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Outsourcing house cleaning used to feel like something that only “rich” people did because most of us, well… we just do the do and clean our own houses like the responsible adults we are, right?
Life feels more complicated and busy in ways that seriously limit free time when we’re balancing work and home life (and all the obligations that come with that), and while I truly don’t mind cleaning… I also kind of love not having to do the lion’s share of the work.
Homeaglow and Thumbtack are nationwide platforms that connect you with local house cleaning pros, and I’ve tried both (although I ended up sticking with only one of them for the long haul).
How They Clean Up (Against One Another)
| Compare | Homeaglow | Thumbtack |
| Service Type | Curated cleaner network | Open marketplace connecting you to local companies or independent contractors |
| Cleaning Type | General housecleaning | General house cleaning, deep cleaning, specific cleans (carpets, pressure washing), junk removal, and more depending on service providers in your area |
| Pricing Structure | Monthly membership + lower hourly rates | Varies based on the local cleaning business/provider, but tends to be higher than normal to cover the pro’s lead cost on the platform |
| Booking Process | Instant and online | Compare available options in your area, get a quote, then book your cleaning |
| Cleaner Consistency | You can have the same cleaner for each visit | Depends; based on the company/provider you select |
| Background Check | Yes; required of all cleaners in the network | Yes; only for the account owner |
| Bonded or Insured | Depends on the individual cleaner; Homeaglow does not provide or require it, but many cleaners carry independent coverage | Depends entirely on the cleaning business/provider, but Thumbtack has its own property damage coverage |
| Customer Service | Handled through Homeaglow | The provider first, then Thumbtack if not resolved |
| Best For | Budget-friendly repeat house cleanings & upkeep | Finding local pros for one-time or special cleaning tasks |
Platforms like Homeaglow and Thumbtack can make it easier to go from “my house is out of control, and I really need a break” to “thank the gods someone is coming on Tuesday to do all of this for me so I can relax for once.”
But how smooth that experience is really depends on which platform you’re using and who you hire. I’ll take you through my experience using both so you can understand what they are, how they work, what their pricing and booking process is like, how customer service issues are handled, and which one I recommend the most.
(TL;DR spoiler alert: it’s Homeaglow.)
Homeaglow & Thumbtack: What They Actually Are
True to its name to make your home, well… glow, Homeaglow connects users with independent home-cleaning professionals through an online booking system for various services, including general cleaning, deep cleaning, move-in/move-out cleaning, and housekeeping. You can also arrange for a one-time cleaning service or have your home cleaned on the same day (although availability can vary in your area for same-day booking).
Thumbtack is a massive online marketplace where you can find professionals to do cleaning, along with a lot of other services like home repairs, landscaping, painting, concrete, windows, exterminators, and more.
Cleaning options, specifically, include general house cleaning along with carpet cleaning, junk removal, and even pressure washing, so there is a little more flexibility in terms of the cleaning services that are available through Thumbtack.
Pricing: Homeaglow Is More Budget-Friendly
One of the biggest advantages of Homeaglow is its affordability; it’s typically far less expensive than other cleaning services for ongoing, regular visits.
With Homeaglow’s subscription model, you pay $59 each month for the “Forever Clean” membership, but that gives you access to deeply discounted hourly rates for any services you schedule, on an unlimited basis. Especially if you want your place cleaned every week or every other week, that’s a really great deal.
The often-advertised $19 introductory cleaning price is conditional on maintaining your Homeaglow Forever Clean subscription for a minimum of six months, however. While you’re free to cancel your membership at any point, you do need to be aware that if you cancel before completing six months, your first cleaning, which was offered at a hefty discount, will be charged at its full price later on.
At Thumbtack, pricing is entirely dependent on who you hire from the marketplace, and rates can vary a lot, at least in my area. The “average price near me” is $183 per session.
(As an aside, I think rates through Thumbtack may be higher than the norm because of what the pros on the platform have to pay for each lead. From what I found in my research on that end, anytime a customer initiates contact with a pro, the pro auto-pays for the lead whether they’re hired or not.)
Value Comparison Between Homeaglow And Thumbtack
Cleaning prices by hour or session can fluctuate widely depending on where you live (and the general cost of living there), as well as the specific cleaner or service provider you book. That said, I can at least share some insights based on the pricing I get locally through each to give you an idea of the value they provide (or don’t).
Homeaglow costs $59 monthly, but that fee lowers my cleaner’s hourly rate by a lot. When you need cleaning twice a month (I schedule bi-weekly), it’s much more affordable than the prices I received from local cleaning companies.
I rent a pretty big house since some extended family lives with me (we live a multi-generational life; my mom lives with us, as does my niece/bonus daughter, along with myself, my husband, and our two daughters). Everyone takes care of their own bedrooms, so the cleaning service I book for four hours covers the kitchen, living room, dining room, two bathrooms, and the upstairs hallway and stairs. And if she has time left over, sweeping and mopping the third-floor loft where my office is.
My cost is $20 per hour for as many cleanings as I need, not including the membership fee, so my biweekly cleanings cost $160 a month. Adding the Forever Clean subscription, the total cost is $219 plus any tips I give to my cleaner.
In contrast, session rates from local businesses (most of which are teams of two or three people) through pros available on the Thumbtack marketplace had a starting rate of up to $300 (with an average price of $183), not counting tips.
I’m no math wizard, but when I can get two cleanings from Homeaglow for less than the price of one through a Thumbtack pro, I’m gonna go with the former. The savings are considerable, and even adding a tip to each cleaning session, I’m still saving a lot in the long run.
The Booking Experience: Homeaglow Is Simpler
I found the booking experience at Homeaglow to be really straightforward and simple because you can schedule it right there and then. You don’t need to submit a quote request or wait for a response, so once you’ve selected a cleaner, you’re booked really quickly.
No worries if you’ve never used a cleaning service before, either. (When I set up mine, it was my first time, too.) Homeaglow lets you easily look at cleaner profiles, read through their reviews, and pick the perfect person for the job.
The one thing I really appreciated about Thumbtack is that you can look at all the cleaning professionals in your local marketplace without having to enter a lick of personal information. (I’m looking at you, Angi.)
At least in my area, there are a lot of cleaner options listed with ratings and reviews easily accessible. Individual pricing, on the other hand, was a little less forthcoming, since many cleaners have “contact for price” listed on their profiles.
That’s not the end of the world since you can reach out to them for quotes, but that’s also a little more hassle (and time-until-booking) compared to Homeaglow.
Both Platforms Offer Cleaner Quality And Consistency
Booking with Homeaglow allows you to schedule regular appointments with the same cleaning professional every time, if you want to. From my own experience working as a house cleaner many (many) moons ago, there’s a lot of value in that kind of predictability.
When I was going to the same houses regularly, I developed a flow in each as far as how I’d move from room to room, which allowed me to work faster and more efficiently. I also learned each client’s preferences, so there was a lot of familiarity there, too. (For the record, I do not miss waxing floors. That was always my least favorite thing.)
You can get similar consistency through Thumbtack, but it really depends on who you choose and whether they’re an individual or a business sending teams out to clean. Although many (if not most) individual cleaners set up a business name for themselves on Thumbtack, a “tell” that it’s a team is when the base pricing starts at a high amount (in one case I encountered as an example, $300).
A higher rate like that typically signifies that a couple/few people arrive as a team to get the job done (although not always), and if a business has multiple teams, you won’t necessarily get the same people each time. But the majority of the listings in my area, at least, are either individuals or couples that would return for each cleaning, for a consistency that’s similar to Homeaglow.
Customer Service At Homeaglow And Thumbtack
When a professional enters your home to do anything (cleaning or otherwise), there’s always a possibility of things not going exactly as planned. Most of the time, things are fine, but… customer service support exists for a reason, right?
If there are any issues with services booked through Homeaglow, everything is addressed through its platform and customer service support.
Thumbtack’s customer service is handled through an online help center, in-app messaging (if you’re logged in) with a live agent chat, email, or phone, but only after resolution is attempted directly with the pro you hired.
So if something goes wrong, you’ll first contact the person or company you worked with (and be sure to document everything—emails/texts, invoices, photos if needed). If the issue isn’t resolved directly with the pro, you’ll need to report a concern to Thumbtack within 45 days for service issues, or within 14 days for property damage issues.
(FYI: The property damage guarantee offered by Thumbtack and/or its customer service support only applies if the work was booked through the platform. If you found the cleaner on Thumbtack but reached and booked with them outside the platform, you’re on your own.)
My Verdict (And Why Homeaglow Comes Out Ahead)
Between Homeaglow and Thumbtack, I’ve stayed with Homeaglow for a few reasons. The booking is quick, the cost is very predictable, but most importantly, I’ve been able to build a relationship with the same cleaner over time.
I think Thumbtack is a good fit for anyone who needs one-off or specialty cleaning (like carpets or power washing), but for routine cleaning sessions on a set schedule that also won’t break the bank, Homeaglow is hands-down the better of the two.
It’s funny… when I cleaned houses, I often thought to myself, “Man, must be nice to hire someone to keep everything spotless,” and now I’m on the other side of that situation, and I get it. It’s one of those things where you don’t realize just how much it can actually help, or how much it takes off of your plate (when it’s already insanely full).
House cleaning is “one less thing” to worry about when you’re able to hire someone to delegate it to. And that’s not laziness; it’s gifting yourself some peace of mind… and a few hours that can be spent doing something else worthwhile, even if it’s just a good nap or reading a book you’ve been meaning to get around to for months.
It’s money well spent, for sure.
