Pools, a summer you actually spend outside
It usually starts with a backyard you keep meaning to do something with. The hard part is not the work - it is that every pool company sounds equally sure of itself, and you get one guess. We check licence and insurance before we introduce anyone, and we record the date we checked.
See who is actually qualified near you
- 33Sections published
- 1,373Pages planned
- FreeCost to homeowners
- $0Cost to homeowners
Pools in short
Pool work splits into three trades: builders who design and install, weekly service companies who handle chemistry and cleaning, and repair specialists who handle equipment, leaks, liners and resurfacing. Build costs run roughly $38,000-$100,000 for a standard inground pool per This Old House, routine service is part of $90-$270 a month in upkeep, and major repairs like resurfacing run $8,000-$10,000 per Thursday Pools.
In 2026 a standard 12-by-24-foot inground pool runs about $38,000 to $100,000 installed, or roughly $180 to $350 per square foot, according to This Old House. Vinyl liner pools sit at the low end, fiberglass in the middle, and concrete or gunite at the top. Site work, decking, fencing and electrical are usually quoted separately and can add tens of thousands more.
Explore Pools
Everything we publish on pools, grouped the way homeowners actually search - not the way a company would organise it.
- Services 25 services - replacement, repair, and specialty work 25 pages
- Cost What pools actually costs in 2026, by type and by city 223 pages
- Problems Something wrong? Start here 12 pages
- Comparisons Option A vs. B, compared honestly 9 pages
- Guides In-depth guides on pools, written and reviewed by pros 17 pages planned
- Tools Estimate your project cost in under a minute 11 pages planned
- Materials 15 materials - cost, lifespan and where each one fits 15 pages
- Brands 12 pools brands, compared on price and warranty 12 pages planned
- Products Specific products worth considering 13 pages
- Ideas & inspiration Styles, colours and layouts worth stealing 31 pages planned
- Decision Guides Which option is actually right for your home 3 pages
- Checklists Step-by-step checklists before you hire 4 pages
- Maintenance Keep it working - schedules and upkeep 1 page
- ROI What you get back at resale 3 pages
- Financing Ways to pay over time, and what they really cost 1 page
- Seasonal When to book, and what each season changes 3 pages
- Permits Permit rules and what they cost 1 page
- Insurance What insurance covers, and what it does not 1 page
- Warranties What the warranty actually covers 1 page
- Safety Safety requirements and common hazards 3 pages
- Research The data behind our recommendations 9 pages planned
- FAQ Answers to the most common pools questions 1 page
- Glossary Pools terms explained in plain English 20 pages
- AI Tools Describe the problem, get a plain-English answer 2 pages planned
- Climate 1 pages 1 page
- Drainage 1 pages 1 page planned
- HOA 1 pages 1 page planned
- Timeline 1 pages 1 page planned
How a pro gets in front of you
Most sites sell your number to whoever pays the most for it. We do not - your details reach only the pool companies matched to your job. We are building licence and insurance checks on top of that, and we will publish each one with the date it was performed rather than claim it in advance.
A few pros, never a list
Your details go to the small number of local companies matched to your job, and to nobody else. They are not sold on.
No paid placement
A company cannot buy a better position in a match or in our rankings. Where we rank, the method is published so you can re-score it yourself.
Check the licence yourself
Ask for the number and look it up on your state board’s public register. We are building this into the match; it is not running yet.
Ask the insurer, not the contractor
Get liability and workers’ compensation certificates sent to you by the insurance agency direct. A forwarded PDF proves nothing about today.
What pools usually costs
Ranges, with the source and the date underneath. Anyone quoting you a single national number is guessing, and you should know enough to notice.
No verified pools price ranges published yet.
We don’t publish a cost until we can show the data behind it. If you need a
number today, the quote form gives you real prices from local companies.
HomeMatchup vs. a lead site vs. doing it yourself
Three ways to get this work done. Here’s what each one actually gives you.
| HomeMatchup | Typical lead site | DIY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How many companies call you | A short, named shortlist you agreed to | Often 4-5+ at once, sold to whoever buys the lead | None - the work is on you |
| Licence & insurance | Self-reported today - we tell you how to check it and are building the check in | Usually self-reported by the contractor | Your own permits and liability |
| What it costs you | Free - pros pay us, and only for a real match | Free, but your number is resold | Materials plus your time |
| Price guidance before you talk | Published ranges with the data behind them | Rarely shown before you hand over details | You research it yourself |
| If it goes wrong | A named company, and a record of who received your job | Hard to trace which site sold the lead | No recourse |
Describes how HomeMatchup operates and the common lead-generation model. Not a claim about any named competitor.
What people say after they’ve hired
We’d rather show you nothing than show you someone else’s reviews.
Plenty of sites fill this space with reviews scraped from elsewhere, or written for them. We don’t. The first pools review on this page will come from a homeowner we matched, after their work was finished and paid for.
- Only from homeowners we actually matched
- Only after the job is complete
- Published unedited, including the bad ones
- 1You get matchedA few checked pros, free
- 2Work gets doneCheck their licence and insurance first
- 3We ask youOnce, after completion
- 4It appears hereExactly as you wrote it
Pools questions, answered
The questions homeowners ask us most about pools.
Pools materials
The materials you'll actually be choosing between.
The wrong pool hire costs more than the right one.
A pool is a build and a lifetime of running costs, quoted as one number. What is excluded from that number is where the surprises live. Getting matched takes about a minute, costs nothing, and you can walk away from every quote you receive.
Free · No obligation · Only your matched pros get your details