HomeStars
HomeStars is a Canadian two-sided marketplace founded in 2006 that connects homeowners with 22,319+ verified service professionals across 40+ home service categories via a free job-posting platform backed by 970,394 homeowner reviews, operating as a subsidiary of Angi Inc.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What HomeStars does
HomeStars, founded in 2006 and headquartered at 49 Spadina Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, operates Canada's largest home services marketplace, connecting individual homeowners with a network of 22,319 verified service professionals across 40+ categories including plumbing, painting, handyman, electrical, HVAC, roofing, and moving services. The core product is a two-sided web and mobile platform (iOS and Android apps with 500K+ downloads) where homeowners post jobs for free and receive responses from professionals; trust is established through a content library of 970,394 homeowner-written reviews and a Quality Check verification process. Supporting products include an "Ask a Pro" public Q&A feature, a Pro registration portal for lead generation, and SEO-optimized educational content (articles, price guides).
The business operates on a freemium, marketplace-commission model: homeowners use the platform at no cost, while service professionals join for free to receive leads and likely pay for premium visibility, subscriptions, or per-lead fees — specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. HomeStars is a subsidiary of Angi Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI), operating within the Instapro Group, with sister platforms in the US (Angi, HomeAdvisor), UK (MyBuilder), Netherlands (Werkspot), France (Travaux), Germany/Austria (MyHammer), and Italy (Instapro). The company employs 11-50 staff, maintains PIPEDA compliance for Canadian data protection, and is led by founder and CEO Nancy Peterson, COO Megan Oldfield, and CFO Steve Wilson. Historical funding totals approximately $2.43M across four disclosed rounds between 2007 and 2014, with the most recent being a $655,776 round from Espresso Capital in June 2014.
HomeStars firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HomeStars
- Legal name
- HomeStars Inc.
- Website
- https://homestars.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- HomeStars is a Canadian two-sided marketplace founded in 2006 that connects homeowners with 22,319+ verified service professionals across 40+ home service categories via a free job-posting platform backed by 970,394 homeowner reviews, operating as a subsidiary of Angi Inc.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
HomeStars industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Home Services Marketplace
- SIC
- Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Home Services Marketplaces (Cleaning, Repairs, Handyman) (BPAMAHAE)
Keywords
Where HomeStars is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
HomeStars business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Lead Generation: Homeowners post jobs for free; service professionals join and pay for leads/job opportunities. The platform monetizes by connecting pros with homeowners and taking a transaction fee or subscription from professionals.
- Pro Premium Services: Service professionals can join for free but likely have paid upgrade options for enhanced visibility or additional features. Pros sign up for free to receive leads.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free for homeowners |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free for pros to join |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
HomeStars product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HomeStars operates a two-sided online marketplace that connects Canadian homeowners with 22,319+ verified home service professionals across 40+ categories (plumbing, painting, electrical, HVAC, roofing, handyman, etc.). Homeowners post jobs for free, receive responses from interested pros, review profiles and ratings, and hire; service professionals join for free to receive qualified local leads.
Product overview
HomeStars operates as a marketplace platform connecting homeowners with verified service professionals. The core product is the HomeStars Platform, a job-posting and professional-matching marketplace. Supporting this platform are the Mobile App (iOS/Android) for on-the-go job management, the Ask a Pro Q&A feature for expert advice, a Pro Lead Generation Service for professionals seeking work, and a Reviews and Ratings System with nearly one million customer reviews. The platform covers 40+ service categories including plumbing, painting, handyman services, electrical, HVAC, and more, with over 22,000 professionals listed.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- HomeStars Marketplace Platform Core web marketplace at homestars.com where homeowners post jobs for free, browse 22,319+ verified service professionals across 40+ categories, read 970,394 reviews, and hire. Service professionals (pros) register for free to receive qualified local leads matching their skills.
- HomeStars Mobile App (iOS/Android)
Quantifiable outcome
- 22,319 pros available across Canada
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use HomeStars
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
HomeStars technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
HomeStars partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Angi Inc.coreParent company of HomeStars. Angi Inc. is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: ANGI) operating home services marketplaces across multiple countries. HomeStars operates as part of the Angi family of brands.
- Instapro GroupcoreParent organization overseeing HomeStars and other home services platforms across Europe (MyBuilder UK, Werkspot Netherlands, Travaux France, MyHammer Germany/Austria, Instapro Italy).
- Angi (USA)minorSister platform in the US market. Part of the Angi family ecosystem for North American coverage.
- HomeAdvisor (USA)minorSister platform in the US market under Angi Inc. family of brands.
- MyBuilder (UK)minorSister platform in the UK market under Instapro Group.
- Werkspot (The Netherlands)minorSister platform in the Netherlands under Instapro Group.
- Travaux (France)minorSister platform in France under Instapro Group.
- MyHammer (Germany/Austria)minorSister platform in Germany and Austria under Instapro Group.
- Instapro (Italy)minorSister platform in Italy under Instapro Group.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
HomeStars competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Travaux.com: Travaux is the French home services marketplace under Instapro Group. It uses the same review-driven, lead-generation model as HomeStars and is a direct sister platform in the same corporate family.
- Thumbtack: Thumbtack is a US home services marketplace connecting homeowners with local pros across 1,000+ categories. It uses a pay-per-lead monetization model and competes directly with HomeStars in the broader North American home services category.
- Angi (formerly Angie's List): Angi is the leading US home services marketplace and direct sister platform under Angi Inc. It uses the same two-sided marketplace model connecting homeowners with pros, with extensive reviews, lead generation, and advertising monetization.
- MyBuilder: MyBuilder is the UK home services marketplace and direct sister platform under Instapro Group. It uses the same review-driven pro-matching model as HomeStars, providing cross-border comparability within the same parent ecosystem.
- TaskRabbit: TaskRabbit is an on-demand platform for household tasks including handyman, cleaning, moving, and furniture assembly. It overlaps meaningfully with HomeStars' handyman, cleaning, and moving categories and is owned by IKEA.
- Werkspot: Werkspot is the Netherlands home services marketplace owned by Instapro Group. Sister platform to HomeStars with comparable pro-matching and review functionality, operating in a different European geography.
- Houzz: Houzz combines a home design content platform with a pro marketplace ('Houzz Pro') that connects homeowners with renovation and design professionals. It competes with HomeStars on the pro-discovery side while adding design-led demand generation.
- HomeAdvisor: HomeAdvisor is a US-based home services marketplace owned by Angi Inc., offering the same pro-matching, review-driven model as HomeStars. It is HomeStars' US counterpart within the same parent ecosystem.
Broad incumbents
- Porch Group: Porch is a US home services software and marketplace platform serving both homeowners and pros with insurance, moving, and contractor services. It competes with HomeStars in North America with a broader vertical software offering.
- Yelp: Yelp is a broad local business review platform with a sizable home services category where homeowners search for and review local pros. It overlaps with HomeStars' review-driven discovery model at a much larger but less specialized scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
HomeStars social profiles
Digital presenceHomeStars compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
HomeStars financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HomeStars leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
HomeStars funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HomeStars M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HomeStars
What does HomeStars do?
HomeStars operates a two-sided online marketplace that connects Canadian homeowners with 22,319+ verified home service professionals across 40+ categories (plumbing, painting, electrical, HVAC, roofing, handyman, etc.). Homeowners post jobs for free, receive responses from interested pros, review profiles and ratings, and hire; service professionals join for free to receive qualified local leads.
Is HomeStars a public or private company?
HomeStars is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was HomeStars founded?
HomeStars was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is HomeStars based?
HomeStars is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does HomeStars make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Lead Generation is the primary driver. The others are pro Premium Services.
Who are HomeStars's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Travaux.com, Thumbtack, Angi (formerly Angie's List), MyBuilder, TaskRabbit, Werkspot, Houzz and HomeAdvisor. Broad incumbents are Porch Group and Yelp.
Does HomeStars have an API?
No public API is recorded for HomeStars.
What industry is HomeStars in?
HomeStars's product category is Home Services Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAHAE, Home Services Marketplaces (Cleaning, Repairs, Handyman). Its SIC code is 7340.