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PermitDeck vs Angi vs Thumbtack

Angi charges $15–$85 per lead and sends it to up to 8 contractors. Thumbtack charges $15–$200 per lead and sends it to up to 15. PermitDeck is free to contractors through April 2027 minimum, caps at 3 verified pros per inquiry, and never requires a contract.

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The short version

  • Angi: $15–$85+ per lead, sold to 3–8 competitors, 12-month contract, 30–35% cancellation penalty.
  • Thumbtack: $15–$200+ per lead, sold to up to 15 pros, dynamic pricing that changes weekly.
  • PermitDeck: Free through April 2027 minimum. Max 3 verified pros per inquiry (never 8, never 15). No contracts. When a homeowner picks you from a listing page, that contact is yours alone.
  • Honest tradeoff: We are newer and have less traffic. You will get fewer total inquiries than on Angi. What you trade volume for: you pay nothing, competitors are capped at 3, and every homeowner has already read real permit and cost information before they contact you.

Side-by-side comparison

PermitDeckAngiThumbtack
Listing priceFree through April 2027 minimum~$300/yr membership + $0–$350/mo subscription on topFree profile, but you pay per lead
Cost per lead$0 through April 2027 minimum. Revisited after that; never per-lead.$15–$85 typical. $100+ for HVAC, solar, roofing.$15–$200+. Dynamic pricing updated weekly.
Max pros per homeowner request3, all verified3–8Up to 15
Listing-card direct contactExclusive — the homeowner picks you, you alone get the contactHidden behind match flowHidden behind match flow
Contract lengthNo contract12 months typicalNo contract
Cancellation penaltyNone30–35% early-termination fee with 60 days notice requiredNone
Verification badgeReal, with published methodologyVermont AG settlement Oct 2025 ($100K) over misleading "Certified Pro" labelBackground-checked badge (identity only, not licensing)
Contact info on your listingYour phone and website shown directlyHomeowner routed through their form/match flowHomeowner routed through in-app messaging
Regulatory historyNone$7.2M FTC settlement (2023) for deceptive lead marketingNo major FTC action to date

Angi pricing ranges compiled from contractor reports on Hook Agency, Mass Monopoly, and Lead Truffle (2026). Thumbtack pricing from the Thumbtack help center and independent reviews noting up to 15 pros per request. FTC settlement: ftc.gov, Jan 2023. Vermont AG settlement: ago.vermont.gov, Oct 2025.

What contractors are saying about Angi

We did not write these. Every quote is summarized from public contractor forums and review sites. We link the sources so you can read them yourself.

"Paid Angi almost $15,000 for leads that never manifested, mostly repetitive tiny-home and trailer-home builds."

— Contractor forum, 2025

"They send fake names and phone numbers to charge you for, and refuse to refund even when the number is invalid."

— Consumer Affairs, 2025

"The same lead went to 8 other contractors. By the time I called, the homeowner had already hired someone."

— Hook Agency survey of Angi contractors

Why we can do this

The per-lead model is not a law of physics. It is a business choice Angi made when they needed a growth story for IAC. Here is why PermitDeck can run a different model.

Free for one year, then revisited. Never per-lead.

Brian (founder) committed on April 19, 2026 to keep leads and listings free to contractors through at least April 19, 2027. After that we will revisit. If we ever do charge, it will be flat monthly placement fees with a free tier always available. Per-lead pricing is how Angi burned contractors; we are not doing that.

Max 3 pros per request. Never 8. Never 15.

When a homeowner fills a match form, we cap the share at 3 verified contractors. Angi sends to 3-8. Thumbtack sends to up to 15. When a homeowner picks you from a listing page, that contact goes to you alone - no sharing at all. The 3-max cap is a hard ceiling, not a marketing line.

Verification you can hold us to

See the full methodology at /about/verification. Real license checks, real website checks, and a verification date on every listing. If we ever charge for the badge, we will label it clearly and keep a free verified tier.

Award winners get free featured placement

If you are picked as a PermitDeck award winner for your city, your listing gets a free year of featured placement if paid tiers launch. No application fee, no upsell.

Where Angi and Thumbtack are genuinely better right now

We are not going to pretend we are a drop-in replacement. Here is what the big aggregators have that we do not, yet:

  • Volume. Angi reaches about 40 million homeowners. Thumbtack did $400M+ in revenue in 2025. We are pre-traffic and growing.
  • Brand recognition. Homeowners have heard of Angi and Thumbtack. They have not heard of PermitDeck yet.
  • Coverage in every trade. Both aggregators list every home-services trade. We are currently strong in decks, tree care, and electrical, with plumbing next.

The honest take: if you need 10 new leads tomorrow, Angi or Thumbtack will probably get them to you faster, even though you will pay $15–$200 for each one and share them with 3–15 competitors. If you are building a long-term pipeline of verified homeowner contacts at zero cost for at least the next 12 months, we think we are the better bet.

Frequently asked questions

Is PermitDeck actually free for contractors?+
Yes, and we have committed publicly to keeping it free through at least April 19, 2027. After that, we will revisit pricing. If and when paid tiers launch, there will still be a free listing option, and pricing will always be flat placement fees, never per-lead. We will give 60 days notice before anything changes.
Does a homeowner inquiry go to me alone, or is it shared with other contractors?+
It depends on how the homeowner contacted you. If the homeowner viewed your listing and clicked your phone number or website, that contact is yours alone, period. If the homeowner filled a match form asking us to find them a contractor, the inquiry is shared with up to 3 verified local pros (including you). The 3-max cap is a hard ceiling. Angi sends the same lead to 3-8. Thumbtack sends to up to 15. We cap at 3, always free.
Why share match-form inquiries at all? Why not send every one to just one contractor?+
Because it is better for homeowners. Sharing a match request with 3 pros gives the homeowner price comparison and faster response (redundancy against contractors who do not reply). The reason the shared-lead model is hated on Angi and Thumbtack is that contractors PAY per shared lead, so they pay for a 1-in-8 or 1-in-15 chance. We are free through April 2027, so there is no money changing hands on any inquiry. Sharing 3 ways at zero cost is strictly better than sending to 1 who might never respond.
What catches me off guard if I switch from Angi or Thumbtack?+
Volume. Angi reaches about 40 million homeowners. Thumbtack has over $400M in annual revenue. We are pre-traffic and scaling. The tradeoff is: fewer total inquiries today, but you pay nothing, competitors are capped at 3, and every homeowner has already read real permit and cost information before they contact you.
Do you sell my information to anyone?+
No. We do not sell contractor contact information to third parties, lead buyers, or marketing companies. Homeowner match-form inquiries are routed only to the (up to 3) verified contractors the homeowner consents to share with. Listing-card direct contacts (phone and website clicks) go nowhere except to you.
How do I claim my listing?+
Go to /claim-listing, search for your business, and submit a claim. If your email domain matches your listed website domain, you are auto-verified immediately. Otherwise we review claims manually within 48 hours. If you are not listed yet, submit your business at /list-your-business.

Free through April 2027. No per-lead fees. No contracts.

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Information accurate as of April 2026. We update this page when pricing or terms change on either side.