GigNGo vs Thumbtack vs TaskRabbit vs Angi vs Handy: 2026 Comparison
Five ways to hire local help, five different business models. Here is how each one charges, what happens to your request, and what each checks, with sources.
The Five Platforms, Side by Side
All five connect people who need help with people who do the work, but they charge for it in very different ways. Most of the paid ones make their money at the moment a homeowner and a worker are introduced, before anyone has agreed to anything. This table summarizes each model as of 2026.
| GigNGo | Thumbtack | TaskRabbit | Angi | Handy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What the homeowner pays | Free to post; pay the local directly, nothing added | Free to post; pay the quoted price | The tasker's rate plus a Service Fee and a Trust & Support fee, through the platform | Free to request; pay the quoted price | A price Handy sets, through the platform; cancellation fees apply |
| What workers pay | Free to make a profile; a flat monthly membership to apply. $0 per lead, 0% commission | A fee per lead, roughly $10–$100+, commonly $35–$60 (third-party estimate) | One-time $25 registration fee; taskers set their own rate | About $300 a year plus about $15–$85 per lead (third-party estimate), charged whether or not the job happens | Historically paid a rate Handy set; workers may now set rates after a California settlement |
| Your request | Not sold. Locals nearby offer; you choose who to talk to | Sent to matched pros, each of whom pays for the lead | You book one tasker | Often 3–8 contractors (third-party estimate); homeowners can now pick who gets their details | Handy assigns the booking |
| Screening | No background checks. A phone number is verified, nothing more | Optional Checkr check shown as a badge; required for Top Pro | ID plus a Checkr criminal check at registration | Criminal checks on business owners or principals only | Not covered in our research |
| Best for | Seeing a local's own work before they come over, with nothing added to the job | Getting quotes across a very wide range of services | Booking a specific person by the hour | Larger home-improvement projects with established contractors | A set price for a cleaning without comparing offers |
Sources: Auto-Respond and Thumbtack Safety (Thumbtack); TaskRabbit Service Fee, Registration Fee and Happiness Pledge (TaskRabbit); Angi's 2025 10-K, LeadTruffle and MarketScreener (Angi); Mission Local and BBB (Handy). None of these companies publishes a national price sheet, so per-lead prices are third-party estimates. Checked September 2026.
Your request isn't sold
When you post a job on GigNGo, your phone number and email don't go out to a list of companies. GigNGo doesn't sell leads. Locals nearby see the job and offer to do it, you choose who to talk to, and your phone number and email are shared only with the local you hire or book.
The job itself is visible to locals nearby, so keep your phone number out of the description and sort the details out in messages.
How Each One Charges, and What That Means for You
GigNGo
GigNGo charges no commission and no lead fees: the price a homeowner agrees with a local is the price that local keeps. Homeowners post and hire for free. Making a profile is free for locals; applying to jobs takes a flat monthly membership, with $0 per lead and 0% commission. Because we earn from a membership rather than from selling leads, we only make money if a local sticks around — so unlike a lead marketplace, we want you to find one person you trust and keep calling them. It covers all 50 states, and coverage is strongest in and around larger metros.
Thumbtack
Thumbtack charges pros per lead, at the point the homeowner and pro are connected. Third-party guides put it at roughly $10 to $100 or more per lead, commonly $35 to $60 (Auto-Respond). It now refunds a pro automatically when a homeowner doesn't reply within 72 hours, bundled with a price rise tied to masked “Thumbtack Numbers” (Thumbtack Community). See GigNGo vs Thumbtack.
TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit lets you book a specific person by the hour and handles payment. It adds a Service Fee and a Trust & Support fee to the homeowner's bill (TaskRabbit Support), and a lawsuit filed in July 2025 alleges the Trust & Support fee appears only at checkout (ClassAction.org). Taskers set their own rate. See GigNGo vs TaskRabbit.
Angi
Angi (the merger of Angie's List and HomeAdvisor) says in its own annual report that lead fees are charged “regardless of whether the Pro ultimately provides the requested service” (Angi 10-K). In 2023 the FTC ordered HomeAdvisor to pay up to $7.2 million over how it marketed its leads (FTC). Since January 2025 homeowners can choose which pros receive their contact details (MarketScreener). See GigNGo vs Angi.
Handy
Handy sets a price up front for services such as cleaning and assigns the booking. Its $99 cancellation fees dominate its BBB complaints (BBB). Handy paid $2.95 million to settle an FTC case over advertised worker earnings (FTC), and after a $6 million California settlement workers may now set their own rates (Mission Local). It suits someone who wants a set price without comparing offers.
Also worth knowing: Airtasker and Google
Airtasker launched in New York City on June 23, 2026 with the same basic shape as GigNGo: post a task and receive offers. Its service fee comes out of the worker's side of the agreed price (Airtasker; BusinessWire). See GigNGo vs Airtasker.
Google Local Services Ads still show a “Google Verified” badge, but Google retired the up-to-$2,000 money-back guarantee that used to stand behind it (Google; Footbridge Media). A badge and a promise are not the same thing, on any platform.
When GigNGo Is Not the Best Pick
An honest comparison should say so plainly. If you want a platform that runs a background check, TaskRabbit checks taskers at registration and Thumbtack offers a background-check badge; GigNGo runs none and verifies only a phone number. If you want a fixed price for a cleaning without reading any offers, Handy is built for exactly that. If you want a money-back guarantee, Thumbtack offers one up to $1,000 and GigNGo offers none. GigNGo's case is different: your request isn't sold, nothing is added to the job, and you can watch a local's own work before they come to your door. Posting is free for homeowners, so it costs nothing to see who is nearby alongside the others.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which app is cheapest for hiring local help?
Of these five, GigNGo is the only one where no fee is added to the job: homeowners post for free and pay the local directly, and locals pay neither a commission nor a lead fee; they pay a flat monthly membership to apply. Thumbtack and Angi are also free for homeowners, but their pros pay for leads. TaskRabbit adds a Service Fee and a Trust & Support fee to the homeowner's bill, and Handy charges a price it sets itself.
Which app is best for workers?
It depends on what a worker values. For keeping earnings, GigNGo is the only one of the five with no lead fees and no commission, so locals keep 100 percent of the agreed price; the cost is a flat monthly membership to apply. Thumbtack and Angi charge per lead whether or not the worker is hired. TaskRabbit taskers set their own rates, and its fees go on the homeowner's bill.
Is GigNGo free?
For homeowners, yes: posting, receiving offers and hiring are free, and you pay the local directly. For locals, making a profile is free, and applying to jobs takes a flat monthly membership, with $0 per lead and 0% commission.
Does GigNGo sell my request?
No. GigNGo doesn't sell leads. Locals nearby see your job and offer, you choose who to talk to, and your phone number and email are shared only with the local you hire or book.
Detailed head-to-head comparisons: GigNGo vs Thumbtack, GigNGo vs TaskRabbit, GigNGo vs Angi, GigNGo vs Airtasker, GigNGo vs Nextdoor, and GigNGo vs Craigslist. If you are a local weighing lead costs, see Lead Fees Explained and the lead fee calculator.
Nothing Added to the Job
Post a job free and choose the local yourself. Locals pay no lead fees and no commission and keep 100 percent of the price.