Is Thumbtack worth it for contractors? Costs, math and tips

Short answer: Thumbtack is worth it when the leads you pay for turn into enough booked jobs. Work it out with one formula: cost per booked job = average lead price ÷ share of leads that book. If that number is well below the profit on an average job, keep going and answer faster. If it isn't, change your settings or your channel.

How Thumbtack charges pros

From Thumbtack's help pages for pros:

• Direct leads. A customer finds you in search results and contacts you about a job that matches your job preferences. You're charged automatically. You choose how competitive you want to be by setting your lead prices, the exact amount you pay per lead.
• What changes the price: the type and size of the job, how many pros are available, and your market.
• Weekly budget. Your budget is the most you'll spend on leads in a week. When you hit it, new leads stop until the budget resets on Monday.
• Opportunities. Jobs where you reach out first. The price is shown upfront and you pay only if the customer responds. They don't count toward your budget.
• Protections: paid leads come with a Phone Number Guarantee, and a competition limit caps how many pros compete for one lead.

Thumbtack has tested other ways to charge in some categories, so check what your own account shows.

What leads cost

Thumbtack doesn't publish a price list. Third-party guides, including one from Housecall Pro, report lead prices from about $10 to over $100, depending on the trade, the size of the job and the market, with big cities at the top of the range. Pros on Thumbtack's own community forum regularly mention prices going up.

The lead price alone tells you little. What matters is what a booked job costs.

The math that matters: cost per booked job

Cost per booked job = average lead price ÷ booking rate.

Now compare it with what a job leaves you. If your average job is $450 and about 40% of that is gross profit, each job leaves you about $180. At $125 per booked job, Thumbtack pays. At $240, every booked job loses money. (Example numbers. Use your own.)

Notice the second and fourth rows: the same lead price, half the cost per job. The booking rate is the number you control most, and speed is the biggest part of it.

When Thumbtack is worth it

• Your average job is large enough for the math above to work.
• You have room in your schedule to take more jobs.
• Someone can answer new leads within minutes during the day.
• You have reviews on your profile, or can get them quickly.
• Customers in your trade like to compare a few pros before booking: moving, cleaning, painting, handyman work, small remodels.

When it isn't

• Your typical job is small, so even a cheap lead eats the profit.
• Nobody can answer until the evening.
• You can't tell which jobs came from Thumbtack.
• Your area is crowded and lead prices keep climbing faster than your prices.

How to win more Thumbtack jobs

1. Answer first. Thumbtack lists how quickly you respond among the things that affect your ranking, and the customer is usually comparing several pros. Call leads that share a phone number right away (see speed to lead).
2. Finish your profile: photos of real jobs, clear prices where you can, a short story about your business.
3. Collect reviews from every Thumbtack customer after the job.
4. Set job preferences and service area precisely. Every lead outside them is money spent on a job you didn't want.
5. Use opportunities selectively, for jobs you really want, since you only pay when the customer responds.
6. Use your weekly budget as a cap, and adjust lead prices by job type instead of across the board.
7. Track every lead to booked or lost, with the reason.

Track it like any ad channel

Once a month, write down: leads, money spent, booked jobs and revenue from those jobs. Then work out the cost per booked job and the revenue per dollar spent. Do the same for Google Local Services Ads and your website. Put the money where a booked job costs the least.

How QuickVOC works with Thumbtack

QuickVOC connects to your Thumbtack account and answers leads the moment they arrive:

• Messages: the AI replies to customer messages in Thumbtack with your business information.
• Calls: the AI calls every new lead that shares a phone number as soon as the request arrives, answers questions and offers times.
• No surprise charges: it never replies to opportunities, because Thumbtack charges for that.
• Your schedule: it offers times inside your business hours, skips times already booked in Housecall Pro when connected, and books only after the customer confirms.
• You can take over: press Take over in the Inbox and type; your reply goes to the customer in Thumbtack.
• Every lead on one board, tagged Thumbtack, with the call recording and summary, so you can count booked jobs.

It's in every plan. AI callbacks use your plan's minutes, and replies in Thumbtack messages don't. See Thumbtack leads in QuickVOC, AI outbound calls and Housecall Pro.

Sources

• Thumbtack Help: How much do I pay for leads and opportunities?
• Thumbtack Help: How to set my lead prices
• Thumbtack Help: How to edit my budget
• Housecall Pro: What is Thumbtack and how does it work