Can anyone tell me how Angie's List and Home Advisor operate, how much they cost, and what contractors think about them?

Here is how they work, Home Pro, Thumbtack, and Angies list, they send you, the contractor a lead, they charge you for it and you get the privilege of cold calling or messaging the "client". I have turned down Home Pro for years because they couldn't tell the difference between Jacksonville NC and Jacksonville, FL and kept billing me for FL leads. I used Thumbtack but its a joke, I was getting requests for things I don't do, and when the leads for work I do indeed perform came in, they want $11 to $18 a lead. I respond several times and never received any work. I get it that others get the leads too but Thumbtack shows you how many responses the client has received. They all had none and I know my prices are at the bottom of the scale for my profession. I spent tons of money for no work, I swear they have college kids they pay to send fake requests out to make money. I stopped using them all and I focused on directly reaching clients and have more work then I can handle now. 

Angies List and Home Advisor are owned by the same company but are very different. We have had great success with Angies List but have not with Home Advisors. Angies List charges vendors based on their current membership so fees can change significantly from year to year. Home Advisors charges by the lead. (Keep in mind you are not the only Vendor receiving the lead and there is no guarantee you will even be able to reach the customer.) The money we spend on Angies List is significant but worth it to get in the house, because when we do we almost always get the job.

All other answers say it correctly. Don't need them, don't use them, including PORCH (Lowe's ). Your work and local referral network (past customers, neighbors, material suppliers, friends, related trades etc.) will provide you with plenty of quality leads.

It is my belief that they take customers from Angie's list that I pay for and I'm not getting, send them to home advisor to where 5 people can go shopping for them and me end up paying for the  customer twice.  I have to screenshots of customers as examples

Being honest I have found them to be nothing but a scam. You have to pay them so much money monthly and you don't always get back what you put in at all. We did a special with Angie's List last year where we did Roof inspections and Maintenance for 100.00 a house and every job cost us over that amount and we lost money. You don't get good service unless you pay alot of money and then the client's they provide arn't sure if they even are going to use you. I don't think it's worth it!!

The problem with these services is that most people utilizing them have unrealistically low budgets for the project they are looking to do (for instance we have seen budgets as low as $8,000 for a full kitchen remodel with ceramic tile and granite counters...don't we all wish) or their project is too small that most contractors will not take the job. Our company has utilized both services in the past & we find that a high percentage of the leads are homeowners whose products have failed and the original contractor will not fix the issue so they are looking for someone to repair the product. As far as the verification of these contractors, most homeowners don't realize that any contractor who will give these services a check or credit card payment are verified -- in other words just because a contractor is listed on services such as Home Advisor, Angie's List, etc. doesn't mean that these services have rigorously looked into the quality of the work, etc, all it means is that contractor has paid for the listing.

I have used Thumbtack, Porch, Yelp, Quality Smith, Angie's List, Home Advisor, Houzz, and now trying Clientfire/Instagram. What I can honestly say almost across the board, is they rarely deliver, if at all. They all promise that they are different, but once you signup, they are on to the next prospect and you're left dealing with customer service! What I can unsolicitly attest to, is that we actually got a $100-k rehab project through Alignable!

I don't know about home advisor but Ive enjoyed Angie's list. Customer is the one paying to access it. The only cost Ive had was to advertise on their quarterly promotion. We don't get a ton of work from them but it is nice to have the link on our web site.

I will not however be a part of a pay for lead program. We tried with Carpenters networx years ago. I believe we have been contacted by no less than 10 similar companies in the last 10 months. They way they work is you pay for every lead they send you.

Problem is Ive been to potential clients homes that had a dozen or more contractors there already to bid a project. A lot of home owners are just overwhelmed by it. The only way to make that work for you is if you thrive on being the lowest bid and can survive on it. The rest are just paying for the joy of dealing with folks tired of talking to one more contractor.

Angie's List prices vary by geographic location and the package size. We've had great experiences over the past 9 years with Angie's List. However, Home Advisor bought Service Magic. Our experience with both Service Magic and Home Advisor have been near awful.

From my experience,you pay a monthly fee plus fees for the leads they refer to you. The problem is they send the same lead to all the local contractors for that job need. So you end up competing with 5 or 6 other companies which the customer chose from. Sadly, you get lots of leads/leg work but not many jobs for your money. Also, they say that their contractors are background checked etc. I know that is not true. They may be licensed as required by their state. Otherwise, I have seen contractors listed that my customers warned me away from doing business with.

I usually get at least one call/message a day from them wanting to "give me work"