How much does Thumbtack charge for leads?
Thumbtack doesn’t publish a price list, so most contractors find out what a lead costs after they have paid for it. This is what sets the price and which settings bring it down.
By the HelloSetter team · Updated · 7 min read
Does Thumbtack charge for leads?
Yes. Joining is free and there is no monthly subscription, as ServiceMag's review puts it, but every lead costs money. According to Thumbtack's pricing article, you auto-pay the price set for a lead when a customer contacts you or their request matches your job preferences. A Thumbtack moderator describes it as being charged at the point of connection. You pay whether or not the job books, so a customer who never replies still costs you the lead.
What decides the price of a Thumbtack lead
- The service and the job. A kitchen remodel lead costs more than a furniture assembly lead, and job details like size change it too.
- Your market and your competition. In a community thread on how prices are calculated, the explanation given for two similar jobs costing different amounts was what other pros had set as their max lead prices and how many pros were available in that market.
- Your own settings. You choose the lead price per service, and a weekly budget caps total spend. Thumbtack's example: at a $10 lead price and a $90 budget, leads stop after nine until the budget resets on Monday.
What contractors report paying
There is no official table, so these come from outside sources and pros' own posts. ServiceMag reports $15 to $80 or more per lead, with HVAC in busy summer markets near the top. A 2026 breakdown of lead marketplaces gives these ranges by trade:
| Trade | Reported cost per lead |
|---|---|
| Minor plumbing | $15 to $25 |
| Electrical | $15 to $35 |
| Painting (one room) | $20 to $40 |
| HVAC service | $25 to $45 |
| Roofing | $35 to $70 |
| Kitchen remodel | $50 to $100 |
The source for that table is Leadgen Economy's marketplace breakdown. Individual pros report swings well outside it. One wrote that their leads jumped from $30 to more than $100, and in another thread a pro said six pros were each charged $16 for the same customer's request.
Leads and Opportunities are priced differently
An Opportunity is a customer who already contacted other pros and hasn't hired yet. You see its price before you do anything, and you pay only if you message them and they reply. Opportunities also sit outside your weekly budget. That makes them cheaper to try in a slow week, though many never answer because the customer is already talking to someone. The full comparison is in Thumbtack leads vs Opportunities.
How to lower what you pay
- Set the lead price per service, and lower it on services that rarely book for you.
- Turn off job preferences you don't want, such as small repairs if you only do replacements. Thumbtack's job preferences article shows how.
- Shrink your travel area to the ZIP codes where you win work.
- Set a weekly budget you are comfortable losing in a bad week.
- When the calendar is full, pause your Thumbtack leads instead of paying for jobs you can’t take.
- Ask about a refund when a customer never responds; the rules are in Thumbtack leads not responding.
Cost per lead vs cost per booked job
A cheap lead that never books is the most expensive one you buy. Divide the lead price by the share of leads that turn into a booked estimate. At $40 a lead, booking 1 in 4 means each estimate cost $160 in lead spend. Booking 1 in 2 brings it to $80, with the same leads. The biggest difference between those two numbers is usually how fast the customer hears from you, since they asked several pros at once.
We built HelloSetter for exactly that part: it calls each Thumbtack lead within 60 seconds and books the estimate. Whether Thumbtack pays off at all for your trade is a separate question, worked through with a break-even example in is Thumbtack worth it for contractors. Angi prices work differently, as our Angi leads cost guide explains.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Thumbtack charge per lead?
Thumbtack doesn’t publish prices. Pros report roughly $15 to $80 or more per lead, depending on the service, the market and competition. Your account shows the price for your own services.
Does Thumbtack charge a monthly fee?
No. Joining is free and there is no subscription. You pay per lead, plus any Opportunities you choose to pursue that reply.
Does Thumbtack charge if the customer never responds?
Yes, a lead is charged when it connects. Thumbtack has refund rules for some customers who don’t respond; our guide on Thumbtack leads not responding covers them.
Can I set a maximum price for Thumbtack leads?
Yes. You set the lead price for each service and a weekly budget that caps your total spend. Once the budget is used up, leads stop until it resets.
Are Thumbtack leads real?
Most are real customers, but many ask several pros at once and some never reply after you pay. Calling within minutes and tracking cost per booked job tells you whether your leads are worth it.