HomeStars

HomeStars: Canada's platform for hiring home service professionals

HomeStars presents itself as a Canadian network of community-reviewed home service professionals. The platform connects homeowners who need renovation or maintenance work done with professionals interested in those jobs, and lets users read reviews from other customers before deciding who to hire.

According to data published on the site, the network brings together 24,929 pros, 1,815,643 posted jobs and 980,191 reviews, spread across more than 40 service categories. The company states it has been in operation for almost twenty years and describes itself as Canada's largest network of community-reviewed home service professionals.

How hiring works

The process has three steps: the homeowner posts their job for free, interested pros respond, and finally the user reviews profiles and chooses. The platform highlights as a distinguishing feature that it only connects the homeowner and the pro when both parties are genuinely interested in working together.

Pros sign up for free, list their skills and service area, and can express interest in jobs that suit them. They only pay a fee when the homeowner chooses to get in touch with them. The platform also offers a mobile app for posting and managing jobs, adding photos, receiving notifications, chatting with pros and leaving ratings from your phone.

Most in-demand services and categories

The catalogue covers more than 40 service categories. Among the most prominent by number of pros are:

• Plumbing: 12,415 pros in Canada.
• Handyman services: 19,797 pros in Canada.
• Painting: 5,463 pros in Canada.

The platform also lists trades such as electrician, carpenter, architect, locksmith, mason, moving company, interior designer, general contractor, HVAC contractor, cleaning company, landscaping, paving, roofing, appliance repair, bathroom and kitchen renovation, gutters, concrete, flooring, insulation and others.

Reviews and expert advice

Reviews are written by homeowners and the platform presents them as genuine. The site shows examples of top-rated reviews for jobs such as fireplace renovation, electrical installation, rubble removal, hedge trimming and painting interior walls and ceilings.

HomeStars also maintains a Q&A section where users put questions to expert pros. Among the topics covered are scrap metal disposal, bleeding heating radiators and replacing a front walkway that is cracked and prone to ice problems in winter.

Geographic coverage

The platform operates in Canada and lets you search for pros in cities such as Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Mississauga, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Hamilton, Brampton, Scarborough, Oshawa, Markham, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Burlington, Oakville, Ajax, Pickering, Milton, Whitby and Aurora, among others.

Corporate structure

HomeStars is part of Angi Inc, a US company in the sector, and of the Instapro Group, a group that brings together building and home services marketplaces in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Italy and the Netherlands. The group includes brands such as Angi and HomeAdvisor in the United States, MyBuilder in the UK, Werkspot in the Netherlands, Travaux in France, MyHammer in Germany and Austria, and Instapro in Italy.

Customer service

The customer service team is available at 1-877-549-0757, Monday to Friday, from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern Time.