Houzz vs Angi for a remodel: how Houzz and Houzz Pro work

Side by side

Houzz: judging taste, with the sponsored label in view

Houzz's help page says organic listings rank by category, relevancy, including "style similarity between photos saved by the consumer and the professionals' project photos", and content quality, meaning "number of reviews and number of their photos saved to ideabooks". Paid placements carry a "sponsored" label and rank by category, relevancy and "customer status (e.g. the price paid for the advertising)". You can re-sort organic results by most reviewed or recently reviewed.

So the first names you see may be there because they paid, and the label tells you which ones. The photos are what Houzz has and Angi does not. A portfolio shows whether a firm's finished kitchens look like what you want. It does not show whether those kitchens passed inspection, and the photos are chosen by the firm.

Houzz's license badge is narrower than it looks. Houzz says it is "available for select packages only in certain professional categories in participating US states". For general contractors and kitchen and bath remodelers that is 26 states, including California and Washington but not Texas or North Carolina. A remodeler without the badge has not been checked by Houzz; that says nothing about whether it holds a license.

Angi: fast quotes, paid per match

You describe the job and Angi's algorithm presents pros based on service type, location, date and availability; contractors pay a fee for each match whether or not they get the job (10-K FY2024). Angi background-checks the owner, a principal or a relevant manager before a business joins Angi Approved, not "every employee", and says license, bond and insurance details are "self-reported" (Angi FAQ).

For judging design it offers less: the 10-K describes consumers choosing from "profiles, ratings and reviews", not portfolios.

When each is the right tool

Either way, the next step is the same: take the names you like and check their permit record.

What neither shows: the remodel record

Tyler's category also includes additions, which is why its values run higher. The middle-half range counts only firms with three or more priced permits, so in Tyler it rests on 20 firms and sits above the all-permit figure.

Three things stand out. Remodel permits take months: from 180 days in Anaheim to 436 in Tyler, so a contractor's reviews are often written long before the final inspection. Finish rates run lower than for single-trade work: in Anaheim, 68.3% of remodel permits finished against 96.4% of roofing permits. And most remodel firms leave very little trace: in Tyler, 74.9% of firms filed exactly one remodel permit in three years.

A firm with one permit in a city may be based in the next town, may do mostly work that needs no permit, may be new, or may usually let the homeowner pull the permit. It does not mean the firm is inexperienced. It does mean the city file cannot vouch for it, so ask the firm for permit numbers or addresses of past jobs and look them up.

Licenses differ by state too. Texas has no state license for general contractors (TDLR's search covers trades such as A/C and electrical), so for Tyler remodelers the permit file is often the only public record. In California, look the firm up on CSLB.

A five-minute check on a remodeler you found

1. Ask for the business name exactly as licensed, and the license number if your state issues one. In California, check it on CSLB: status active, classification B (general building) or the specialty for your job.
2. In Texas, check any trade licenses (electrical, A/C) on TDLR License Search.
3. Open our remodel compare page for your city and search the name. Look at permits filed, share finished, and usual job value against your budget.
4. If the firm shows one permit or none, ask for the addresses of three permitted jobs from the last two years.

See every San Francisco remodeler by their permit record →