Not a star rating from strangers. A real grade — verified across 5 pillars, earned by performance, explained in plain English.
Yelp gives you what people felt. We verify what's actually true — right now. Five pillars. One grade. The clearest picture of a contractor you've had before making the call.
When you search for a contractor on Yelp or Google, you're looking at what past customers felt on a single platform. It's sentiment, not readiness.
A contractor can have 4.8 stars with reviews from 18 months ago, no real website, and a disconnected phone. Yelp doesn't know. Google doesn't know. You don't know — until you call and nothing happens.
The Select Grade measures what actually predicts whether a contractor will show up, do the job, and be reachable when something goes wrong. Think of it like a Carfax — except for the person you're letting into your home.
Other directories rank by ad spend or review volume. EBS grades by actual contractor readiness — the metric that predicts whether they'll show up and do the job.
| Feature | East Bay Select ✦ | Yelp | Angi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A–F Contractor Grade | ✓ 5-pillar grade | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Identity Verification | ✓ On every listing | Limited | Paid only | ✗ |
| Verified Recent Activity | ✓ 90-day check | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Response Infrastructure Score | ✓ Per listing | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Multi-Platform Reputation | ✓ Cross-verified | Single platform | Limited | Single platform |
| Curated — Not Open to All | ✓ Hand-vetted | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Pay-to-Rank | ✓ Never | Ads dominate | Paid leads | Ads dominate |
| Full East Bay Coverage | ✓ Expanding now | National | National | National |
| Explains Why Grade Was Earned | ✓ Per pillar | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
A listing on East Bay Select puts your business in front of verified homeowners across the East Bay — with a grade that builds trust before the first call. The best contractors are already here.