What each one checks
| Nextdoor | Angi | The permit record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays | Advertisers, substantially all revenue (10-K) | Contractors: match fees, ads, memberships (Angi 10-K, Feb 2025) | Nobody |
| How names are ordered | Neighbour posts, "Faves" and ads; there is no ranked list (10-K) | Matching algorithm; Angi Ads is paid promotion (Angi 10-K) | You set the weights |
| Reviews | Unstructured recommendations in threads | 1–5 star reviews | None |
| Permits and inspections | No | No | Every permit, finished share, days to final |
| License check | No | Owner attests; background check (Angi 10-K) | Joined to the board record, linked |
| Cost to homeowner | Free | Free | Free |
| Coverage | 340,000+ neighbourhoods (Nextdoor for Business) | US | 53 cities |
What a neighbour's word is good for
Your neighbour saw the job and lives inside the firm's work area. For a small job that needs no permit, that is most of the evidence there is.
Two limits. One neighbour knows one job, and the thread shows whoever posted. And Nextdoor tells businesses to ask customers for recommendations (Nextdoor for Business, Jan 2023), which is fine and means recommendation counts also measure who asks.
What a neighbour's word does not check
In January 2019 a San Carlos, California resident wrote on Patch that they had looked up the contractors recommended on their Nextdoor against the state license board and found "95%" unlicensed or using someone else's license (Patch, Jan 2019). That is one person checking one town's threads seven years ago. It is not a study and we do not treat it as one. It is a reason to spend five minutes.
What the license board and the permit file add, with our own cities' numbers:
License status today. Among the Seattle firms we matched to a Washington L&I record, 990 are Active, 83 Expired, 51 Suspended and 15 Out of business (our license match, L&I data, snapshot 2026-10-17). By trade, 76.1% of ranked Seattle heat-pump firms show an Active match; in San Francisco, 94.3% of remodel firms do. Our matching is by name and can miss, so an unmatched firm is not an unlicensed one, which is why every firm page links to the board.
Finished share. Seattle heat-pump: 15,441 permits, 85.6% finished. San Francisco remodel: 5,126 permits, 81.9% finished. San Francisco additions: 52.2%, which is why a neighbour's "they did our addition" needs the follow-up question "did it pass final?"
Days to finish. Seattle heat-pump, a usual 105 days from issue to final; San Francisco remodel 180; San Francisco additions 621.
How to check a recommended name
- Get the exact business name and license number. Ask the contractor. Nextdoor threads use first names and nicknames, which is where name matching goes wrong for everyone, us included.
- Look up the license on the state board. Washington: L&I Verify, which also shows bond lawsuits and citations (WA L&I). California: CSLB's check-a-license, which shows bond and workers' comp (CSLB). Use the number, not the name.
- Search the firm on this site. Pick your city, type the name. You get permits in the window, finished share, days to final, usual filed value and the license status beside it. If the firm is not there, see the FAQ.
- Compare against the trade. Every number on the firm page sits next to the city's usual for that trade, so "70% finished" reads as low for Seattle electrical (94.6%) and high for San Francisco additions (52.2%).
- Ask for the permit on your job. Then watch it on the city portal. The inspector's sign-off is the review that counts.
When Nextdoor is the right choice
Use the thread alone when the job needs no permit and costs little (a gutter clean, a fence repair). When the record should come first: the job needs a permit, will take weeks, or costs more than you can shrug off. Then the thread gives you the names and the file sorts them. Neither one tells you whether they're nice; the thread comes closer, and it is not in the file.
How we know this
Nextdoor facts are from its FY2024 Form 10-K and its own business pages; the San Carlos check is a 2019 community post on Patch by one resident and is cited as an anecdote, not a rate. Angi facts are from its FY2024 10-K. 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, so unmatched never means unlicensed.
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.
Paste the name: see every Seattle heat-pump installer by their permit record →
Questions
- Are Nextdoor contractor recommendations reliable?
They are opinions from neighbours whose addresses Nextdoor verifies (Nextdoor 10-K, Feb 2025). Nothing in its 10-K or business pages describes a license or permit check on the businesses they recommend. One San Carlos resident who checked recommended names against the CSLB in 2019 reported most were unlicensed or using someone else's license; that was one person in one town, not a study.
- Nextdoor vs Angi for finding a contractor?
Nextdoor gives you a neighbour's word, free, with no vetting. Angi gives you reviews and a badge meaning the owner attested to a license and passed a background check (Angi 10-K). Neither shows permits or inspections. Take the name from either and check it against the board and the city file.
- Can a contractor ask for Nextdoor recommendations?
Yes. Nextdoor's own guide for businesses tells them to ask customers for recommendations (Nextdoor for Business, Jan 2023). That is allowed and normal; it also means a well-recommended page can reflect who asked, not only who did good work.
- What does the permit record show that a neighbour cannot?
How many permits the firm pulled in your city, how many reached final inspection, how long the usual job took, the usual filed value, and the license status with a link to the board. Your neighbour knows one job; the file knows all of them.
- What if the recommended contractor is not in the permit file at all?
Either the work they do does not need a permit, they work under another name, or they do permit work without permits. Ask them for a permit number from a recent job and look it up on the city portal.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Is Angi (formerly Angie's List) worth it? How it works and what it costs homeowners
- Houzz vs Angi for a remodel: how Houzz and Houzz Pro work
- What's a good completion rate for a contractor? The benchmarks from 12 trades and cities
- What does a suspended contractor license mean? The rules, and how often it shows up in permits
For one city
- Nextdoor Holdings Form 10-K FY2024 (2025-02)
- Why Nextdoor for Local Business (2026-10-20)
- Small business guide to getting Nextdoor recommendations (2023-01-06)
- Mostly Unlicensed Contractors Recommended on Nextdoor.com (Patch community post) (2019-01-17)
- Angi Inc. Form 10-K FY2024 (2025-02)
- Verify a contractor, tradesperson or business (WA L&I) (2026-10-20)
- How do I find the right licensed contractor? (CSLB) (2026-10-20)