HomeStars alternatives in Canada
First, the bias: we build GetHandy, one of the alternatives below. This guide earns its place by being honest anyway — the right alternative depends on where you are and what you need, and for some readers it genuinely is not us.
The short version, by situation
You’re in Saskatchewan
GetHandy — built here, city and rural, free to post. You describe the job, local providers quote it, payment is held until the work is approved. It is new and Saskatchewan-only by design; if you are outside the province it cannot help you yet.
You want a big national directory
TrustedPros has broad Canadian coverage and ranks well across the prairies. Houzz is the strongest browse for renovation and design work. Both are directories like HomeStars — you still vet and pay the contractor yourself.
You want quotes in your inbox
Bark.com collects your request and passes it to pros who pay to respond, which is how the site earns. It moves fast; the trade-off is that more than one of them may have paid for your contact details, so expect calls.
You’d rather do it the old way
Searching Google Maps for the trade and reading the reviews on each business is still a genuinely good method — you are reading reviews the business cannot buy its way around. Local Facebook groups fill the gaps in small towns; the vetting is on you.
Why people go looking for an alternative
HomeStars is a review directory funded by contractors who pay for placement and leads. That model is the root of the common complaints: as of August 18, 2026 its Better Business Bureau profile shows a D– rating, no accreditation, and “failure to respond to 37 complaint(s)” — and its contractor reviews on Trustpilot repeat two themes: being billed for leads that never answered, and the same lead sold to several companies at once. Contractors doing that math have their own version of this page, with the cost figures linked to their sources: is HomeStars worth it for contractors?
In Saskatchewan there is a second, simpler reason: it is a national directory, and a national directory is strongest where the people are. Before you lean on it here, run the check yourself — search your town and your trade and see how many listings, and how many reviews on them, come back. Farm and acreage work has no agricultural category on the platform anywhere in Canada.
GetHandy and HomeStars, side by side
Who pays to be there
GetHandy
Nobody. Free for homeowners to post, free for providers to quote — the platform fee is paid by the customer on a won job, on top of the provider's price.
HomeStars
Contractors: paid placement reported at $150–$600 a month depending on tier, with total spend often higher once advertising is added (as reported August 2026 — sources named under the table).
How work starts
GetHandy
The job is posted first; providers quote it at their own price if they want it.
HomeStars
Contractors pay for placement and leads; homeowner requests are shown to several contractors at once.
Coverage
GetHandy
Saskatchewan only, on purpose — cities and rural, one province done properly.
HomeStars
National directory, strongest in large Ontario and BC cities.
Farm & rural work
GetHandy
A first-class category: fencing, mobile welding, corral and grain work, acreage jobs.
HomeStars
No agricultural categories exist on the platform.
Payment
GetHandy
Collected from the customer and held before work starts; released to the provider after approval, automatically within 48 hours on most jobs.
HomeStars
Arranged between homeowner and contractor; the platform is not in the payment.
The placement figures above are as reported by AI Local Growth and HomeShowOff, both retrieved August 18, 2026. The worked-through version of that math is on our contractor cost page.
The honest asymmetry: HomeStars has far more contractors in big eastern cities, and if you live in one it may serve you fine. This comparison is written from Saskatchewan, where it does not.
HomeStars is a trademark of its owner; other names above belong to their respective owners. GetHandy is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of them. Third-party figures are as reported by the named sources, retrieved August 18, 2026 — check current pricing and reviews directly before deciding. Tell us if anything here is out of date.