of up to 20% on on-demand bookings

• Thumbtack plus money-back and property damage guarantee

Apart from the membership cost, users will also pay for the cost of each service they avail. The cost of each job varies according to multiple factors such as location, company’s pricing model, etc.

However, more than 30,000 projects are bought and sold daily on the platform, and therefore Thumbtack experts have a pretty good idea of how much a job will cost. Here are a few cost estimates for popular job categories; however, actual prices may vary.

Handyman	$70
House Cleaner	$200
Personal Trainer	$70
Photographer	$580
Plumber	$150
Lawn Professional	$70
Appliance Installation Specialists	$130
Wallpaper Installation Experts	$350

Similarly, Home Advisor members have the option to avail premium features and benefits by signing up for the Angi Key Membership at $29.9/year.

Source:Home Advisor

The membership comes with the following perks:

• Personalized advice by home specialists

• Up to 20% off on job cost

• Easy to buy home services

• Your Happiness, Guaranteed money-back & property damage guarantee

The 20% discount is applicable for fixed-priced services only.

• Professionals/ Service Providers

Professional service providers will have to pay to generate leads, and the cost of lead generation varies on Thumbtack and Home Advisor.

Thumbtack and Home Advisor charge professionals to reach new leads, i.e., users who are searching for the service professionals are offering on the platform. These users reach out to the platform to learn more about working with a particular professional, and the platform directs them to the best professionals.

In both platforms, the cost of a lead is directly proportional to its value, and since the value of each job is different from the other, some leads cost more than others. Professionals can be charged anywhere between $15 and $300, depending on the value of the job.

It is also possible to get refunds if the lead doesn’t work out as stated. However, it is a lengthy process with legal loopholes in both platforms. However, Thumbtack ad Home Advisor both primes control over leads, budgeting, and evaluation.

Thumbtack Vs. Home Advisor – Which One Should You Use?

Given the features above, we can summarize that Thumbtack and Home Advisor are two premium home service platforms that offer competing benefits. Here is a quick comparison of both:

• Who has better features? Draw.

Both offer pretty much the same set of features for both customers and professionals. Home Advisor has better background checks, while Thumbtack has better profile ranking features.

• Who offers more services? Thumbtack.

Thumbtack has more than 500 projects; users can find jobs in more than 15 categories, including home improvement, legal services, event management, etc. In comparison, Home Advisor is only a home improvement platform.

• Which platform is easier to use? Draw.

Both have a simple 3-step process for users and straight forward signup process for members.

• Which platform is more affordable for users? Home Advisor.

Home Advisor’s membership cost is $29.9 as compared to Thumbtack’s $49.

• Which platform is more affordable for professionals?Draw.

  Both charge between $15 and $300 for lead generation.

Given the analysis, we can see that both platforms are a good choice depending on the features you are looking for and the services you want to avail/offer. Thumbtack has a diverse customer base, so it’s optimum for professionals in multiple industry verticals, while Home Advisor is suitable for people looking for home improvement solutions only. Choose a platform that fulfills your end goal as a customer or a professional. Consider elements like cost, flexibility, reach & visibility, and guarantees to help you make your decision.