InstaBids

Do contractors pay for your home project request?

Often yes: on two lead services quoted on this page, a contractor is charged for a homeowner request that matches the work it chose, one lists not winning the job among situations not eligible for lead credits, and you, the homeowner, can ask for quotes at no charge on the three homeowner sites quoted.

Source: Angi Leads pro FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Thumbtack pro help, how much pros pay for leads, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Angi Leads lead credit guidelines, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Angi homeowner FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Thumbtack customer help, how to find a pro, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Modernize FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 15 October 2026

Key facts

Why would a contractor pay for your request?

Contractors pay because some matching sites charge the businesses they serve for homeowner requests that fit the work they chose, with prices their own pro pages tie to the type and size of the job and the market; one pro FAQ, read on 15 October 2026, describes a charge for each request matched to the work a business chose.

Source: Angi Leads pro FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Thumbtack pro help, how much pros pay for leads, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Modernize contractor article on lead cost, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

The Angi Leads pro FAQ at pro.homeadvisor.com, read 15 October 2026, says: "With Angi Leads, you specify the type of work you do and the geography you serve." The same answer continues: "Angi Leads provides you with new customer leads that match your requirements and you pay a nominal fee for each lead you match to." It adds: "Different sized jobs have different Lead Fees." In that FAQ, the word you means the contractor, not the homeowner.

Source: Angi Leads pro FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Thumbtack's pro help page on lead costs, read 15 October 2026, says: "When a customer reaches out to you directly from search results and their job matches your job preferences, you auto-pay for the lead." On how much, it says: "Prices will vary since a job’s value can change based on things like the type and size of the job, how many pros are available, and your market." The same Thumbtack page puts the setting in the pro's hands: "You choose how competitive you want to be by setting your lead prices. This is the exact amount you’ll pay for each lead."

Source: Thumbtack pro help, how much pros pay for leads, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Modernize describes itself to contractors this way in its FAQ, read 15 October 2026: "Modernize is a marketing services platform that helps contractors find their next jobs at an effective marketing cost." Its article for contractors on what its leads cost, read the same day, says: "These products vary in price based on factors such as trade, homeowner intent, volume, market location, and other attributes."

Source: Modernize FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Modernize contractor article on lead cost, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Put plainly, on the lead services quoted above, it is the business, not you, that the site charges for your request. Not every product works that way, though. Angi runs a separate booked-job product, Angi Services, and its pro support page, read 15 October 2026, says: "Angi Services does not cost your business anything to use and, other than certain avoidable fees, you will never be charged to use the service."

Source: Angi pro support, cost of Angi Services, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Does a contractor still pay if another business wins the job?

Yes, on at least one lead service. Its lead credit guidelines, read on 15 October 2026, list a contractor not winning the job, and a homeowner who already found someone else, among situations not eligible for lead credits, because the service says its lead pricing already accounts for them.

Source: Angi Leads lead credit guidelines, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

The Angi Leads lead credit guidelines at pro.homeadvisor.com, read 15 October 2026, introduce one list with this sentence: "The following situations are accounted for in our lead pricing and therefore not eligible for lead credits:" One item on that list reads "You did not win the job". Another reads "Consumer already found someone to complete the work". A third reads "Consumer changed their mind".

Source: Angi Leads lead credit guidelines, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

The same Angi Leads page, read 15 October 2026, is not one-sided. Under the line "The following situations may be eligible for lead credits:" it lists cases such as "The same consumer submits the same request twice, resulting in a duplicate lead".

Source: Angi Leads lead credit guidelines, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Thumbtack's pro help page on how the service works, read 15 October 2026, says: "Because these leads match your preferences, you pay for them automatically."

Source: Thumbtack pro help, how Thumbtack works, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Thumbtack's refund policy for pros, read 15 October 2026, answers the question "The customer hired a different pro. Can I get a refund?" this way: "We know it can be frustrating not getting hired, but we don’t provide refunds in these situations."

Source: Thumbtack pro help, refund policy for pros, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

For a second type of request Thumbtack calls Opportunities, where the pro writes first, its lead cost page, read 15 October 2026, says: "You only pay the price shown if the customer responds to you."

Source: Thumbtack pro help, how much pros pay for leads, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Thumbtack's Quality Commitment page, read 15 October 2026, adds a refund: "That means if a customer doesn’t reply to any pro they contacted within the first 72 hours, we’ll automatically give you a refund for the lead."

Source: Thumbtack pro help, Quality Commitment, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

None of this is a mark against a contractor who calls you. A business that paid for your request may be exactly the right one for your job. These quotes simply show how those services describe their own pricing to the businesses that use them.

Who pays when you ask for quotes on these sites?

Not you, at the request stage, on the three sites quoted here: each site's homeowner help page, read 15 October 2026, says finding pros or asking for quotes costs the homeowner nothing, and one says its revenue comes partly from service professionals who pay to advertise on it.

Source: Angi homeowner FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Thumbtack customer help, how to find a pro, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.
Source: Modernize FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Angi's homeowner FAQ, in an answer dated 17 November 2023 and read 15 October 2026, answers whether Angi costs anything to use this way: "Yes. You can use Angi and the Angi app to compare and research local service professionals, book home services, and request project quotes, all for free." The same Angi answer goes on: "Our revenue comes from three sources: service professionals, who pay to advertise services on Angi, paid memberships, which give homeowners access to discounted home services and more for an annual fee, and Angi Services, where projects are booked and completed by Angi."

Source: Angi homeowner FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Thumbtack's customer help page, read 15 October 2026, says: "Using Thumbtack to find, contact, and hire a pro is free." The next sentence on that Thumbtack page reads: "You only pay the pro directly for any services rendered."

Source: Thumbtack customer help, how to find a pro, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

Modernize's homeowner FAQ, read 15 October 2026, says: "Our service allows you to find and connect with local professionals without any cost."

Source: Modernize FAQ, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

For its booked-job product, Angi's pro support page, read 15 October 2026, says: "Angi Services takes a portion of the booking price customers pay in order to cover certain expenses in order to maintain a high quality and reliable platform."

Source: Angi pro support, cost of Angi Services, read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026.

So who ultimately pays? None of the pages quoted here says whether a contractor's cost of getting your request shows up in the price you are quoted, and this page makes no claim either way. The honest move is to ask the business itself, which the next section covers.

What can you ask a contractor about how they found you?

Ask each contractor who contacts you how they got your request, whether through a matching site, their own advertising or a referral, and note the answer beside their written quote. Then send every business the same written scope and photographs, so the quotes you compare describe the same job.

  1. Ask how the business got your request, and whether you can reach it directly if you want another quote later.
  2. Ask whether your request also went to other businesses. If the contractor does not know, the site's own homeowner FAQ or quote form is the place to look.
  3. Before you submit any quote form, read the small print under the button, which may say who can contact you and how.
  4. Write one scope for the job: the work, the materials, access to the site, disposal of old material and the start date you want. Add photographs, and send the same version to everyone.
  5. Compare quotes line item by line item, not on the total alone, and ask each business to fill any gap in writing.
  6. Keep each answer with the matching quote, so you can see later which route each business came through.

None of these questions is a trap. They give you a clear picture of how each connection was made, which is useful whatever you decide.

What does it cost a contractor to bid on InstaBids?

Read on 15 October 2026, the live InstaBids page on how it works gives the following three sentences, word for word. Nothing to bid, and nothing at all during our pilot. After it, a contractor pays InstaBids once, after the homeowner chooses them, with a one-time fee set by the size of the bid you accepted. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, live-page excerpts reviewed 15 October 2026., read 15 October 2026.

Live in Broward and Palm Beach, FL. More areas coming.

InstaBids gets you competitive written quotes without calls or home visits to bid; contractors never pay to see a request or to bid, and there is no fee during our pilot.

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