Thumbtack is a marketplace where homeowners search for a service, see a list of local pros, and contact the ones they like. For a contractor, it's a way to buy leads without running your own ads: you set which jobs you want, how much you'll pay per lead and a weekly budget, and Thumbtack sends you customers who reached out to you.
Whether it works depends on your trade, your market and how fast you respond. This guide explains how Thumbtack charges contractors, how its budget, refunds and lead types work, and how to judge whether it's paying off. Facts about how Thumbtack works come from Thumbtack's own help center for pros as of November 3, 2026. The help center doesn't list lead prices, so we don't quote any.
How Thumbtack charges contractors
There are three ways to get work on Thumbtack, and each is paid differently:
| How you get it | What you pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Leads | A customer finds you in search results and contacts you, and the job matches your job preferences (or, with smart matching, is predicted to be a good fit) | Your set lead price, charged automatically when the lead arrives |
| Opportunities (open leads) | You browse customers who contacted other pros but haven't hired yet, and send a quote | Free to quote; the price shown upfront is charged only if the customer responds |
| Preset jobs | You claim a job that's already priced and scheduled | No lead fee; Thumbtack keeps a percentage of the job price, and you see your take-home pay before you claim |
Lead prices
Thumbtack says it sets lead costs to match how valuable a job is, so prices vary with the type and size of the job, how many pros are available and your market. You choose how competitive to be with a lead price slider for your services: that's the exact amount you pay for each lead. A higher lead price makes you more competitive for those jobs; your profile, rating and reviews, how fast you respond and local demand also affect how many leads you get.
The weekly budget
Your budget is an estimate of what you'll spend on leads across all services in a week. It resets every Monday. You can choose a recommended budget, set a custom amount, or set it to unlimited.
If a lead costs more than what's left in your budget, you pay the full lead price, but how far over you can go is capped at 40% of your budget or $40 plus 2% of your budget, whichever is less:
| Weekly budget | Most you can go over |
|---|---|
| $50 | $20 |
| $100 | $40 |
| $200 | $44 |
| $500 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $60 |
After that lead you stop appearing in search results until Monday, unless you raise the budget. If lead boosts are on, you may still get discounted leads after you reach your budget. Opportunities are charged separately from your budget.
Smart Match leads
With smart matching on, Thumbtack's AI may send you leads outside your job preferences when it predicts they're a good fit, and you're charged for them automatically. If one is a job you don't do, decline it and choose "Not what I do": Thumbtack refunds the lead and uses your answer to adjust future matches. You can turn smart matching off on your Services page if you want only exact matches.
Preset jobs and partner jobs
Preset jobs are scheduled jobs with a fixed price that you claim first come, first served. By default you need 3+ reviews from Thumbtack customers, a rating of at least 4.5 stars, job preferences turned on, and a background check on the account owner.
Some preset jobs come from partners. Thumbtack lists installation jobs from Lowe's customers who bought an eligible product (toilets, faucets, sinks, disposals and shower heads; fans, lights and chandeliers; thermostats; TV mounts), standalone Lowe's service jobs such as house cleaning, gutter cleaning and window cleaning, Moen Flo installations for licensed plumbers who complete training, and Samsung appliance repair calls. Partner jobs can have their own requirements, such as an uploaded plumbing or electrical license where required.
You get paid for preset jobs by direct deposit after marking the job done. It can take 3 to 4 business days to reach your bank, or you can get paid instantly for a 1% fee.
Refunds: what Thumbtack will and won't give back
Thumbtack's Quality Commitment has two parts:
- Limited competition: a customer can contact at most five pros in the first four hours of their search. You can see on each lead how many pros the customer contacted.
- Fair Shot Refunds: if the customer doesn't reply to any pro they contacted within 72 hours, you get the lead cost back automatically.
For other problems, you can request a refund within 45 days of the charge. Thumbtack decides case by case, and lists situations that usually qualify:
- The job changed significantly, for example to a location outside your travel area
- An Opportunity customer's first reply is a clear "no thanks"
- The lead violates Thumbtack's Terms of Use
- A fixed-date job falls on a date you blocked in your calendar
- An invalid or disconnected phone number
- A duplicate lead for the same job within 45 days, or a double charge
What doesn't qualify: the customer hired another pro. Credit packages you prepaid aren't refundable, and by default refunds go back to your Thumbtack balance, not your card, unless you ask within 10 business days of the approval.
How to get more out of Thumbtack
Thumbtack's own advice for pros comes down to a few things:
- Respond fast. Thumbtack says most customers want to hear from you right away, and many hire the quickest, most helpful pro. Use the app's notifications, or an answering service if you can't pick up on jobs.
- Finish your profile. A complete profile, a professional photo and at least five positive reviews. The same reviews habits help on Google; see how to get more Google reviews.
- Tighten your job preferences. Remove job types and areas that don't pay off, and "Other" options if those jobs rarely work out. - Follow up. If a customer goes quiet, send a follow-up message.
- Use the right lead type for the job. Leads for your core work, Opportunities to pick up extra work or try new job types, and preset jobs to fill gaps in your calendar if you meet the requirements.
Is Thumbtack worth it for contractors?
There's no single answer: results depend on your trade, your market and how you use it. The reliable answer is your own numbers. Track, for a few months:
- Spend: total lead charges minus refunds
- Jobs won from Thumbtack and their gross profit
- Cost per job won: spend divided by jobs won. For example, $600 in leads that produce three jobs is $200 per job.
Compare that cost per job with your other channels. For many home service businesses, the main alternatives are Google Local Services Ads, where you also pay per lead, and your own Google Business Profile, which costs nothing but time. If Thumbtack's cost per job is in line and the customers are the kind you want, keep the budget; if not, narrow your preferences before you raise your lead prices.
For more ways to find customers, see our trade guides: HVAC marketing ideas, electrician marketing ideas and house cleaning marketing.
