A lead you rent arrives the day you pay and stops the day you stop. Google Local Services Ads, Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, Bark and Yelp Ads all work that way, each with its own rules. A lead you own comes from something you built: your Google profile and reviews, your site, the neighbors of every job, past customers and the people who refer you. Angi's 2025 annual report describes its lead revenue as fees paid by pros for consumer matches, regardless of whether the pro ultimately provides the requested service. Google says lead prices vary with your location, the job type, the type of lead and your bidding mode. It does not publish a price list.
- Most lead platforms do not publish prices for pros. Get your trade and zip code quoted in writing.
- Pay-per-lead means paying for introductions, not jobs. Measure every source by cost per job won.
- Answering fast decides shared leads and protects your ranking on Google's ads.
- Owned leads take longer to build and then cost almost nothing per job.
Every source, the same columns
One table, the same five columns for every row, Koira included. Where a source does not publish a figure, the cell says so.
| Source | How you pay | Published price | Who else sees the lead | Card payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Local Services Ads | Per valid lead | Not published; varies by location, job type and lead type | The customer chose your profile to contact | Not a payments product |
| Angi and HomeAdvisor | Per match, whether or not you win | Not published; quoted by trade and area | One request can become several leads; HomeAdvisor says up to four pros | EasyPay: 2.99% per transaction |
| Thumbtack | A lead budget you set; no membership fee | Not published on its pro page | Customers can contact several pros | Not listed on its pro page |
| Bark | Credits to respond to a lead | Set by service, job value and local demand; credits last 3 months | Several pros can respond | Not a payments product |
| Yelp Ads | Monthly ad budget | From $150 a month | Your ad shows among competitors | Not a payments product |
| Nextdoor | Free page and posts; paid ads | Ad prices not listed | Neighbors see several recommendations | Not a payments product |
| BBB accreditation | Annual dues | Set by your local BBB, partly by business size | Not a lead service | Not a payments product |
| Koira (leads you own) | Monthly plan, no per-person fee | Office free; Grow $249 a month plus usage at cost; Front Office $499 flat | Nobody: calls and requests come to your own number, site and listing | Stripe 2.9% + 30¢, plus Koira keeps 2%, 1% or 0.5% by plan |
On card payments, Stripe's processing (2.9% + 30¢ for a US card) comes out of each payment, and Koira keeps 2% on Office, 1% on Grow and 0.5% on Front Office. Koira has no per-person fee: the same price with one person or fifteen.
Each platform, from its own pages
- Google Local Services Ads: Pay per lead at the top of Google: what counts as a charged lead, credits, screening and ranking.
- Angi: Lead fees owed win or lose, the end of Angi Ads in late 2025, and how to judge it with your numbers.
- HomeAdvisor: Angi Leads per-match fees, up to four pros per request, and the 2.99% EasyPay card rate.
- Thumbtack: No membership fee, a lead budget you control, and fees that are final under its terms.
- Yelp Ads: Free page, ads from $150 a month, Upgrade Package $180, and how to test whether it pays.
- Nextdoor: A free business page and posts, neighbor recommendations, and when paid ads make sense.
- Porch: An insurance and software company now, with a Porch Pro Network for homeowner projects.
- Bark: Credit packs, prices set by service and demand, 3-month expiry and the first-pack guarantee.
- CraftJack: craftjack.com now redirects to Angi's pro sign-up, so Angi's rules apply.
- BBB accreditation: Annual dues set by business size, six months in business, a B rating and eight standards.
- Thumbtack vs Angi: Membership, pricing, sharing and refunds side by side, from each company's own pages.
- LSA vs Angi: How each charges, who else gets the lead, credits and screening, side by side.
Leads by trade
Which sources fit your trade, whether Google lists it for Local Services Ads and the leads you can own: Appliance Repair, Auto Detailing, Carpet Cleaning, Chimney, Cleaning, Commercial Cleaning, Concrete, Drywall, Electrical, Fencing, Flooring, Garage Door, General Contractor, Gutter, Handyman, HVAC, Irrigation, Junk Removal, Landscaping, Lawn Care, Locksmith, Moving, Painting, Pest Control, Plumbing, Pool Service, Pressure Washing, Remodeling, Roofing, Septic, Snow Removal, Solar, Tree Service, Waterproofing, Window Cleaning.
Google how-to guides
The only number that matters
Add up what a source cost you in a month, divide by the jobs it actually booked, and compare that with what you keep on a job. The free cost per lead vs cost per job calculator does it with your numbers, the missed call calculator shows what unanswered calls cost, and the marketing budget planner works backward from the jobs you want.
Sources
- Local Services Help: How leads work, checked October 9, 2026
- Angi Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (SEC EDGAR), checked October 9, 2026
- HomeAdvisor: How it works, checked October 9, 2026
- Angi Leads (HomeAdvisor) service professional FAQs, checked October 9, 2026
- Thumbtack for pros, checked October 9, 2026
- Bark: pricing for professionals (US), checked October 9, 2026
- Yelp for Business: local business pricing, checked October 9, 2026
- Nextdoor Business: small business, checked October 9, 2026
- BBB Accreditation Standards, checked October 9, 2026
- Koira: pricing, checked October 9, 2026
Last checked October 9, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state and city, so confirm with the agency named before you act.