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Use your AIGet written bids on your home job

Every way to get contractor quotes, compared (2026)

Ask a neighbor, search Google, or fill out a form on a quote site: these methods don't work the same way. Here's who gets your phone number, how many contractors may contact you, and how each company describes its own model, in its own words.

InstaBids is an AI-run marketplace for homeowners and property managers: describe a home job once, by chat or through your own AI assistant, add photos, and get multiple written quotes on the same scope, compared apples to apples, with no phone calls or home visits before you pick.

Uploaded 1 November 2026. Length 3:39. Updated 2026-10-28. Watch on YouTube

InstaBids assistantAI · builds your written scope with you

What home job do you need done in your home? Describe it once to start your written scope.

Start from a common job

Homeowners anywhere in the US can post a job; once you send it, InstaBids finds contractors to bid on it.

You choose who gets your number
Or send it from your own AIChatGPTClaudeGrokGeminiMore ways
  1. Describe it onceBy chat, or through your own AI assistant, and add photos.
  2. Post it and send itContractors bid in writing on that scope.
  3. Compare line by lineEvery quote is written against the same scope.
  4. You chooseContact details stay hidden until you pick and they confirm.
InstaBids

For your AI assistant

MCP connector · REST API · plain HTML

Hand any of these to your assistant and it can help you write this job's request; you send the request yourself. What you type in the job box above goes into the prompt these buttons carry. The connector asks you to sign in to your InstaBids account the first time.

  • MCP connector URLhttps://instabids.ai/api/agent/mcp
  • Agent API (OpenAPI)https://instabids.ai/openapi.json
  • Start-request linkhttps://instabids.ai/intake?from=us-video-every-way-to-get-contractor-quotes-compared&utm_source=us&utm_medium=page&utm_campaign=video
Open it in your assistantAdd InstaBids as a connector

Every page is plain HTML. Steps for every assistant: add to your assistant.

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Every way to get contractor quotes
  2. 0:24 Neighbors and calling contractors yourself
  3. 0:45 Google Local Services ads
  4. 1:08 Angi and Angi Leads
  5. 1:36 HomeAdvisor and the FTC order
  6. 2:01 Modernize
  7. 2:21 Thumbtack
  8. 2:35 Yelp, Houzz and Porch
  9. 2:56 Three questions to ask
  10. 3:09 How InstaBids works

The contact-detail filter can miss disguised contact details.

Transcript

0:00 Every way to get contractor quotes

There are a lot of ways to get a contractor quote. Ask a neighbor. Search Google. Fill out a form on a quote site. They don't all work the same way, and the difference matters: who gets your phone number, how many contractors call, and whether the quotes you get can even be compared.

Here's every common way, side by side, using each company's own words. This is instabids.ai.

0:24 Neighbors and calling contractors yourself

The oldest way still works. A neighbor's recommendation, or calling a few contractors you find yourself. Nobody sells your number, because you're the one calling. The downside is time: every call is separate, and every contractor quotes the job their own way.

The FTC's advice applies here too: get written estimates.

0:45 Google Local Services ads

Google Local Services Help says: “You're charged for each valid lead you receive through your Local Services ad.” In August 2025, Google announced a new badge program for Local Services ads to replace its other badges and programs, including its refund program.

Google's help page also said it would discontinue its refund program for those ads.

1:08 Angi and Angi Leads

Angi, which owns HomeAdvisor, describes its business in its public annual report. It lists 'fees paid by Pros for consumer matches (regardless of whether the Pro ultimately provides the requested service).' On its help pages for pros, Angi Leads, formerly HomeAdvisor, says it uses a homeowner's details 'to connect customers with multiple Angi Leads service professionals that can best complete their project.'

1:36 HomeAdvisor and the FTC order

In 2023, HomeAdvisor agreed to an FTC order. The FTC alleged that the company “had made false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about the quality and source of the leads the company sells to service providers who are in search of potential customers.”

And: 'the final order prohibits the company from making any false or misleading claims regarding its leads.'

2:01 Modernize

Modernize's own FAQ says: 'Once you submit your request, we will find up to 4 contractors that are best suited to your project. These professionals will contact you to provide quotes.' And: 'Our contractors will call or text you as soon as they've reviewed your quote, which could be anywhere from two minutes to 24 hours.'

2:21 Thumbtack

Thumbtack's help pages say: 'Customers can only contact up to five pros in the first four hours of their search.' And for pros: 'Because these leads match your preferences, you pay for them automatically.'

2:35 Yelp, Houzz and Porch

On Yelp, after you request a quote, 'you may choose to send your request to additional businesses to receive competing quotes.' Houzz says it 'matches them with up to 6 pros.' And Porch's terms for pros put it plainly: 'you are purchasing the right to contact the homeowner with respect to their Project Request'.

2:56 Three questions to ask

Whichever way you choose, ask three questions. Who gets my phone number, and when? How many contractors will contact me? And will every quote be for the same written scope, so I can compare them?

3:09 How InstaBids works

InstaBids was built around those three questions. You describe the job once, and it becomes one written scope card. Contractors in your trade bid on that same scope, so the quotes compare. Your contact details stay locked until you pick a contractor and they confirm the connection.

InstaBids. Describe it once, compare real bids.

Sources quoted in the video

Get written bids on your home jobUse your AI