GigNGo vs Thumbtack: Which is Better?
An honest comparison for 2026. Thumbtack charges locals for each lead. GigNGo charges no lead fees and no commission, homeowners post and hire free, and your request isn't sold.
GigNGo vs Thumbtack: Complete Comparison
Both GigNGo and Thumbtack help homeowners find someone local to do a job. They differ in how they make money, in what happens to your request, and in what you get to see before someone comes to your door.
Quick Summary
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.
Thumbtack: you describe a job and get matched with pros, and those pros pay a fee for each lead. Third-party guides put that at roughly $10 to $100 or more per lead, commonly $35 to $60 (Auto-Respond, 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.
| Feature | GigNGo | Thumbtack |
|---|---|---|
| Posting a job | ✓ Free for homeowners | ✓ Free for homeowners |
| What locals 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) |
| When the charge happens | Never per job | At the connection, before anyone is hired |
| Your phone number and email | Shared only with the local you hire or book | Calls routed through masked “Thumbtack Numbers” |
| Video of the local's own work | ✓ Locals film and post their work | Profiles and reviews |
| Background checks | ✗ No. We verify a phone number, nothing more | Optional Checkr check shown as a badge; required for Top Pro |
| Guarantee | ✗ None | Up to $1,000 |
How Thumbtack charges, and what that means for you
Thumbtack makes its money from per-lead fees paid by pros. The fee is charged when a homeowner and a pro are connected, before anyone has agreed to anything (Auto-Respond). Thumbtack has since added an automatic refund when a homeowner doesn't reply within 72 hours. It came bundled with a price rise of about 10% tied to masked “Thumbtack Numbers”, which some of its own pros objected to on its community forum (Thumbtack Community).
Some of what pros have said in public:
- “every lead has 5 other pros contacted” — a pro on Thumbtack's community forum
- “In the last 45 days, I've have had 11 (EXPENSIVE) leads but ZERO and I mean ZERO bookings” — a pro on Thumbtack's community forum
- “charging me $100 for a job that I can only charge max $250” — a Trustpilot reviewer
What that means for you: a pro who paid for leads that didn't turn into work has to cover that cost somewhere, and on a small job the lead can be a large share of the price. It also means one request can reach several pros at once.
How GigNGo charges
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.
Knowing who is coming to your door
GigNGo does not run background checks. We verify a phone number, and that is the whole of it. We don't confirm licenses or insurance, and a profile on GigNGo is not us vouching for anyone.
What you get instead is more to look at before you decide. Locals post short videos of work they have actually done, under their own name and town, and neighbors can vouch for a local they know. That takes real, repeated effort, which someone with something to hide is less willing to put in. It is not a background check and we won't call it one: a determined person can film a driveway too. Ask for a license and proof of insurance wherever the work calls for it.
On screening, Thumbtack does more than we do. It offers an optional Checkr background check shown as a badge, required only for Top Pro, and a guarantee of up to $1,000 (Thumbtack Safety; LawnStarter review). Weigh that honestly.
GigNGo Advantages
- Your request isn't sold
- $0 per lead and 0% commission; locals keep 100% of the price
- Free for homeowners to post and hire
- Video of the local's own work, under their name
- Neighbors can vouch for a local they know
- You pay the local directly
GigNGo Considerations
- Coverage is strongest in and around larger metros
- Fewer services than Thumbtack (335 vs 500+)
- No background checks: we verify a phone number, nothing more
- No money-back guarantee
- Locals need a flat monthly membership to apply
Thumbtack Advantages
- A very wide range of services
- Optional background-check badge, required for Top Pro
- Guarantee of up to $1,000
- Masked phone numbers
- Pros are refunded when a homeowner doesn't reply within 72 hours
Thumbtack Disadvantages
- Pros pay per lead, hired or not
- Pros report the same lead going to several competitors
- Lead prices rose with the switch to masked numbers
- On small jobs the lead can be a large share of the price
The Verdict
For homeowners: both are free to post on. GigNGo doesn't sell your request, and you can watch a local's own work before they come to your door. Thumbtack offers a background-check badge and a guarantee, which GigNGo does not.
For locals: GigNGo has no lead fees and no commission. You pay one flat monthly membership to apply, so the cost doesn't rise with every job you chase.
Use both if you like. Posting on GigNGo is free for homeowners.
Post a Task Free →Frequently Asked Questions
Is GigNGo free?
For homeowners, yes: posting a job 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 to companies?
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.
How much does Thumbtack charge pros per lead?
Thumbtack doesn't publish a national price sheet. Third-party guides put it at roughly $10 to $100 or more per lead, commonly $35 to $60 (Auto-Respond).
What does GigNGo check about a local?
No. We verify a phone number, and that is the whole of it. Thumbtack offers an optional background check badge. On GigNGo you see a local's filmed work and any neighbors who vouch for them, and you decide.
Can I use both platforms?
Yes. Plenty of homeowners post in more than one place, and posting on GigNGo costs homeowners nothing.
Related Resources
- All the platforms compared side by side — GigNGo, Thumbtack, TaskRabbit, Angi, Handy and Airtasker
- GigNGo vs Angi — the other big lead marketplace
- Lead fees explained — how pay-per-lead platforms charge locals
- Lead fee calculator — what pay-per-lead costs per month and per year
- Real cost guides — median prices from real posted jobs
Competitor facts on this page come from each company's own filings and help pages, regulators, court records and published reviews, linked where they appear. Prices from third-party guides are labelled as estimates. Checked September 2026.
Know Who Is Coming to Your Door
Post a job free, watch the local's own work, and hire the person you choose. Locals pay no lead fees and no commission and keep 100% of the price.