Membership · Long Island
Handyman membership or hiring per job: which costs less?
The honest arithmetic, a calculator for your own numbers, and the cases where a membership is the wrong choice.
Updated · By Profixter, Lindenhurst, NY · 3 min read
The short answer
It depends almost entirely on how often you need someone to come out. Per visit is cheaper if you need help a few times a year. A membership becomes cheaper once visits are frequent: on Profixter's published prices, a Basic membership paid annually ($1,490) costs less than $99 One-Time Visits from about 16 visits a year, and less than $150 visits from about 10 a year. Below those numbers, paying per visit is the better deal, and we would say so.
Calculator
Per visit or membership: what would a year cost you?
- Hiring per visit at $150
- $1,200
- Profixter One-Time Visits at $99
- $792
- Basic membership, billed monthly ($149/mo)
- $1,788
- Basic membership, billed annually (12 months for 10)
- $1,490
At 8 visits a year, paying per visit is cheaper ($792) than a Basic membership paid annually ($1,490). On cost alone, a membership is not the right choice for you. On price alone, Basic paid annually overtakes $99 One-Time Visits at about 16 visits a year, and overtakes $150 visits at about 10 a year.
What the numbers leave out: a One-Time Visit is built around one small job from a set list, while a member visit can cover several tasks in its 90 minutes. Plus and higher plans add small supplies, Priority Visits and project time. Prices are Profixter's published prices; sales tax is not included. All plan prices.
What you are actually comparing
| Hiring per job | Handyman membership | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Per visit: hourly with a minimum, a quote, or a fixed visit price | A monthly or annual fee |
| Finding someone | Every time, unless you have a regular | Once |
| Who comes | Whoever is available | The same team, who learn the house |
| Small jobs | Often wait until there are enough to justify a minimum | Booked as they come up |
| Cost predictability | Varies job to job | Fixed monthly line |
| If you need nothing for months | You pay nothing | You still pay the fee |
| Best for | Occasional, one-off needs | A steady stream of small jobs |
When hiring per job is the better choice
- You need help a few times a year, not a few times a month.
- You have one specific job, and it's done when it's done.
- The work is a single large project (a roof, a kitchen, a re-pipe): that's a contractor with a written estimate, not handyman visits.
- You already have a reliable handyman you're happy with.
- You're selling soon and only need a pre-closing punch list cleared.
When a membership makes more sense
- Small jobs arrive faster than you get around to booking them.
- You spend more time finding, vetting and chasing someone than the repair takes.
- You want the same people back, who already know the house.
- You'd rather budget a fixed monthly amount than absorb unpredictable call-outs.
- The house is older, or new to you, and the list is long. Census data puts the median Nassau home at built in 1956 and the median Suffolk home in 1970.
What the calculator can't price
Cost per visit is only part of it. A per-visit handyman's minimum often covers more time than one small job uses; a membership visit lets you use the whole visit for whatever is on the list. Waiting costs something too: a dripping faucet or a sticking door you live with for two months while you save up jobs. And the search itself, finding someone who answers, shows up and does good work, is a real cost that only disappears once you have someone reliable.
A membership has costs the calculator understates too: you pay in quiet months, and visits depend on the times available. If you'd rather pay nothing when nothing needs doing, that matters.
How Profixter's membership works
- 90-minute visits for everyday home tasks, with the same local team.
- No monthly visit allowance. Book as often as you need; your plan sets how many visits you can have booked at the same time (one on Basic, two on Plus and above).
- Scheduled from available times. Premium and Elite include Priority Visits for things that can't wait, subject to availability.
- Month to month. No long-term contract; annual billing is 12 months for the price of 10.
- Not covered: appliance repair, whole-room painting, large electrical or plumbing work, renovations. Those are separate.
Profixter membership plans
Every plan includes 90-minute visits for everyday home tasks and the same local team. Plans differ in how many visits you can have booked at the same time, supplies, Priority Visits and project time. Month to month, or pay for 10 months and get 12.
| Feature | Basic | Plus | Premium | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $149/mo | $249/mo | $349/mo | $499/mo |
| Annual (12 months for the price of 10) | $1,490/yr | $2,490/yr | $3,490/yr | $4,990/yr |
| 90-minute visits, any home task | 90-minute visits, any home task | 90-minute visits, any home task | 90-minute visits, any home task | 90-minute visits, any home task |
| The same local team every time | The same local team every time | The same local team every time | The same local team every time | The same local team every time |
| Book visits as you need themAs often as you need. | Book 1 visit at a time | Book up to 2 visits at a time | Book up to 2 visits at a time | Book up to 2 visits at a time |
| Small supplies includedScrews, anchors, caulk and sealant. | Not included | Small supplies included | Small supplies included | Small supplies included |
| Priority VisitsWhen it can't wait. Subject to availability. | Not included | Not included | 1 Priority Visit / month | 2 Priority Visits / month |
| A Full Day of workUp to 8 hours for a bigger job. | Not included | Not included | Not included | 1 Full Day / month |
| 10% off larger projects | Not included | Not included | Not included | 10% off larger projects |
Book as often as you need: your plan sets how many visits you can have booked at the same time. Scheduling is subject to availability. Fixtures, appliances and project materials are quoted separately.
Not sure yet? New Nassau and Suffolk customers can start with a free first visit, or book a single One-Time Visit and decide later. How the membership works, in full.