Leaving Angi in New Hampshire? Here's the math.

New Hampshire contractor context — no state GC license, OPLC trade licensing, and a Boston commuter + Lakes Region split

New Hampshire is another US state with no state general contractor license. Competence regulation happens through: (1) trade licensing via the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) — electricians (Master / Journeyman / Apprentice), plumbers, gas fitters, and master mechanics; (2) municipal contractor registration in the state's larger cities; and (3) the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau within the NH Attorney General's office, which investigates unfair or deceptive home-improvement practices. New Hampshire's contractor economy runs through three bands: Southern Tier / Boston commuter corridor (Manchester, Nashua, Salem, Portsmouth, Derry, Bedford, Hudson, Londonderry — highest scope values in the state, tied to Boston + Massachusetts corporate commuter base and Seacoast second-home demand), the Lakes Region (Laconia, Meredith, Wolfeboro, Center Harbor — Lake Winnipesaukee + Squam Lake second-home market), and the White Mountains / North Country (Conway, Lincoln, Berlin — resort + rural year-round homeowner). Every market carries Zone 6 cold-climate envelope requirements + wildfire-WUI overlay in the White Mountains.

What Angi, Thumbtack, and Houzz charge you in New Hampshire

Per Angi's publicly disclosed pricing page, New Hampshire GCs reportedly pay $15–$75 per shared lead, with each lead routed to three to eight contractors at once. Thumbtack's public pricing page lists $7–$55 per contact across Manchester + Nashua + Portsmouth + Concord, with each request forwarded to three to fifteen pros. Houzz's For Pros sells a $99–$399/month subscription regardless of whether any homeowner ever calls. All three figures come from 2026 public pricing pages and live in AskBaily's competitor-fees.json dataset under Creative Commons attribution.

None of these platforms verify OPLC trade license status OR Manchester / Nashua / Portsmouth municipal registration at match-time. A Portsmouth homeowner on Angi can be routed to a contractor with an expired OPLC electrical license, which would normally fail the city's permit pull. AskBaily queries OPLC + Manchester + Nashua + Portsmouth + Concord + Derry + Keene + Laconia contractor registries at match time.

The hidden cost: unconverted leads at New Hampshire close rates

The 2023 FTC order against HomeAdvisor/Angi (In re HomeAdvisor, Docket 9407) documented shared-lead close rates in the 2–4% range on residential renovation projects $5K and up. In Southern-Tier NH — where homeowners on $125K+ projects shop three to five contractors over four to six weeks — close rates on Angi leads run 5–7%. At 6% and $40/lead average, that's $667 per acquired customer. Lakes Region runs 5–7% on higher-scope-value second-home projects. North Country 6–8%.

The structural problem: NH's Boston-commuter homeowner cohort expects structured remote PM (they work in Boston or work from home but travel for client work) and weekly visibility on milestone progress. Generic platforms don't format scopes for that workflow.

What AskBaily charges New Hampshire contractors

AskBaily charges nothing to receive a match. We only earn when you close a project. Our take-rate is tiered 8–15% of closed-job revenue plus a 1.5% Trust and Safety reserve. All fees are published in our pricing page and cross-referenced against the competitor-fees dataset.

For New Hampshire specifically, AskBaily verifies:

• OPLC trade licenses — Master Electrician + Plumber + Gas Fitter + Master Mechanic where relevant; re-checked at match-time.
• Municipal contractor registration — Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Concord, Derry, Keene, Laconia, Dover where scopes fall.
• General liability insurance — $500K minimum aggregate typically; varies by municipal requirement.
• Workers' compensation — New Hampshire Department of Labor employer file.
• NH Secretary of State business registration — for LLC / corporation legal status.
• Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act (RSA 483-B) — any scope within 250 feet of a public water body triggers Shoreland Protection review.
• Lakes Region lake-access overlays — Lake Winnipesaukee, Squam Lake, Sunapee lake-frontage parcels flagged.
• Historic overlays — Portsmouth, Exeter, Keene, Peterborough, Hanover + Dartmouth historic districts carry HPC review.
• Cold-climate Zone 6 envelope — aggressive R-value + air-sealing + ice-and-water-shield detailing.
• WUI overlay (White Mountains) — Conway, Lincoln, Franconia, Jackson forest-parcel scopes.

The full requirement breakdown is at our New Hampshire requirements page.

How to migrate: 5-step playbook

1. Collect your OPLC trade licenses (Master Electrician, Plumber, Gas Fitter, Master Mechanic as relevant) + municipal contractor registrations + NH Secretary of State filing. Pull COI and WC.
2. Pause — don't cancel — your Angi and Thumbtack accounts. Set Angi to "not accepting leads" and Thumbtack to zero budget.
3. Apply at askbaily.com/for-pros/apply?source=recruit-new-hampshire. We'll ask for your OPLC license numbers, municipal registrations, COI, WC, and two recent closed-project addresses.
4. Complete the 10-minute onboarding call. A scoping interview so Baily learns your tone. Southern-Tier pros describe Boston-commuter + remote-PM patterns; Lakes Region pros describe lake-frontage + second-home patterns; North Country pros describe resort + year-round-rural patterns.
5. Set your first match zone. Southern-Tier pros typically start at a 30-mile radius (Manchester + Nashua + Salem + Portsmouth corridor); Lakes Region pros at 25-mile; North Country pros at 40-mile.

New Hampshire-specific regulatory fit

NH's OPLC trade licensing + municipal overlay + Lakes Region / White Mountains climate create scope routing precision generic platforms miss:

• OPLC trade licensing — Master Electrician, Plumber, Gas Fitter, Master Mechanic credentials verified live at match-time.
• Municipal contractor registration — Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Concord each run their own registration. Baily routes scopes only where your stack covers the jurisdiction.
• Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act — any scope within 250 feet of a public water body triggers Shoreland Protection review administered by NH DES. Baily flags.
• Lake Winnipesaukee + Squam Lake + Sunapee lake-frontage — lake-access overlays + septic setback + dock permit considerations. Baily flags.
• Boston-commuter homeowner cohort — Southern-Tier NH (Manchester, Nashua, Bedford, Salem, Portsmouth) homeowners work in Boston or Boston-MA-South. They expect structured remote PM + weekly milestone visibility. Baily matches.
• Second-home pattern (Lakes Region + White Mountains) — Boston / NY / NJ second-home owners expect weekly milestone photos. Baily matches.
• Historic overlays — Portsmouth + Exeter + Keene + Hanover + Peterborough historic districts carry HPC review.
• Cold-climate Zone 6 envelope — aggressive R-value + conditioned crawl + ice-and-water-shield detailing per NH Energy Code.
• WUI White Mountains overlay — Conway, Lincoln, Franconia, Jackson, Gorham forest-parcel scopes carry wildfire-resistive considerations. Baily flags.
• No sales tax / tax-advantage cohort — NH homeowners + second-home owners come for the no-sales-tax + no-income-tax advantage; price transparency matters even more. Baily discloses all fees.

Apply to AskBaily as a New Hampshire contractor

If you've been paying for Angi or Thumbtack leads in New Hampshire and your close rate isn't clearing 9%, the math is almost always better under a closed-job take-rate. We welcome OPLC-licensed + municipally-registered contractors with prior Southern-Tier, Lakes Region, Seacoast, or White Mountains portfolio.

Apply now → askbaily.com/for-pros/apply?source=recruit-new-hampshire

No commitment, no contract to exit, no setup fee.

Frequently asked questions

NH has no state GC license — how does AskBaily verify me? We verify your OPLC trade licenses (Master Electrician, Plumber, Gas Fitter, Master Mechanic where relevant), your municipal contractor registrations (Manchester / Nashua / Portsmouth / Concord / Derry / Keene / Laconia / Dover as relevant), your Secretary of State business filing, and your COI + WC. The NH AG's Consumer Protection Bureau does the post-hoc enforcement work that a state GC license would otherwise do.

How does the Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act work? Any scope within 250 feet of a public water body (lake, river, certain streams) triggers Shoreland Protection review administered by NH DES. Baily flags Shoreland parcels at scope intake so you can scope DES review time + shoreland-engineering work into the bid.

What about Lake Winnipesaukee / Squam Lake / Sunapee lake-frontage work? Lake-frontage parcels carry lake-access overlays + septic setback + dock permit considerations under NH DES shoreland rules. Baily flags lake-frontage parcels.

How does the Boston-commuter homeowner pattern work? Southern-Tier NH (Manchester, Nashua, Bedford, Salem, Portsmouth) homeowners work in Boston or the Boston MA-South corporate corridor. They bring structured-PM expectations and often aren't home during business hours, so they want remote visibility — weekly milestone photos, documented change orders, permit-status visibility. Baily's scope format matches.

How does the 8-15% take-rate tier work? Jobs under $25K at 8-10%, $25K-$150K at 10-12%, $150K+ at 12-15%. Disclosed before you accept any scope.

What about the no-sales-tax + no-income-tax advantage? NH is famously low-tax. Homeowners (especially in-migration from MA + NY + CT) expect clear price transparency and don't tolerate hidden fees. Baily discloses all platform fees up front so you're never defending hidden charges.

What about White Mountains WUI overlays? Conway, Lincoln, Franconia, Jackson, Gorham scopes carry forest-parcel WUI considerations. Baily flags WUI parcels.

Does AskBaily handle the homeowner payment flow? No — you invoice the homeowner directly. We take our fee from you, not the homeowner.

What happens if a matched homeowner doesn't close with me? Nothing. You owe nothing on unclosed scopes. The take-rate only fires on closed-job revenue you collect.

Migration math for Southern-Tier + Lakes Region contractors

Here's what the math looks like for a typical mid-size NH residential GC running a crew of three to six on $75K–$400K projects (Southern-Tier + Lakes Region second-home scopes skew upper-band).

Under Angi Pro Leads (publicly disclosed pricing, 2026):

• $40 average lead cost, 5 contractors per lead (you're one of five).
• Close rate: 6% in Southern-Tier NH (within the FTC-documented baseline).
• Effective CAC: $40 / 0.06 = $667 per acquired customer.
• Annual pipeline: if you close 10 $150K jobs from this channel, that's $6,670/year in lead spend, plus estimator time on 157 calls that didn't close (roughly 39 estimator-hours at $90/hour = $3,510 in burned labor).
• Total cost-of-acquisition against channel revenue: $10,180 in direct + burned cost. On $1,500,000 in closed revenue from that channel, effective CAC runs about 0.7% of closed-revenue.

Under AskBaily closed-job take-rate (2026):

• Zero lead fees. Zero subscription. Zero upfront cost.
• 8–15% of closed-job revenue tiered by scope value. For $150K+ projects, 12–15%; plus the 1.5% Trust and Safety reserve.
• For the same 10 $150K jobs: 12% × $1,500,000 = $180,000 in platform cost.

The real question: the $667 Angi CAC assumes you close 10 of 167 routed leads. Most Southern-Tier NH GCs close 5–7 because Boston-commuter homeowners shop carefully and compare 4–5 bids. Your actual CAC per win is closer to $950–$1,330, and the estimator-burn is the same.

When AskBaily wins on math: any channel where your close rate is under 12%. Most NH GCs sit in that band.

When Angi can win on math: if you're the lowest-bid fastest-responder on shared-lead auctions and close 15%+. Most experienced NH GCs are not the low-bid shop.

Run your own numbers with the lead-cost calculator before you commit to anything.