When homeowners search for a plumber, electrician, or cleaning crew, two types of services come up: marketplaces that connect you with independent contractors, and companies that actually do the work. Angi (formerly Angie's List) is the former. Novum Home Services is the latter. This comparison explains exactly what that difference means for you.
What Angi actually is
Angi is a lead-generation marketplace. When you submit a job request on Angi, Angi sells that request to multiple independent contractors in your area. Each contractor is an independent business owner who pays Angi for your contact information. Angi doesn't employ plumbers, electricians, or cleaners — it connects them to you and takes a cut per connection. The contractor you end up with depends on who responds to your lead and whether you pick them.
What Novum actually is
Novum is a home services company. When you submit a job request on novumhs.com, Novum schedules one of its own licensed, background-checked employees to come out. There is no bidding. There is no marketplace. There is no independent contractor receiving a lead from Novum. Novum is the contractor — it employs the crew, provides the quote, does the work, and stands behind the result with the Novum Guarantee.
What this means for accountability
With a marketplace like Angi, if a job goes wrong, the question of accountability gets complicated. The contractor is an independent business — Angi facilitates the introduction but doesn't guarantee the work. If the independent contractor disappears, argues about the scope, or does poor work, your recourse is with them individually, not with Angi.
- ✓Angi: independent contractor is accountable, not Angi
- ✓Novum: Novum is accountable — one company, full stop
- ✓Novum Guarantee covers all work performed by Novum crews
What this means for quality control
Angi hosts thousands of independent contractors with varying skill levels, license statuses, and equipment. Angi rates help, but any screened contractor can have a bad day or cut corners on a specific job. Novum employs and trains its own crews directly. Standards, procedures, and equipment are consistent across every Novum job because they're managed by the same company doing the work.
What this means for pricing
On a marketplace, independent contractors set their own prices. On a busy week, they charge more. On a slow week, they may underbid and cut corners to win. With Novum, pricing follows a consistent flat-rate model: you get a quote upfront, you approve it, and that's what you pay. No bidding dynamic, no wondering if the low bid means something was skipped.
Summary: marketplace vs. contractor
The bottom line is simple. If you value accountability, consistency, and a single company responsible for the work end to end, Novum is the right choice. If you want to compare multiple independent bids and evaluate individual contractors yourself, a marketplace like Angi exists for that.
- ✓Angi: marketplace — connects you to independent contractors
- ✓Novum: contractor — employs and dispatches its own licensed crews
- ✓Angi: you pick the contractor; quality varies by individual
- ✓Novum: Novum picks the crew; quality backed by the company
- ✓Angi: accountability with the individual contractor
- ✓Novum: accountability with Novum (Novum Guarantee)
Bottom line
Angi and Novum are fundamentally different kinds of businesses. Angi is a marketplace that sells leads. Novum is a home services company that does the work. Which one is right depends on what you value — but if you want one company responsible for everything from booking to guarantee, that's Novum.
Need plumbing work done?
Novum sends its own licensed crew. Flat upfront quote before we touch anything.