★ Vetted local pros · Independently ranked · Free to use

About Top5HomePros

We're an independent US home-services directory with a simple idea: instead of hundreds of listings, just the five best local pros in your town.

IndependentNo pay to playFounded 2026

Who we are

Just the Five Worth Calling

Top5HomePros is an independent US home-services directory with a simple idea: instead of hundreds of unvetted listings, give people the five best options in their town. No pay to rank. No lead selling. Just honest, independently researched shortlists of the home service pros worth calling.

The problem with most directories isn't a shortage of listings, it's the noise. Hundreds of unvetted businesses, review platforms where anyone can post anything, and lead-generation sites that sell the same enquiry to five companies at once. None of it actually helps a homeowner find the best person for the job.

Having spent more than 15 years in the trades, our founder built Top5HomePros the way he'd want to use it: the kind of shortlist you'd get if you asked someone who actually knows the industry. No jargon, no filler. Just the five businesses worth calling. It's built and run by EightySix Digital, a New Zealand-based digital agency.

The person behind it

Meet the Founder

Stu Clark

Founder · Top5HomePros & EightySix Digital

Stu is a UK-trained plumber. He did his apprenticeship in the UK and ran his own plumbing and bathroom renovation business there for 10 years, managing a team of 8 tradespeople and subcontractors. That's well over a decade working the trade from the inside.

He handled all his own web and marketing while running that business, which is where the digital side started. He emigrated to New Zealand at 30 and kept working on the tools, until a bad accident at 35 changed his direction: a five-metre fall off a roof put him out of work for almost six months. He used that time to build something different, founding EightySix Digital in Christchurch, a New Zealand agency that helps tradespeople and home service businesses get found online.

Top5HomePros came from a simple frustration: watching people struggle to find a home service pro they could actually trust. Not because good pros don't exist, they do, but because the existing directories make it nearly impossible to tell the good from the bad. So he built something different.

UK-trained plumber 10 years running his own business 15+ years in the trades New Zealand-based

Connect with Stu on LinkedIn →

Our method

How We Choose the Top 5

01 We research

We research the local market

We start by finding the businesses actually operating in each town and trade, looking at who's genuinely serving the area, not just who ranks well in search or pays for directories.

02 We verify

We check reviews and reputation

We look at reviews across Google, Yelp and the Better Business Bureau, weighing consistency, volume and recency, not just an overall star rating.

03 We confirm

We confirm they're the real deal

We check each business is a genuine, established local operator with a consistent identity, not a lead-generation front or a rank-and-rent shell built to look busy.

04 We rank

We make our selection

We pick the five we'd genuinely recommend. The list is editorial: no business pays to appear in the organic Top 5. Lists are reviewed and updated regularly as reputations change.

A note on Featured placements

Each town and trade page has one Featured placement available, a highlighted spot that sits above the Top 5. It is clearly labeled and is our only paid product. The organic Top 5 below it is always independently selected and can never be influenced by payment.

Trades covered

9 categories

Listings per page

Top 5 only

Selection method

Independent, editorial

Run a home service business?

Get featured above the Top 5 in your town. One exclusive spot per trade page, from $39/month.

Get Featured →