What is a HomeClip Trust Score?
A HomeClip Trust Score is a 0–100 number that estimates how trustworthy a specific home-services contractor is. It is computed from public-record components, state license verification, reliability, quality, Reddit recommendations, responsiveness, and pricing fairness, using a fixed method no contractor can pay to influence.
Each contractor has a Trust Score whether or not they have claimed their HomeClip listing. The score exists because the inputs are public records. Paying us does not change a Trust Score.
The components
| Component | Emphasis | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| License verification | Primary | Active state license, named authority, no flagged disciplinary actions. For trades that require a license; trades that don't (handyman, cleaner) get a baseline so they're never penalized for a category mismatch. |
| Reliability sentiment | High | On-time and communication sentiment, extracted from Google and Reddit review text, time-decayed (recent reviews weigh more) and platform-weighted (Reddit weighted higher than Google). |
| Quality + safety sentiment | High | Workmanship and safety language from review text, same time-decay + platform-weight model. |
| Engagement | Medium | Specific accountability behaviors: profile completeness, recent activity, portfolio uploaded, and insurance/CE certificate on file. Earned by the behavior, Pro+ tools make it easier, but free-tier pros earn the same points by doing the same work manually. |
| Reddit recommendations | Medium | Genuine recommendations from local subreddits (e.g. r/Austin), upvote-weighted. Harder to manufacture than Google reviews, the bot economy hasn't conquered r/HomeImprovement. |
| Responsiveness | Supporting | How recently the business has responded to a quote/lead, more recent activity counts for more. |
| BBB record | Supporting | Better Business Bureau public records, the firm's letter rating (A+ to F) blended with its closed-complaint resolution rate. A public-records reliability signal, time-decayed like reviews. |
| Pricing fairness | Supporting | Pricing sentiment from review text, explicit fair-price/overpriced/upsell mentions, time-decayed. |
License verification anchors the score (it is full-confidence the day we verify it). Review-derived components are discounted by a confidence multiplier: contractors with a handful of reviews don't score as confidently as those with dozens. Every signal and how it's prioritized is in the methodology, we keep the exact weighting internal so the score can't be reverse-engineered or gamed.
How a Trust Score differs from a star rating
| Signal | Google star rating | HomeClip Trust Score |
|---|---|---|
| State license verified | No | Yes, named authority |
| Confidence weighting | No | Yes, 8 reviews ≠ 80 |
| Time decay (old reviews weigh less) | No | Yes |
| Reddit recommendations included | No | Yes |
| Pay-to-rank possible | Via Google Ads | No, ever |
| Methodology public | Largely opaque | Yes, every signal + principle published |
How a Trust Score differs from Angi or HomeAdvisor rankings
On Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, and similar marketplaces, the contractors you see ranked are the contractors paying the platform the most. Whether or not a contractor appears in your search results is a function of their ad spend, not their verification or reputation. The ranking is the product the platform sells to contractors.
A HomeClip Trust Score has no payment input. We earn money from contractor subscriptions ($69/month for Pro, $99/month for Pro+), but neither tier can move a Trust Score. Pro subscribers get faster dispute review and priority placement within the same score band, a Pro subscriber scoring 22 will never outrank a non-subscriber scoring 88.
Frequently asked questions
What is a HomeClip Trust Score?
A HomeClip Trust Score is a 0–100 number that estimates how trustworthy a home-services contractor is, combining several public-record components: state license verification (the single largest factor), reliability and quality sentiment from reviews, Reddit recommendations, Better Business Bureau record, responsiveness, and pricing fairness. It is calculated from public state license registries, Google reviews, Reddit threads, Better Business Bureau public records, and homeowner reviews.
How is a HomeClip Trust Score different from a Google star rating?
A Google star rating averages user ratings only. A HomeClip Trust Score adds three layers a star rating cannot: state license verification (using the official authority, TDLR in Texas), confidence weighting (reviews from a business with 8 reviews count less than those with 80), and time decay (recent reviews weigh more than old ones). It also includes Reddit recommendations, which are harder to game than Google stars.
Can a contractor pay to raise their HomeClip Trust Score?
No. Payment cannot move a Trust Score by even one point. The score has an Engagement component that rewards specific accountability behaviors, profile completeness, recent activity, portfolio photos, insurance/CE on file, but those points are earned by the BEHAVIOR, not the subscription. Pro+ tools make the behaviors easier to maintain (CE vault, one-click renewal packets, portfolio uploader). A free-tier contractor who manually keeps their profile complete and emails us their insurance certificate for filing earns identical Engagement points to a Pro+ subscriber doing it from the dashboard. Pro subscribers ($69/month) also receive faster dispute review and priority placement WITHIN their score band, meaning if two contractors tie at a rounded Trust Score of 72, the Pro subscriber appears above the non-subscriber. A Pro subscriber scoring 22 never outranks a non-subscriber scoring 88.
What does a Trust Score of 80 mean?
A Trust Score of 80 means a contractor has an active state license, no flagged disciplinary actions, generally positive reviews across multiple sources (Google, Reddit, and the Better Business Bureau), recent activity, and at least 12+ aggregated review signals, enough for the score's confidence multiplier to approach its maximum. Scores 70–84 are 'Trust B'; 85–100 are 'Trust A'. Below 35 with active license, expect at least one significant negative signal in their public history.
What does it mean if a contractor is 'unscored' or shows 'building'?
Unscored means we have fewer than 5 aggregated review signals, not enough to compute a confident score. Unscored businesses are listed alphabetically below scored ones and are NEVER assigned a fake number. This is deliberate: a '35 with 2 reviews' would read as 'bad pro' when it actually means 'not enough data.' Trust Score: building is more honest.
How often is a Trust Score updated?
Trust Scores recalculate when any input changes: a new review is detected, a license status updates, a dispute resolves, or the daily refresh runs. Most pros see their score change within 24 hours of a new public signal. License-status changes (renewal observed, lapse, reinstatement) propagate within 24 hours of the state registry updating.
What is the 7-day grace period?
When a new sentiment signal (review, comment) is detected, it enters a 7-day grace period during which the contractor can file a dispute with evidence before the signal counts toward their Trust Score. This protects against retaliatory, fake, or misattributed reviews. Pro subscribers receive a real-time email + SMS when a new signal enters grace.
Which state license boards does HomeClip verify against?
Currently TDLR (Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation) for electricians, HVAC, and several other trades, and TSBPE (Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners) for plumbers. License verification is the single most important component and is checked against the named state authority, never inferred from a contractor's marketing claim.
Are you a contractor with a Trust Score?
Your score already exists, built from public records. Claim your listing free to file disputes, respond to signals, receive renewal alerts, and (on Pro/Pro+) capture leads and manage CE + insurance documents. Free is genuinely free, claiming never expires, never auto-charges.
How we keep it honest
The methodology lists every signal and how they're prioritized. We keep the exact weighting internal, a score you can reverse-engineer to the decimal is a score you can game, and gaming is what the Trust Score exists to defeat. We also publish quarterly transparency reports on dispute outcomes once enough data accumulates to be statistically meaningful.