Angi (formerly Angie's List) and Novum Home Services both exist to get a plumber, electrician, or cleaner to your door. The difference is what happens after you describe the job. On Angi, your request goes out to multiple contractors who call, quote, and compete — and you do the sorting. With Novum, one request gets you one vetted pro, one upfront quote, and one point of contact. This comparison walks through what that difference means in practice.
How Angi works
Angi is a lead platform. When you submit a job request, Angi shares it with several contractors in your area, each of whom pays Angi for the opportunity to contact you. Within hours you typically hear from multiple pros by phone, text, and email. You read their profiles and reviews, take their calls, collect their quotes, and pick one. Angi doesn't schedule the work, quote it, or follow up afterward — that's between you and whichever contractor you choose.
How Novum works
Novum is a home services request service. You submit one request at novumhs.com describing the job. Novum lines up a vetted, licensed, insured pro from its partner network who fits that job, gets you an upfront quote before any work starts, and handles the scheduling. After the job, Novum follows up. If something isn't right, the Novum Guarantee means Novum makes it right. You never sort a list, and you never field calls from strangers.
Who you deal with
This is the biggest practical difference. On Angi, you're managing a small hiring process: several contractors, several quotes, several conversations. With Novum, there's one request and one point of contact from start to finish.
- ✓Angi: multiple contractors contact you; you compare and choose
- ✓Novum: one pro is lined up for your request; you approve one quote
- ✓Angi: you coordinate scheduling with the contractor you pick
- ✓Novum: Novum handles scheduling and follow-up
Vetting and quality
Angi screens contractors at the point they join the platform, but the range of skill, licensing, and equipment across thousands of pros is wide, and the reviews you read are your main quality signal. Novum's partner network is vetted for the licensing and insurance each trade requires before a pro is ever assigned to a request, and Novum follows up on every job. Pros who don't meet the standard don't keep getting requests.
Pricing
On Angi, each contractor quotes their own price, and you're comparing bids — which can mean a low number that leaves something out, or a high number from someone who's simply busy that week. With Novum, you get one upfront quote for the job before work starts. You approve it, and that's what you pay. There's no bidding dynamic to decode.
Accountability when something goes wrong
If an Angi contractor does poor work, your recourse is primarily with that contractor. Angi offers a limited happiness guarantee on some bookings, but it didn't quote, schedule, or oversee the job. With Novum, there's one company to call. The Novum Guarantee covers the job: if something isn't right, Novum makes it right.
- ✓Angi: accountability sits mainly with the individual contractor
- ✓Novum: Novum stands behind the job with the Novum Guarantee
When Angi makes sense, and when Novum does
Angi is a reasonable choice if you enjoy comparing several bids, want to hand-pick a specific contractor, or have a niche project where you want to interview multiple specialists yourself. Novum is the better fit if you'd rather describe the problem once and have it handled — one vetted pro, one upfront quote, one point of contact, and a guarantee behind the work.
- ✓Angi: a list of contractors to sort through
- ✓Novum: one request, one assigned pro
- ✓Angi: multiple calls and competing quotes
- ✓Novum: one upfront quote before work starts
- ✓Angi: you manage the job from pick to finish
- ✓Novum: Novum handles scheduling, follow-up, and the guarantee
Bottom line
Angi gives you a list and lets you run the hiring process. Novum takes one request and runs it for you — lining up a vetted pro, getting you an upfront quote, handling the scheduling, and standing behind the job. If you want to compare bids yourself, Angi exists for that. If you want the job handled with one point of contact, that's Novum.
Need plumbing work done?
Novum lines up a vetted, licensed pro. Flat upfront quote before any work starts.