The short version
- Thumbtack charges automatically for direct leads that match your preferences. On Jobiteer, nothing is charged until you choose to unlock a job.
- Thumbtack lets you set your lead prices and says higher prices make you more competitive. Jobiteer shows one clear cost per job, set by trade and area, with no bidding.
- Before you pay on Jobiteer, you see how many pros are already talking with the homeowner. If they never reply to you, your credits come back.
- Price book, availability, estimates, invoices, dashboards, teams and Jobi, an AI assistant, are all in one app, with no subscription required (Jobi is an optional monthly plan).
- With the Jobi plan, every chat shows where the homeowner stands: their stage, their mood, what matters most to them and your best next move.
If you want to approve every dollar you spend on leads, Jobiteer is built that way from the ground up.
At a glance
| Jobiteer | Thumbtack | |
|---|---|---|
| When you are charged | Only when you choose to unlock a job | Direct leads charged automatically when they match your settings |
| Lead price | One clear cost per job, shown first | You set lead prices; higher prices win more leads |
| Competition | See how many pros are already chatting | Customers can contact up to 5 pros in the first 4 hours, more after |
| If the customer goes quiet | Credits back if they never reply to you | Refund if they reply to no pro within 72 hours, with conditions |
| Membership or subscription | None | None |
| Price book, availability, dashboards | Included | Insights dashboard; no price book described |
| Teams | Included | Not described |
| Answering for you | Jobi replies in your chats 24/7, follows up and flags emergencies (optional plan) | Front Desk sends your first reply to new direct leads, from $60/mo |
| A read on each customer | Stage, mood, priorities and next move in every chat (Jobi plan) | Not described on its public pages |
Thumbtack details from its own public pages as of October 2026; see Sources below.
You decide on every lead
On Thumbtack, direct leads are customers who found you in search and contacted you. They're charged automatically when they match the job preferences you've set, so you don't approve each one before you pay. You set a lead price for each service and a weekly budget; Thumbtack's help center says higher lead prices make you more competitive, and that prices vary with the job, how many pros are available and the market.
On Jobiteer, nothing is ever charged until you decide. You browse real job posts in your trades and area, each with the trade, the exact item, photos and often a budget. The cost to unlock is shown right on the job, set by trade and area, and it's the same for every pro, so there's no bidding against other contractors for visibility.
When a customer goes quiet
Thumbtack's Fair Shot Refund automatically refunds a lead when the customer doesn't reply to any pro within 72 hours, as long as you made first contact through Thumbtack within four business hours. If the customer replies to another pro but not you, that doesn't qualify.
Jobiteer looks at your conversation. If a homeowner never replies to you after you unlock their job, your credits come back automatically once the job closes. No forms, and no need to prove what anyone else did.
Your whole job is yours
Alongside leads, Thumbtack offers preset jobs, where it takes a percentage of the customer's payment instead of a lead fee, and charges 1% for instant payouts. Jobiteer never takes a percentage of your work. Homeowners pay you directly, and the price on your estimate is the price they pay.
Run the job from first message to five stars
Thumbtack gives pros messaging, estimates and invoices from the message thread, and Instant Book from your calendar. Jobiteer goes further, so you don't need a second app to run your business:
- A price book with your usual prices, units and minimum charges
- Working hours, days off and a schedule that bookings respect
- Estimates and itemized invoices with tax, built from your price book
- "On my way" and a verified "I've arrived", without revealing your home
- Dashboards for earnings, win rate, reply speed and the return on every lead
- Team accounts with job hand-offs for your crew
Be the first to answer, every time
Homeowners usually hire whoever answers first. Jobi, Jobiteer's optional AI assistant, replies for you when you're on a roof, after hours or on a day off. It answers from your profile and price book, offers open times from your real calendar, and once you're hired can confirm the booking for you. It can even find and unlock leads that match your rules, starting in a practice mode that spends nothing. It always says it's an AI assistant, and steps back the moment you reply.
Know where every customer stands
Thumbtack's Front Desk, from $60 a month, sends your first reply to new direct leads within minutes, and its new AI features summarize projects for homeowners. Its public pages don't describe anything that reads the customer for you. Jobi does that in every chat.
At the top of every chat, Jobi gives you its read on the homeowner:
- Stage: just looking, comparing options, ready to book, booked, or done. Booked and done come from the real booking, not a guess
- Mood, with the homeowner's own words that show it
- What matters most: price, speed, quality, trust, convenience or communication
- Your next move: one honest, specific suggestion for your next message
It refreshes a minute or so after the homeowner writes, in every chat, including the ones you're answering yourself. Jobi's own replies follow it too: calm and reassuring with someone stressed, leading with price for someone comparing quotes. Only you ever see it.
Getting started takes about 10 minutes
- Create your free account. Choose "I'm a contractor" when you sign up. No card needed.
- Add your trades and service areas. Plus your insurance, bonding and warranty badges, so homeowners see them up front.
- Save a search for the jobs you want. You'll get an alert the moment a matching job is posted near you.
- Keep Thumbtack if you like. Nothing stops you from using both while you see where your best jobs come from. Your Jobiteer dashboard shows exactly what each lead earned.
Questions people ask
What does Jobi tell me about a customer?
With the Jobi plan, every chat shows Jobi's read on the homeowner: where they are in deciding (just looking, comparing, ready to book, booked or done), their mood with the words from the chat that show it, what matters most to them, and a suggested next move. Only you see it, and it never labels who someone is, only how the conversation reads.
Can I use Jobiteer and Thumbtack together?
Yes. Plenty of pros use more than one lead source. Jobiteer's dashboard shows exactly what each lead earned, so you can see which source pays off.
How much does a lead cost on Jobiteer?
It depends on the trade and where the job is. You always see the exact cost on the job before you spend a credit, and free credits refresh every month.
Am I ever charged for a lead I didn't choose?
No. You only pay when you unlock a job. If you turn on Jobi's auto-unlock, it only unlocks jobs that match the rules and daily limits you set, and it starts in practice mode, which spends nothing.
Is there a subscription?
No. Joining is free. The optional Jobi AI assistant has its own monthly plan; everything else is included.
Does Jobiteer take a percentage of my jobs?
Never. Homeowners pay you directly.
- A first look at our new AI-powered experience (Thumbtack, 2026)
- Thumbtack Front Desk
- Thumbtack for pros
- How Thumbtack works (Thumbtack Help)
- What are Opportunities? (Thumbtack Help)
- How to set my lead prices (Thumbtack Help)
- How to edit my budget (Thumbtack Help)
- How much do I pay for leads and opportunities? (Thumbtack Help)
- Fair Shot Refund policy (Thumbtack Help)
- Your first two weeks on Thumbtack (Thumbtack Help)
- How to find a pro on Thumbtack (Thumbtack Help)
- What are Thumbtack numbers? (Thumbtack Help)
- How to ask for reviews (Thumbtack Help)
- Thumbtack Plus
- Thumbtack Terms of Use
