Why Contractors Hate Yelp, Angi, and HomeAdvisor, and What Works Instead

A working super's take on why the lead-selling model is broken, and what is working instead.

If you are a contractor in 2026, you already know Yelp, Angi, and HomeAdvisor have a problem.

You paid for a "lead."

You called the homeowner. Then you called again. You never reached them.

When you finally did, they had already taken bids from five other contractors who paid for the same lead. The lowest bid won. And you could not match that price without losing money.

The math does not work

Let's walk through it.

A lead for a $25,000 kitchen runs about $75 to $150. That depends on the platform, the job, and the area.

That same lead gets sold to four to six contractors at once.

By industry estimates, the close rate on a shared lead is often 15 to 20 percent at best. In a crowded market it is lower.

So you pay around $100 for a one-in-five shot.

You have to win one job out of five just to break even on the lead cost. That is before materials. Before your trade partners. Before any profit at all.

That is why these bids feel rushed. The profit is gone before the job even starts.

It is a race to the bottom

The same lead goes to six contractors. Now they are all in a price war.

The lowest bid usually wins. Even when the lowest bid is doing it wrong.

No permits. No workers comp. Corners cut.

The homeowner does not see that part. They just see a low number.

This is not just our opinion. In 2023 the Federal Trade Commission ordered HomeAdvisor, the company tied to Angi, to pay up to $7.2 million for false and misleading claims about the leads it sold to contractors.

The lead is not always real

A lot of these leads are not serious buyers.

Some are just price-shoppers. Some are renters checking for a friend. Some are folks who were never going to hire anyone.

You paid the same fee for those.

The hidden cost is your time

Every lead is more than the fee.

It is phone calls. A site visit. An estimate. Follow-up.

That is often three to five hours per lead.

The ones that never close add up. For a lot of contractors, that is a full week of unpaid time a month.

A different way

We built YouSuperIntendIT the other way around.

Tim is a working California superintendent. He has watched this cycle eat good contractors alive. He has watched homeowners get hosed by the ones who only survived by cutting corners.

So here is how our contractor side works.

• Flat monthly pricing. No per-lead fees. Basic is free. Pro is $49 a month. ProPlus is $99 a month.
• Bid on as many projects as you want.
• You see the projects and choose which ones to bid on. No mass-blast leads. No race to call first.
• The homeowners here have done their homework. They posted a detailed project, or paid for a bid analysis. These are not tire-kickers.
• No phone-spam war. The homeowner messages you on their own schedule.
• We take no commission. You keep 100 percent of the contract.

We are a small family-owned business, building this from scratch. We are not perfect. We get better every day. Because everyone wins when projects go right.

If you are tired of the lead-selling treadmill, try us. Basic is free. Browse the projects in your area. If you see no value in 30 days, you have lost nothing.

FAQs

What is the catch with free Basic?

No catch. Basic gives you a profile, search visibility, and up to 3 project bids a month. Pro at $49 a month adds unlimited bids, priority placement, and analytics. ProPlus at $99 a month adds the verified badge and top placement in homeowner searches.

How is this different from Thumbtack?

Thumbtack also uses pay-per-lead. They call them credits, but it is the same math. Every contractor who responds to a message pays for that contact. With our subscription, the per-lead cost is zero.

I am a Skilled Tradesperson without a CSLB license. Can I use this?

Yes. We have two tiers. Licensed Contractor is for CSLB-licensed contractors on permitted work. Skilled Tradesperson is for experienced tradespeople on smaller jobs that do not need a license.

How do you make money if not from leads?

Two ways. Contractor subscriptions, and homeowner bid analysis reports ($14.99 single, $34.99 for a 3-pack). We do not sell your contact info. We take no commissions. We do not run ads.