Taskrabbit: Competitors, Alternatives, and Other Tactics for Lead Gen

Marketing yourself and generating leads can be a challenge, which is why so many look to lead generation services to get the ball rolling. With a ton of different lead generation services out there, it can take up a lot of time to sort through which may work best for you.

In this resource, we’ll cover everything Taskrabbit—from pricing, to pros and cons—to help you figure out where to concentrate your marketing efforts.

What is Taskrabbit?

Taskrabbit is a lead generation service. It’s specifically geared towards helping homeowners and other customers who have odd jobs and tasks that need to get done. They’re looking for contractors to complete them.

As a contractor (or Tasker) for Taskrabbit, you will need to:

• Complete a background check
• Provide an ID and credit card
• Create a profile
• Attend initial information sessions

As part of your profile, you’ll need to:

• Set your pay rate
• Set your availability
• List the tasks you are offering (for example, weeding lawns, or paint touch-ups)

After you’ve completed Taskrabbit’s onboarding process, your profile will be live. Prospective clients will start to see your profile when they search for contractors who can help with their projects. Once a client gets in touch with you, you can discuss the task and provide a quote.

While some lead generation services focus on larger projects, like home renovations, Taskrabbit is designed to be used for smaller, one-off projects and odd jobs. Think mounting a TV, cleaning a car, assembling furniture, or moving large furniture.

Recently, IKEA acquired Taskrabbit, so the service is often used to assemble IKEA items.

How does Taskrabbit work?

Contractors who sign up for Taskrabbit must pay an initial $25 registration fee.

The only other costs contractors may have to pay are for extra advertising, which is optional.

The service generates the rest of its income by charging customers a 15% service fee for every task they hire for.

When contractors, or Taskers, receive a message from a potential client, it’s up to them to discuss the details of the job or project to come up with an appropriate quote.

Taskrabbit does allow Taskers to create and send invoices as well as receive payments on the platform.

Taskrabbit pros and cons for contractors

Online reviews for Taskrabbit are mixed, with some contractors swearing by the service and others swearing to never use it again.

Taskrabbit pros:

• The smartphone app is easy-to-use and allows you to update rates (and more)
• It can be great for supplemental income
• You can send invoices and receive payments through the app

Taskrabbit cons:

• It isn’t meant to be used for predictable, ongoing income
• Jobs can often be low-paying
• Some contractors have had to wait months for their background check to go through, which puts the breaks on using this lead gen service
• There are lots of complaints about Taskrabbit customer service

Taskrabbit competitors

Thumbtack vs Taskrabbit

Similar to Taskrabbit, Thumbtack is a lead generation service. Its purpose is to match clients with contractors in their area to complete a project or task.

The major difference between the two is the markets that they target:

• Taskrabbit is geared towards clients and contractors looking for small, odd jobs.
• Thumbtack is used for larger, recurring projects like home renovations or yard maintenance.

Cost-wise, Thumbtack is also more expensive for contractors. You have to pay a fee for each lead you receive on top of a membership fee.

READ MORE: 14 Thumbtack alternatives for your home service business

Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor vs Taskrabbit

While the two are often listed as competitors, Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor are actually owned by the same company. The major difference between the two is that Angie’s List is much cheaper than HomeAdvisor. But in addition to that:

• Angie’s List is targeted towards smaller, one-off projects (think pest-control, a plumbing repair, or painting).
• HomeAdvisor targets bigger projects (like full-on home renovations, large landscaping jobs, or complete window replacements).

If you’re trying to compare all three, you might be better off focusing on the differences between Angie’s List and Taskrabbit.

Angie’s list is more of a direct competitor to Taskrabbit. They offer similar pricing (with the exception of cost per lead); plus, they target smaller jobs and projects.

READ MORE: Angi vs HomeAdvisor: which lead generation service should you use?

Porch vs Taskrabbit

Although Porch is often considered to be one of Taskrabbit’s competitors, the two services are very different:

• Taskrabbit is marketed to individuals and contractors looking for odd jobs and one-off projects.
• Porch is targeted towards homeowners who are preparing to buy or sell a home.

While their audiences can cross over, the tasks tend to be very different.

For example, a homeowner preparing to sell may use Porch to redo the flooring in their home and Taskrabbit to move some heavy furniture out of the home, or find a house cleaner before a showing.

Lead generation alternatives to Taskrabbit

The problem with lead generation services like Taskrabbit is that they’re never a fix-it-and-forget-it solution.

You’ll still need to spend time keeping your profile and services up to date, communicating with leads, and performing tasks. And even after all of that, there’s no guarantee that you’ll actually make any money using the website.

Instead, you may want to take a look at some tried and true lead generation tactics to cherry-pick the ones that make the best fit for you and your goals.

Generating leads using service business software

Service business software such as Jobber can help you to do a variety of different things, from facilitating online booking to providing automated, professional quotes.

A lot of your customers are used to an online-first experience. They’re used to booking an appointment at the dentist, or scheduling an oil change online. They want to be able to schedule home service needs online, too.

Jobber can help you maintain the same level of service and convenience that your customers are used to. Use our online booking on your website and social media pages to show your leads what time slots are available, and give them the choice to pencil themselves in.

Plus, when you follow up after the appointment with an organized, branded, and transparent quote, you’ll blow them out of the water with your professionalism.

With our new quoting features, you’ll be able to show them what all your services, materials, and costs are––and even offer them optional add-on services for top-shelf products and premium services, which can increase your accepted quote total by 35%.

Even if your services may cost a little more, clients will understand that they’re paying for quality, customer service, and professionalism. Something that your competitors simply can’t beat!

Generating leads using Google ads

Google offers two main advertising options for home service businesses: Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads and Local Service ads (LSA).

Both types allow you to set minimum and maximum monthly budgets and location parameters.

One of the best things about these ads is that you can experiment with different phrasing, target audiences, budgets, and more.

These ads help to generate leads by displaying ads in Google search results at the top of the page. Potential customers can then click through your ad and book an appointment on your website.

Generating leads through referrals

Sometimes when people think of referrals, they only think word-of-mouth. But referrals can be made up of a whole lot more than just relying on customers to tell their friends about you.

To really boost your referral game, you should consider building a referral program. You may offer current clients a reward (either a discount, gift card, or another benefit) for referring other people to book with you.

READ MORE: How to start a referral program

Should I use Taskrabbit?

Whether you choose to use Taskrabbit really depends on what you’re looking for in terms of lead generation and what services you offer.

While you may earn some supplementary income during the off-season, you’re unlikely to get a lot of recurring clients or high-paying jobs using the service.

Instead, you may want to consider doing some lead generation on your own to bring in customers that you can rely on in the future like using service business software, trying out a referral program, or getting started with Google ads.