Last Updated: September 30, 2026
If you are paying for leads you rarely win, leaving Thumbtack or Angi is a reasonable call. Build your own way for neighbors to find you first, then turn the paid leads down, not off, until the new way is bringing in work.
This is written for locals who do cleaning, handyman work, lawns, painting, moving and the like. It is not a hit piece. Lead sites work for some people. The point is to know your numbers before you decide.
Table of Contents
What changed on the lead sites in 2026
A few things are worth knowing, each from a source you can check.
- Shared leads cost more than they look. A long-time Thumbtack user wrote in June 2026 that one lead cost him $91, that he could see at least two other people on the same lead, and that the homeowner was not planning the job until the following month. That is one person's account, but the thread is full of people saying the same thing.
- Thumbtack now sits between you and the homeowner's phone. Direct leads arrive with a Thumbtack-assigned number rather than the homeowner's own, and calls and texts route through Thumbtack's system, according to a 2026 write-up by Tack Tools Pro, a company that sells tools for Thumbtack users. The same change added an automatic refund when a homeowner answers nobody within 72 hours and you followed the rules for replying.
- Angi is cutting costs and aiming at bigger companies. Angi cut about 350 jobs in January 2026 and said it was doing so "in light of AI-driven efficiency improvements" (Business Insider via Yahoo Finance). On its second-quarter 2026 earnings call, its CEO said about 65% of what service businesses spend to find work comes from companies with more than 20 employees, and that Angi "under-index[es] significantly against the large pro segment." In plain words, the growth plan points at bigger firms, not the one-person local.
None of this means the sites are dishonest. It means they are built around selling each request to several people, and the one-person local is not where they are putting their effort.
Do the math before you quit
You need two numbers from the last three months: how much you spent on leads, and how many jobs those leads actually turned into. Divide the first by the second. That is what each real job cost you to find.
- If that cost is more than the job paid you, the leads are losing money, whatever the dashboard says.
- If it is a small slice of what the job paid, the leads are working for you, and quitting outright would be a mistake.
- Count your time too. Calling back homeowners who never answer, driving to quotes you do not win and chasing refunds all come out of the hours you could be working.
A quick example
Say you spent $900 on leads over three months and won six jobs from them. Each job cost you $150 to find. If your typical job is a $120 repair, you are paying more to find the work than the work pays. If your typical job is a $2,000 deck, $150 might be fine. The same lead price can be a good deal for one trade and a bad one for another.
Build your own way in before you switch off
The reason leaving feels risky is that the lead site is often the only thing bringing in calls. So build the replacement while the leads are still running.
- Film your jobs. Thirty seconds of the problem, you working, and the result. A homeowner deciding who comes into their house learns more from that than from any rating. Our guide to getting work without paying for leads covers what to film.
- Put your work on a page that belongs to you. Your name, your photo, the towns you work in and your videos, at one link you can hand out.
- Get on Google. Google can now call businesses for homeowners who ask it to, and it calls the number on a Google Business Profile. See how to get found when Google calls for homeowners.
- Ask every happy homeowner for the next job. Book the repeat before you leave, ask who else on the street needs the same thing, and ask them to vouch for you.
Keep the neighbors you earn
On GigNGo your videos sit on your own profile, homeowners nearby can hire you from them, and the relationship stays between you and them. Locals who have filmed their work are listed ahead of locals who have not. GigNGo takes no commission and charges no per-lead fees. Offering on a job needs a GigNGo membership.
Make your free profileNo lead fees · No commission · See the price
How to switch without a dry month
- Month one: keep your lead budget where it is. Film every job, set up your profile and your Google listing, and put the link everywhere.
- Month two: cut the lead budget by about half. Watch how many calls come from your own link, your Google listing and repeat homeowners.
- Month three: if your own sources are covering the gap, drop the leads to whatever you need to fill slow weeks, or to zero.
Before you close an account, read the site's terms on cancelling and on any balance or credits you hold, and download anything you want to keep, such as your list of past jobs.
When staying makes sense
Paid leads can still be the right call if your jobs are large, your win rate is high, or you need work this week and have nothing else yet. Plenty of locals use a lead site to fill gaps while they build their own reputation. The mistake is paying for leads without knowing what each won job costs you, or paying instead of building anything you keep.
The short version
- Work out what each job from paid leads really cost you
- Build your own way in while the leads are still running
- Film your jobs and keep them on a page that is yours
- Get a Google Business Profile before Google's calls reach your trade
- Cut the lead budget in stages, not all at once
Frequently asked questions
Should I leave Thumbtack or Angi?
If you are paying for leads you rarely win, leaving is reasonable, but do it in stages. First build a way for neighbors to find you on your own: a profile with your real work on it, one link in every bio, and a Google Business Profile. Then work out what each job you actually won from paid leads cost you. If that number is higher than the job was worth, cut the budget. If it is comfortably lower, keep a small budget to fill gaps in your week.
Why are so many locals frustrated with paid lead sites in 2026?
The complaints are consistent: the same request goes to several people who each pay for it, lead prices keep rising, and many homeowners never answer. One Thumbtack user described paying $91 for a lead that at least two other people also paid for, from a homeowner who was not planning to start for a month. Thumbtack also began routing direct leads through Thumbtack-assigned phone numbers in mid-2026, which some locals feel puts the platform between them and the homeowner.
What does GigNGo cost for locals?
Making a profile and posting videos of your work is free. GigNGo takes no commission and charges no per-lead fees. Offering on a job needs a GigNGo membership. The membership is the whole cost, and the pricing page shows the current price.
Will I lose my reviews if I leave a lead site?
Reviews on a lead site usually stay on that site, which is one reason it is worth building something that belongs to you. Keep a record of happy homeowners, ask them to vouch for you somewhere you control, and keep filming your jobs so your work history is yours wherever you go.