What HomeStars really costs Canadian contractors, how shared leads work, who it pays off for, and how to build a lead engine you actually own.
The short answer: HomeStars can be worth it for newer contractors with no online presence, or for niche trades with little competition. For most established trades in busy cities, it gets expensive fast because you share each job request with other pros and you own nothing when you stop paying. Use it as one source, never your only one.
Every contractor in Canada has had the call. A friendly rep from HomeStars says homeowners in your area are looking for someone just like you, and all it takes is a monthly membership. So is HomeStars worth it? Or is it a very polite way to pay rent on customers you’ll never own?
We run marketing for trades and construction companies, so we hear both sides of this all the time. Some contractors swear by it. Others say it was the most expensive year of their lives. This post breaks down what HomeStars actually costs, how the leads work, who it pays off for, and what to do instead if it doesn’t.
HomeStars is a Canadian review and contractor matching site, founded in Toronto in 2006. In 2017 it was bought by IAC, the same parent company behind HomeAdvisor (Wikipedia). So yes, the friendly Canadian site and the American lead giant are cousins.
Here’s how it works for you as a contractor:
That last step is where the magic and the misery live.
HomeStars doesn’t publish one price list, and reps quote based on your trade and city. Reported prices from Canadian contractors and agencies land roughly here:
Treat those as ballpark numbers and read your own contract before you sign. Terms change, and the rep’s enthusiasm is not a legal document.
Here’s a simple example. The numbers are illustrative, so swap in your own.
Say you pay $350 a month. A contractor starting from zero reviews has reported getting around 2 to 4 leads a month on a paid plan (HomeShowoff). Let’s be generous and call it 4.
Now ask the only question that matters. Is $350 a cheap way to land a job in your trade?
If you install $15,000 basements, absolutely. That’s a bargain and you should probably buy more. If you do $400 faucet swaps, you just worked a month for HomeStars. The platform isn’t good or bad. Your average job size and your close rate decide it.
HomeStars has real strengths, and pretending otherwise would be silly.
This is the part the sales rep tends to skip.
The real question isn’t “HomeStars or nothing.” It’s renting leads versus owning the system that creates them.
Your own lead engine is a mix of four things: a Google Business Profile that’s actually filled out, Google Local Services Ads with the Google Guaranteed badge, search ads aimed at the jobs you want, and a landing page built to turn clicks into calls. A homeowner who finds you this way called you. Not you and two strangers. You.
That’s what we build at Leads4Trades, and we built it to fix everything contractors hate about lead sites and agencies:
One masonry client says they’ve seen a 22X return on investment working with us over six years. Yes, we have a horse in this race, so do the math on every option, including ours.
Run through this quick test.
HomeStars is probably worth it if:
HomeStars is probably not worth it if:
Many contractors land in the middle. They keep a free or cheap profile for the reviews and trust, while building their own lead engine so they aren’t hostage to one platform.
HomeStars isn’t a scam and it isn’t a gold mine. It’s a rented storefront in a busy mall. Great when foot traffic is high and the rent is fair, painful when you’re paying for a spot next to three competitors selling the same thing.
If you’re tired of splitting every job request with the guy down the road, book a free consultation with Leads4Trades. Exclusive leads, no long term commitment and a fixed management fee. We’ll look at your trade, your city and your numbers, and tell you straight whether you’d get more from your own lead engine than from renting one.
HomeStars is a Canadian website where homeowners read contractor reviews and request quotes for home projects. It was founded in Toronto in 2006 and is owned by IAC, the parent company of HomeAdvisor. Homeowners use it for free, while contractors pay for memberships that put them in front of those homeowners.
HomeStars paid memberships are commonly reported at about $200 to $500 or more per month in Canada. The price depends on your trade and your city, and HomeStars does not publish a public price list. A basic profile is free but does not receive job requests and shows competitor ads on your page.
No, HomeStars job requests are typically shared. A homeowner’s request is matched to a small group of pros, usually up to three, who then compete for the job. That means you often compete on price and speed, so calling back fast matters a lot.
Yes, but read the terms first. Monthly plans have been reported with a 12 month initial term and 60 days written notice to cancel after that, and prepaid fees are generally not refunded. Ask your rep for the exact cancellation terms in writing before you sign.
No, your reviews stay on HomeStars if you cancel. You can link to them, but they don’t move to Google or your website. That’s why many contractors push happy customers to leave Google reviews too, since those stay with your business no matter which platforms you use.
The strongest alternatives are channels you control. Google Business Profile, Google Local Services Ads, targeted search ads and your own website all send leads only to you. Other platforms like TrustedPros, Angi and Kijiji exist, but they share many of the same downsides as HomeStars.
Google reviews usually matter more. Google is where most Canadian homeowners start searching, and your Google reviews show up in Maps and search results for free. HomeStars reviews help with homeowners who already use the platform, so having both is ideal, but Google should come first.
Last updated: October 2026.
