Lead marketplaces
“Is Angi or HomeAdvisor worth it?”
It can be, for the contractor who reaches the homeowner first. Angi says in its own help pages that a customer's request is matched with multiple pros and that each pro pays for each lead. So you're not buying a job. You're buying a place in a race, and the answer to “is it worth it” lives in your own numbers, not in anyone's review of the platform.
You’re paying to be in a race
When the same request goes to several pros, the pro who gets back first with a clear answer has the best shot at the job. A lead that sits in an inbox for an hour costs the same as one you answered in a minute, and it is worth a lot less.
That changes the question. Instead of asking whether the platform is good, ask whether you are fast enough to win what you pay for.
How to judge it on your own numbers
Pull the last three months and write down four numbers:
- What you spent on leads.
- How many leads you got, and how many you actually reached.
- How many turned into booked jobs.
- What those jobs were worth to you after costs.
If you keep it, win the race
Speed is the lever you control. With MainStreet a lead that calls you rings your app, then your phone, and one you miss gets a text from your business number. One inbox for every channel: every lead, from every source, lands in one inbox and in your CRM, so the four numbers above stop being guesswork. More on missed calls.
Build the leads you don’t have to buy
Every paid lead source is rented. The leads you own come from a Google profile with steady reviews, a website that turns visitors into calls, and past customers who remember your name. Those take months to build and then keep paying. The owners who get off the marketplace treadmill are the ones who start building them while the paid leads still cover the bills.
What we don’t do
We don’t sell leads, and we don’t manage ad campaigns. We make sure the leads you already get, paid or free, are answered fast and tracked to the job.
Questions owners ask
Is the same Angi lead sent to other contractors?
It can be. Angi’s own help pages say it uses the customer’s request to connect them with multiple service professionals, and that you pay a fee for each lead you match to. How many pros get a given request varies, and Angi doesn’t publish one number.
How do I know if it’s worth the money?
Divide what you spent on leads last quarter by the jobs you actually booked from them, and compare that with your average profit per job. If you can’t produce the booked-jobs number, that’s the first thing to fix, and it’s what MainStreet’s monthly report tracks.
Are Google Local Services Ads better?
Different. With Local Services Ads the homeowner picks you from Google’s list and contacts you directly, and you can dispute a lead that wasn’t a real job request. MainStreet pulls LSA calls and messages into the same inbox as everything else, and lets you reply and dispute from there.
Can MainStreet respond to marketplace leads for me?
Marketplace leads that reach you by call, text or email land in the same inbox and get the same missed-call text-back. For some marketplaces we can also text the customer as soon as the lead arrives. Tell us which ones you use and we’ll say exactly what’s possible.
Should I quit Angi?
Not on principle. Quit a lead source when your own numbers say it costs more per booked job than the job is worth, and not before. Many owners keep one paid source while they build the free ones: Google reviews, a website that converts, and referrals.
Where to go from here
Related
Talk to the person who builds it.
Call or text (984) 646-5210, or send the form. Fifteen minutes, no pitch deck.
Where these numbers come from
- Angi: Angi Leads help FAQ (pro.homeadvisor.com/help/faqs), read 2026-09-21: it “uses the completed service profile to connect customers with multiple Angi Leads service professionals” and “you pay a nominal fee for each lead you match to.”