Contractors keep asking which platform to sign up for, Angi or HomeAdvisor, and the honest first answer makes the rest of the comparison easier: they are the same company. The brands merged into one corporate family years ago, and HomeAdvisor now operates as the pro-facing arm under the Angi umbrella. Open the pro signup page and the header reads "HomeAdvisor powered by Angi." You are not choosing between two lead vendors. You are choosing between two products from one vendor, and possibly choosing neither.
The two products, plainly
Angi Ads is a visibility product. You pay to be promoted inside the directory homeowners browse: higher placement, a badge, profile prominence. It behaves like advertising: you are buying attention, and the homeowner still chooses who to contact.
Angi Leads is the classic HomeAdvisor model: the platform sells you individual homeowner requests. A homeowner describes a project, and that request is sold, typically to several pros at once. You are buying names and racing the other buyers to the phone.
The economics differ completely. Ads is a monthly spend with diffuse returns that depend on your profile strength and review base. Leads is per-unit pricing with sharply measurable returns and a brutal dependency on response speed. Most contractor complaints you read about "Angi" are complaints about the leads product: shared leads, unreachable homeowners, dispute friction. The full cost math on that side lives in our HomeAdvisor for contractors breakdown.
What each costs
| Angi Ads | Angi Leads (HomeAdvisor) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly advertising spend, quoted by rep | ~$300/yr membership + $15 to $100+ per shared lead |
| What you buy | Directory visibility and placement | Individual homeowner requests |
| Exclusivity | Homeowner picks who to contact | Typically sold to multiple pros |
| Best case | Strong profile with deep reviews compounding attention | Open capacity, big tickets, five-minute response times |
| Worst case | Monthly fee with no attribution and no floor | Paying retail for leads your competitors also bought |
| Verdict | Same company either way. If you must pick one, Leads at least gives you unit economics you can measure and dispute. But measure it against the alternative below before signing anything. | |
The comparison that actually matters
The real decision isn't Ads versus Leads. It is platform leads versus Google Local Service Ads, and LSAs win the head-to-head for most home service trades: also pay-per-lead, but exclusive to you, carrying the Google Verified badge, sitting above regular results, and consistently cheaper per acquired customer. The dispute process is Google's, the reviews you earn live on your own Business Profile, and nothing about your presence evaporates if you stop spending.
That last point is the quiet tax on both Angi products: everything you build there, placement, reviews, history, belongs to the platform. Ten years of five-star platform reviews transfer to nothing the day you leave. Reviews pointed at your Google Business Profile compound on an asset you keep, which is why our review engine playbook starts there and never with a directory.
When the Angi family still makes sense
- You are new, your calendar is empty, and you can answer every lead inside five minutes. Rented demand beats no demand; treat it as a bridge and dispute junk leads weekly.
- Your trade has big enough tickets that even a $240-per-booked-job acquisition cost pencils out.
- You have maxed LSAs in your category and market, and you want overflow volume with measurable unit costs.
Outside those cases, the same budget builds more durable demand in LSAs, reviews, and a site that converts. That migration path, rented leads to owned demand, is the whole thesis of our contractor lead guide, and it is also why we compare these platforms honestly instead of selling against them blindly: see the Angi Leads vs your own marketing engine breakdown for the deeper math.
Frequently asked questions
Are Angi and HomeAdvisor the same company?
Yes. They merged into one corporate family years ago, and HomeAdvisor now operates as the pro-facing arm under the Angi umbrella, branded "HomeAdvisor powered by Angi." Signing up for both does not diversify your lead sources; it is one pipe with two labels.
What is the difference between Angi Ads and Angi Leads?
Angi Ads is a visibility product: you pay to be promoted in the directory homeowners browse. Angi Leads (the old HomeAdvisor model) sells individual homeowner requests, typically shared with several pros at once. Ads is closer to advertising; Leads is closer to buying names, and the economics differ accordingly.
How much do Angi and HomeAdvisor leads cost?
Reported ranges run $15 to $60 per lead for smaller trades and $50 to $100+ for big-ticket work like roofing and remodeling, plus an annual membership commonly around $300. Because leads are shared, real cost per booked job is the lead fee times the number of leads it takes to win one.
Should contractors use Angi, HomeAdvisor, or neither?
Use the leads product only with open capacity, a big-ticket trade, and sub-five-minute response times, and treat it as a bridge. Established contractors near capacity usually do better in Google Local Service Ads, which are exclusive, Google Verified, and cheaper per acquired customer, while building review volume and a site that converts.
Do reviews transfer between Angi and HomeAdvisor?
The platforms manage their own review displays, and none of it belongs to you. Reviews earned on the platform stay on the platform if you leave, which is the strongest argument for pointing happy customers at your Google Business Profile first: that history compounds on an asset you keep.
Whichever pipe you rent, own the destination.
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