Which One Should You Pay For? Straight Answers for Contractors.
Every page here puts two ways of getting jobs side by side, in contractor terms: what each one costs, who gets the lead, what you own when you stop paying, and which one fits a company your size. The verdicts come from platform pricing pages, public filings, and the accounts we run.
Pick the comparison you are deciding on right now. Each one takes about 10 minutes to read and ends with a call you can make today.
6 Comparisons, Updated Every Year
Pricing and platform rules change. Each page shows the date we last checked it.
Thumbtack vs Angi for Contractors: Which One Costs You Less, and When?
Thumbtack vs Angi for contractors: how each bills you, membership fees, shared leads, the FTC case, and a verdict by company size. Real numbers, no vendor spin.
Read the comparison Google ChannelsLocal Services Ads vs Google Ads for Contractors: Pay Per Lead or Pay Per Click?
Local Services Ads vs Google Ads for contractors: pay per lead vs pay per click, placement, control, lead credits, the Google Verified badge, and the budget split.
Read the comparison ReputationGoogle Reviews vs Yelp Reviews for Contractors: Where to Put Your Review Effort
Google reviews vs Yelp reviews for contractors: where homeowners look, how each platform filters reviews, the no-asking rule, ranking effects, where to spend effort.
Read the comparison Paid AdsMeta Ads vs Google Ads for Home Services: Which One Books the Jobs?
Meta ads vs Google ads for home services: which jobs go where, how each bills, lead quality, speed to lead, and the budget split we run by company size.
Read the comparison Paid AdsGoogle Ads vs Yelp Ads for Contractors: Where Does the Money Go Further?
Google Ads vs Yelp Ads for contractors: how each bills, contract terms, targeting, lead quality, where Yelp still works, and a straight verdict by situation.
Read the comparison Direct MailEDDM vs Targeted Direct Mail for Home Services: Saturate the Route or Buy the List?
EDDM vs targeted direct mail for home services: USPS postage per piece, list costs, minimums, response benchmarks, and which one fits each trade and campaign.
Read the comparisonThe Numbers Come Before the Verdict
We rank the two options on the things that show up on your P&L: cost per lead, whether the lead is yours alone, close rate, contract terms, and what happens to the asset when you stop paying. When we have our own client data, it comes first. When we do not, we cite the platform's own pricing and policy pages or a public filing, and we say so.
Vendor Benchmarks and Agency Blogs Stay Out
You will not find a competitor's lead-cost study quoted on these pages. Most of those studies exist to sell you something. If the only source for a number is another marketing company, we leave the number out and tell you the range from our own accounts instead.