TaskRabbit vs Thumbtack vs Angi: $25 once vs paying per lead

TaskRabbit is the cheapest of the three to earn on: a one-time $25 fee, then you keep 100% of the rate you set. Thumbtack and Angi charge you for each lead whether you win the job or not, so they only pay off for pros who win often on bigger jobs. None of the three publishes what its pros actually earn, so the figures below are built from fees and costs, not from claims about pay.

The numbers

Assumptions: a $23.38 self-set rate (the BLS median for general maintenance and repair workers, May 2024); 6 billed hours in an 8-hour day; 40 miles at 76¢ (the IRS business rate for July to December 2026); $5 assumed for phone and tools; 15.3% self-employment tax (IRS); no tips; no income tax. Rounded to the cent.

The $23.38 rate is a test input, not a claim about what Taskers make. It tests one thing: if you charged what an employed handyman earns, what would you keep per hour out of the house?

What each platform charges the earner

TaskRabbit makes its money from the client. Thumbtack and Angi make theirs from the pro, and you pay them before you’ve been paid by anyone.

How TaskRabbit pays

TaskRabbit publishes no average hourly figure for Taskers. The third-party averages in circulation disagree sharply with each other and with the company, so none are used here. TaskRabbit’s pricing explainer lists three pay types:

1. Self-Set Hourly: “you’ll always get 100% of the hourly rate you set,” plus tips.
2. Pre-Set Hourly: used only for direct-hire jobs.
3. Task-Based: a fixed payment per task, not an hourly rate.

For most work, then, the rate you set is the rate you get per billed hour. What you keep per hour of the whole day, after driving, unpaid gaps and tax, is a smaller figure.

TaskRabbit fees, and the 15% myth

Many reviews still say Taskers pay a 15% fee. TaskRabbit’s current official pages say clients pay the fees:

• Registration: a one-time, non-refundable $25 fee. It’s charged only if your registration goes through, and paying it doesn’t guarantee approval.
• Service Fee: paid by the client on top of your rate, as a percentage of the hourly rate. The percentage isn’t published.
• Trust & Support fee: also paid by the client, and TaskRabbit says it doesn’t reduce Tasker earnings. In California and Massachusetts, invoices show only a Service Fee.
• Tips and expenses: Taskers get 100% of both.
• Sales tax: may apply, depending on where the task is done.

One cost isn’t on the list. Clients see your rate plus the platform’s fees, so a $23.38 rate looks pricier than $23.38 when they compare Taskers.

To sign up in the US you need to be 18 or older and pass a background and ID check. You also need a Social Security Number (you can switch to an EIN after registering), a checking account (savings accounts and prepaid cards aren’t accepted), a credit card for the fee, an iOS or Android phone, and the ability to work in an active city. TaskRabbit announced coverage of all 50 states in August 2025, and in September 2026 it added 38 metros across 21 states.

Assumptions

Swap in your own numbers for any of these:

1. Rate: $23.38 an hour, equal to the BLS employed median, so the comparison is like for like.
2. Day shape: 3 tasks of 2 billed hours each, so 6 billed hours in an 8-hour day. The other 2 hours go on driving, waiting, messaging and supply runs.
3. Miles: 40 for the day.
4. Driving cost: the IRS business standard mileage rate, used as an all-in cost per mile (fuel, wear, insurance, depreciation). The 2026 rate is split: 72.5¢ for January to June, then 76¢ for July to December. We assume 76¢ because that is the current half-year’s rate.
5. Phone and tools: an assumed $5 a day.
6. Tips: zero, to stay conservative. Every tip adds directly to the result.
7. Tax: 15.3% self-employment tax on net profit. The real Schedule SE calculation comes out slightly lower. Income tax is left out because it depends on your bracket and state.
8. Rounding: to the cent, with halves rounded up.

Worked example: one Saturday on TaskRabbit

Billed time:      3 tasks x 2 hours        = 6 hours
Gross:            6 x $23.38               = $140.28
Mileage:          40 x $0.76               = $30.40
Phone and tools:  assumed                  = $5.00
Total costs:      $30.40 + $5.00           = $35.40
Net:              $140.28 - $35.40         = $104.88
SE tax:           $104.88 x 0.153          = $16.05
After SE tax:     $104.88 - $16.05         = $88.83

Per hour out (8 hours):
Gross:            $140.28 / 8              = $17.54
Costs:            $35.40 / 8               = $4.43
Net:              $104.88 / 8              = $13.11
After SE tax:     $88.83 / 8               = $11.10

On your first day, the $25 registration fee adds $25 / 8 = $3.13 an hour. Spread over a few weekends, it rounds to almost nothing.

The 2 unpaid hours cost more than the mileage. Before any cost is taken off, they cut a $23.38 rate to $17.54 of gross pay per hour.

The lead math on Thumbtack and Angi

Neither platform publishes a reliable per-lead price for pros. On Thumbtack you set a price per lead for each service, plus a weekly budget. Thumbtack says it “may occasionally adjust the minimum prices that pros pay,” and prices at or near the minimum can rise automatically. Angi’s pro FAQ says “different sized jobs have different Lead Fees” and gives no amounts. The per-lead ranges quoted around the web are all unofficial and are left out.

What can be worked out is the breakeven lead price: the most you can pay per lead before a job earns you nothing. Take one 2-hour job from the example at the same rate:

Job gross:           2 x $23.38            = $46.76
Share of costs:      $35.40 / 3 jobs       = $11.80
Profit before leads: $46.76 - $11.80       = $34.96

Breakeven lead price = profit / leads needed per job won

At or above those prices, the small job pays you nothing. On Angi, card payments through EasyPay also cost 2.99%, which is $1.40 on a $46.76 job.

The per-lead model pays off with large jobs and a high win rate. A licensed contractor quoting a big renovation can absorb many lost leads. Someone assembling bookshelves can’t. Thumbtack’s paid leads come with a phone-number guarantee and a cap on how many pros compete for each one. “Opportunities” (customers who have already contacted other pros) are priced separately. Many pros have complained on Thumbtack’s community forum about being charged for fake or unresponsive leads and refused refunds. Those are complaints, not audited findings, but your budget should allow for some leads that go nowhere.

Angi in 2026: fewer pros, more subscriptions

Angi became an independent public company when IAC completed the spin-off on March 31, 2025. Its Q2 2026 filing (August 4, 2026) reported:

• Revenue of $248.0M, down 11%
• 4.838M US leads, down 13%
• An average of 106K monthly active pros, down 17% from 126K
• Monthly pro churn of 6.0%
• A $230.7M net loss, including a $235.2M impairment

Angi blamed lower pro spending on macroeconomic conditions. Revenue per lead rose 1%, which Angi put down to more pros moving to its subscription product. AI Front Desk, a tool for automated lead follow-up and scheduling, went into beta in July 2026. Michael Steib replaced Jeff Kip as CEO in September 2026.

The track record is mixed. The FTC filed a complaint against HomeAdvisor in March 2022 over deceptive marketing of leads, and in November 2023 it returned more than $3M to businesses that had paid for HomeAdvisor memberships. In October 2025 Angi settled with Vermont’s Attorney General. It paid $100,000 and agreed to stop using “Angi Certified Pro” or any wording that implies a government credential. Angi’s pro prices and contract terms aren’t public, so get every number in writing before you sign.

What changes the answer

TaskRabbit net per hour across the full day out, recalculated from the worked example. Each row changes one input from the base case.

The higher rates are test inputs, not typical earnings. Your rate and your billed share move the result far more than the mileage rate does. To see what’s realistic where you live, look up what Taskers near you charge for the same task category in the app.

Compared with: an employed wage and the minimum wage

To match the employed median working on your own:

Target net for the day:       8 x $23.38            = $187.04
Add costs:                    $187.04 + $35.40      = $222.44
Rate needed per billed hour:  $222.44 / 6           = $37.07

A Tasker needs to charge about $37.07 an hour just to match the employed median before tax. Self-employed workers also pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare, which employees split with their employer, so the true gap is wider. On a slow day, the after-tax figure falls below the federal minimum wage. Many states set a higher minimum, so check yours.

For other ways to fill the same hours, see how driving compares in Uber vs DoorDash driver pay after costs and Instacart shopper pay after costs. There are broader rankings in weekend side hustles by net pay and side hustles ranked by after-tax pay per hour.

Tax: the 2026 thresholds

This is arithmetic, not tax advice. For your own return, ask a tax professional.

• Form 1099-K: the threshold is back to more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions. TaskRabbit pays through Stripe, and Taskers over that line must verify their taxpayer ID or have payouts paused. Some states use lower thresholds.
• Form 1099-NEC: the threshold rose from $600 to $2,000 for payments after December 31, 2025, with inflation adjustments from 2027.
• Self-employment tax: 15.3%. You file Schedule SE if net self-employment earnings are $400 or more.
• No form, still taxable: income counts whether or not a 1099 arrives.
• Mileage log: at 76¢, the example’s 40 miles are a $30.40 deduction. Log every trip with its date, because miles before July 1, 2026 use 72.5¢.

Ways to lose money that aren’t in the table

• Off-platform payment: TaskRabbit’s payment policy bans cash and outside payment apps. Breaking it can lead to suspension or deactivation, and Taskprotect only covers tasks that are booked and fully paid on the platform. Report off-app payment requests to support.
• Overpayment and fake checks: someone “pays” more than they owe and asks for the difference back. The FTC warns that it can take weeks for a bank to spot a fake check, and the victim can end up repaying the bank.
• Dead leads: on Thumbtack and Angi, a lead that never answers still costs you.

Is TaskRabbit worth it

At an employed-median rate, you keep about 47% of it per hour out ($11.10 of $23.38) after costs and SE tax. At about $37 an hour with a full calendar, you match the employed median, but only before tax. TaskRabbit’s advantages are confirmed: $25 once, no lead fees, payouts in 1 to 3 business days. The risk is in how many of your hours get billed.

Sources

• TaskRabbit: how pricing works
• TaskRabbit: registration fee
• TaskRabbit: payment policy
• Thumbtack: set lead prices
• Angi Leads pro FAQ
• FTC: HomeAdvisor case
• BLS: general maintenance and repair workers
• IRS: 2026 standard mileage rate
• Journal of Accountancy: mileage rate for the rest of 2026
• IRS: self-employment tax
• IRS: Form 1099-K threshold

Verdict in one number

$11.10 an hour. That is what a $23.38 TaskRabbit rate leaves per hour out after unpaid time, mileage and self-employment tax, so set your rate with the gap in mind and keep small jobs off the pay-per-lead platforms.