# Thumbtack Scraper API - Local Pros, Ratings & Hires (`sweet_stickball/thumbtack-scraper`) Actor

Thumbtack scraper and API alternative: local pros by service and US city or ZIP code with business name, rating, review count, hires, Top Pro badge, services, response time, year founded, team size and profile URL. Lead lists for home services, no login.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/sweet_stickball/thumbtack-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [CrawlKit](https://apify.com/sweet_stickball) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.42 / 1,000 pros

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Thumbtack Scraper API - Local Pros, Ratings & Hires

Scrape Thumbtack pros for any service and US city or ZIP code. Each result is one local business (plumber, electrician, house cleaner, handyman, mover, contractor, personal trainer...) with its rating, review count, number of hires on Thumbtack, Top Pro badge, services offered, average response time, year founded, team size, business description, a featured review and the link to its Thumbtack profile.

Give a `category` and one or more `locations`, or paste Thumbtack list URLs. No login, no API key.

### What you can use it for

- Lead lists of local service businesses by trade and city (home services, B2B sales, marketing agencies).
- Local market research: how many pros, how established (hires, years in business), how well rated, in each city.
- Competitor monitoring for a trade in your area (schedule the Actor weekly).
- Data for AI agents: flat JSON, one item per pro, explicit field names.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `category` | string | — | Service as in Thumbtack URLs: `plumbers`, `electricians`, `house-cleaning`, `handyman`, `movers`, `kitchen-remodeling`, `personal-trainers`... Spaces become dashes (`house cleaning` works). |
| `locations` | array of strings | — | US cities as `City, ST` (`Austin, TX`, `St. Louis, Missouri`) or 5-digit ZIP codes (`10001`). One list page per location. |
| `startUrls` | array | — | Thumbtack list pages to read directly, e.g. `https://www.thumbtack.com/tx/houston/electricians/`. Used in addition to category + locations. |
| `maxItems` | integer | 50 | Maximum pros across all pages (up to 5,000). |

Either `category` + `locations` or `startUrls` is required. A pro listed on several pages is returned once.

Example:

```json
{
  "category": "electricians",
  "locations": ["Houston, TX", "Dallas, TX", "Austin, TX", "78701"],
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

### Output

One item per pro. Example (description and review shortened):

```json
{
  "businessName": "3 GUYS Electrical & Insulation",
  "rating": 4.92,
  "reviewCount": 49,
  "ratingLabel": "Excellent",
  "hires": 108,
  "badge": "Top Pro",
  "highlights": ["Licensed"],
  "services": ["Switch and Outlet Installation"],
  "responseTimeHours": 0.2,
  "servesArea": "Houston, TX",
  "description": "We're a small, family-owned electrical and insulation company...",
  "yearFounded": 2015,
  "employees": 2,
  "startingPrice": null,
  "featuredReview": "The price was fair and reasonable... Couldn't recommend them enough!",
  "featuredReviewAuthor": "Shivonne B.",
  "featuredReviewDate": "2026-09-26",
  "isOnlineNow": true,
  "imageUrl": "https://production-next-images-cdn.thumbtack.com/i/571535626768474119/desktop/standard/400square-legacy",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.thumbtack.com/tx/houston/insulation/3-guys-electrical-insulation/service/394902057225740289",
  "proId": "394902057225740289",
  "rank": 1,
  "category": "Electricians",
  "location": "Houston, TX",
  "zipCode": null,
  "searchUrl": "https://www.thumbtack.com/tx/houston/electricians",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-27T10:00:00+00:00"
}
```

Field notes:

- `rating` is the average out of 5 (2 decimals) and `reviewCount` the number of Thumbtack reviews; both are `null` for new pros without reviews.
- `hires` is the number of jobs the pro was hired for through Thumbtack.
- `highlights` are Thumbtack's labels on the pro card: `Licensed`, `Great value`, `In high demand`...
- `responseTimeHours` is the pro's average response time to new requests.
- `rank` is the position on Thumbtack's list page for that search.
- `proId` is Thumbtack's id of the pro's service: stable, usable to deduplicate across runs.
- On ZIP code searches, `location` and `zipCode` hold the ZIP; `servesArea` is left empty because Thumbtack derives it from the visitor's location rather than from the ZIP.
- `featuredReviewAuthor` is shortened to first name + initial.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event, **no start fee**: **$0.70 per 1,000 pros** on the Apify Free plan, with lower prices on paid plans. Each pro pushed to the dataset is one event.

| Event | Free | Starter | Scale | Business | Enterprise |
|-------|------|---------|-------|----------|------------|
| Pro (`PRO`) | $0.70 | $0.59 | $0.52 | $0.42 | $0.42 |

Prices in USD per 1,000 events.

#### Cost examples (Free plan)

| Scenario | Pros | Cost |
|----------|------|------|
| One city | 10 | $0.007 |
| 25 cities | 250 | $0.175 |
| Nationwide lead list | 5,000 | $3.50 |

### Limitations

- Thumbtack shows about 10 pros per city or ZIP list page; to get more pros, add more cities or ZIP codes (the Actor reads one page per location).
- Only public list pages are read. Pro profile pages, full review lists, phone numbers and emails are not collected (Thumbtack does not show contact details publicly).
- The category must exist on Thumbtack for that city; an unknown category or city is reported in the log and skipped.
- US only (Thumbtack's market).
- Thumbtack uses an AWS WAF browser check: the Actor runs a headless browser, which adds about 20 seconds at the start of each run.
- `startingPrice` is filled only when Thumbtack displays a price on the card.

### Related Actors

- [Yelp Scraper API - Reviews, Ratings & Coordinates](https://apify.com/sweet_stickball/yelp-scraper) — Scrape Yelp businesses and reviews: name, address, rating, review count, coordinates and review text. Yelp data API for local research, no login.
- [Zillow Scraper API - Listings, Zestimate & Coordinates](https://apify.com/sweet_stickball/zillow-scraper) — Scrape Zillow homes for sale or rent: price, Zestimate, beds, baths, sqft, address and coordinates. Real estate data API by city or ZIP, no login.
- [OfferUp Scraper API - Listings & Sellers, $1.40/1K](https://apify.com/sweet_stickball/offerup-scraper) — Scrape OfferUp listings near any US city or ZIP: price, condition, location, seller rating and photos. Marketplace data API for resellers, no login.

# Actor input Schema

## `category` (type: `string`):

Type of pro as in Thumbtack URLs, e.g. 'plumbers', 'electricians', 'house-cleaning', 'handyman', 'movers', 'kitchen-remodeling', 'personal-trainers'. Spaces are turned into dashes.

## `locations` (type: `array`):

US cities as 'City, ST' (e.g. 'Austin, TX') or 5-digit ZIP codes (e.g. '10001'). One list page is read per location (about 10 pros each).

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Thumbtack list pages to read directly, e.g. 'https://www.thumbtack.com/tx/houston/electricians/'. Used in addition to category + locations.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of pros to return across all pages.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "category": "plumbers",
  "locations": [
    "Los Angeles, CA"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `pros` (type: `string`):

Dataset items shown with the 'pros' view.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "category": "plumbers",
    "locations": [
        "Los Angeles, CA"
    ],
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("sweet_stickball/thumbtack-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "category": "plumbers",
    "locations": ["Los Angeles, CA"],
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("sweet_stickball/thumbtack-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "category": "plumbers",
  "locations": [
    "Los Angeles, CA"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call sweet_stickball/thumbtack-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,sweet_stickball/thumbtack-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/PWUpcWahagr7sPm53/builds/1GSQItjgeuGJ9RYae/openapi.json