Side by side
| Angi | HomeAdvisor (Angi Leads) | The permit record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays | Contractors: memberships, advertising, match fees (10-K) | Contractors: per-match fees charged "regardless of whether the professional ultimately provides the requested service" (10-K) | Nobody |
| How listings are ordered | Directory with reviews; Angi Ads is paid promotion; algorithm not published (10-K) | A proprietary algorithm by service type, location, job date and availability (10-K) | You set the weights; the list re-sorts |
| Reviews | Yes, 1–5 stars, not anonymous; "the accuracy of consumer reviews cannot be guaranteed" (10-K) | The same review pool | None |
| Permits and inspections shown | No | No | All of them, with finished share and days to final |
| License check | Owner attests; criminal background check for approval (10-K) | Same | Joined to the board record and linked to the live lookup |
| Cost to homeowner | Free | Free | Free |
| Coverage | US, 500+ categories (10-K) | US | 53 cities |
One company, two doors
Angi Inc.'s filings split its revenue into Ads and Leads, which is the old HomeAdvisor marketplace plus Angi's directory advertising, and Services, where Angi books fixed-price jobs and takes a cut (Q2 2024 results, Aug 2024). Both brands still run: the 10-K describes Angi and HomeAdvisor as "two of the leading home services brands" the company owns and operates. The parent changed instead. The same filing says IAC's board approved a plan to spin off its full stake, expected "as soon as March 31, 2025" (10-K); Housecall Pro, writing for contractors, reports Angi became independent that year (Housecall Pro, Aug 2026). Contractors on either brand are in one pool. The company reported 168,000 transacting professionals in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from 196,000 a year earlier (earnings release, Feb 2025).
What differs is the front door. On Angi you browse a directory, read reviews, and request quotes. On the HomeAdvisor side you describe a job and the algorithm sends it to pros who pay for the match. Housecall Pro, a vendor that writes for contractors, reports lead prices of $15 to $85 and memberships of about $300 a year (Housecall Pro, Aug 2026); those are contractor-reported, not published by Angi.
What each shows a homeowner
Reviews, a response rate, photos, and a badge. The badge means the business owner passed a criminal background check and attested to holding the licenses the trade requires; pros with an average rating below 3 are generally not eligible for approved status (10-K).
No field on a profile comes from a permit: there is no count of jobs started, jobs finished, inspections passed or days to completion.
What neither shows: finished jobs, time, license status
Finished share. The city marks a permit finished when the final inspection passes. In Seattle, 94.6% of electrical permits reached that point and 88.6% of roofing permits did. In San Francisco, 87.3% of 9,537 roofing permits were finished and 81.9% of 5,126 remodel permits. In Minneapolis, 93.0% of roofing permits. On a firm's compare-page row the same share is shown for that firm alone.
Days to finish. Issue to final, survival-adjusted so open permits count. Seattle electrical: a usual 44 days. San Francisco roofing: 36 days; San Francisco remodel: 180 days. Minneapolis roofing: 85 days. A firm whose jobs run twice the usual is visible in the file and invisible on a profile.
License status this week. The attestation was made at sign-up. Of the 749 Seattle electrical firms in the file, 77 match a Washington L&I license that is expired, suspended or otherwise not active (our license match against L&I data). 82.6% of Seattle electrical firms and 91.7% of San Francisco roofing firms carry an Active match today. Our matching is by name and can miss, so unmatched is not unlicensed; the board lookup is the final word, and L&I's also shows bond lawsuits and citations (WA L&I).
The record on the sales side
The FTC alleged in March 2022 that HomeAdvisor had made false or unsubstantiated claims to contractors about the quality of its leads since at least mid-2014, and in January 2023 ordered up to $7.2 million in redress and a ban on misleading lead claims (FTC, Jan 2023). Contractors filed a class action in Colorado in 2016 over "bogus" leads; about 1,300 sought to join by 2020 and HomeAdvisor denied wrongdoing (6abc, Feb 2020); we have not found an outcome. These are facts about how the company sells to contractors. They say nothing about whether the reviews you read are genuine, and we make no such claim.
When Angi or HomeAdvisor is the right choice
- You have no names and want quotes fast. This is what the match flow does well, and it is free to you.
- The job is small enough that a bad pick is an annoyance, not a loss.
When the permit record is the better first stop: the job needs a permit and you care more about whether it gets finished than about who returns the call first. Take the names Angi gives you and look each one up on your city's compare page.
How we know this
Company facts are from Angi Inc.'s FY2024 Form 10-K and its Q2 and Q4 2024 results, the FTC's January 2023 press release and a February 2020 6abc report; contractor lead prices are from Housecall Pro and are contractor-reported. Our numbers are computed from each city's public permit file for the stated window, joined by firm name to the state license board where the state publishes one; name matching can miss.
Numbers come from City of Seattle (SDCI) building, trade and electrical permits on single-family and duplex homes (the city's open-data exports); San Francisco DBI building permits on one- and two-family homes, with the contractor from the city's permit contacts file, data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
See every San Francisco roofer by their permit record →
Questions
- Are Angi and HomeAdvisor the same company?
Yes. Angie's List and IAC's HomeAdvisor combined in 2017 to form what is now Angi Inc. (NASDAQ ANGI). HomeAdvisor's lead-matching business is sold to contractors as Angi Leads (Angi 10-K, Feb 2025).
- Does HomeAdvisor still exist?
Yes, as a brand. Angi Inc.'s 10-K calls Angi and HomeAdvisor "two of the leading home services brands in the United States" that it owns and operates (Feb 2025). What changed is the parent: the same filing says IAC planned to spin off its stake, as soon as 31 March 2025, and Housecall Pro reports Angi has traded as an independent company since that spin-off (Aug 2026).
- Which is better for a homeowner, Angi or HomeAdvisor?
They are two doors into one pool of paying contractors. Angi carries the review directory; the HomeAdvisor side is the match-me-with-a-pro flow. Neither shows permits, inspections or current license status, so the check you add matters more than the door.
- Does HomeAdvisor's "screened and approved" badge mean licensed?
It means the owner passed a criminal background check and attested to the licenses the trade requires at approval (10-K). It is not a live license status. Check the number on the state board.
- Why did the FTC fine HomeAdvisor?
The FTC alleged in 2022 that HomeAdvisor made false or unsubstantiated claims to contractors about lead quality since at least 2014, and in January 2023 ordered up to $7.2 million in redress and a ban on misleading lead claims (FTC, Jan 2023). This concerned sales to contractors, not homeowner reviews.
- How much do HomeAdvisor and Angi cost?
Nothing for a homeowner to search, read reviews or request quotes. Contractors pay: Angi's 10-K describes fees for each consumer match "regardless of whether the professional ultimately provides the requested service", plus advertising and memberships. Contractors report $15 to $85 per lead and about $300 a year for membership (Housecall Pro, Aug 2026; contractor-reported, not Angi's published prices).
Build your own list
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- Licensed vs unlicensed: what the permit file shows in your state
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- Sites like Angi that are free: Angi alternatives, and who pays for each
For one city
- Angi Inc. Form 10-K FY2024 (2025-02)
- Angi Inc. Q4 and full-year 2024 earnings release (2025-02-11)
- Angi Inc. Q2 2024 results (8-K/A) (2024-08-06)
- What is Angi's List? How Angi works (Housecall Pro) (2026-08-18)
- HomeAdvisor vs. Angi: full comparison (Housecall Pro) (2026-08-17)
- FTC Order Requires HomeAdvisor to Pay Up to $7.2 Million and Stop Deceptively Marketing its Leads (2023-01-23)
- Hundreds of contractors join class-action lawsuit accusing HomeAdvisor of fraud (6abc) (2020-02-14)
- Verify a contractor, tradesperson or business (WA L&I) (2026-10-20)