Houzz vs Side
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Home remodeling design platform with 40M monthly users; visual inspiration marketplace connecting homeowners with contractors plus Houzz Pro business tools for design professionals.
About
Houzz is an online home remodeling and design platform connecting homeowners with interior designers, architects, contractors, and home furnishing retailers — providing a visual discovery experience (similar to Pinterest but home-focused), a professional marketplace for hiring home service providers, and an e-commerce marketplace for home products. Founded in 2009 by Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen in Palo Alto, California, Houzz has raised approximately $600 million and has built a community of over 40 million monthly users with over 2.7 million home improvement professionals in its network.\n\nHouzz's platform serves multiple stakeholders simultaneously: homeowners browsing millions of professional home renovation photos for design inspiration (and discovering products used in those photos through its "Shop the Look" functionality), hiring professionals through Pro Listings, and purchasing furniture and decor from the Houzz Shop. Home professionals use Houzz Pro (a separate subscription product) for business management — client communication, project management, mood boards, and invoicing.\n\nIn 2025, Houzz competes with Pinterest (visual inspiration), Thumbtack (professional services marketplace), HomeAdvisor/Angi (contractor marketplace), and Wayfair (home furnishings) across its various platform functions. The company has shifted toward monetizing through Houzz Pro (professional subscriptions) rather than consumer advertising after market conditions affected advertising revenue. Houzz Pro has grown its subscriber base among kitchen and bath designers, general contractors, and interior designers who use it as a business management tool. The 2025 strategy focuses on growing Houzz Pro subscription revenue, improving the e-commerce marketplace conversion, and expanding into additional home professional verticals (landscape, outdoor living).
Brokerage platform for top agents; launch a boutique brand with Side's compliance, transaction management, and tech back-office; agent-first model with higher commission retention.
About
Side is a San Francisco-based real estate brokerage platform that enables high-performing real estate agents and teams to operate as independent boutique brokerages with their own brands, websites, and marketing while leveraging Side's enterprise-grade back-office services — compliance, transaction management, technology, and licensing infrastructure. Rather than the traditional model where top agents work under a brokerage brand and split a significant portion of commission, Side's agent-first model allows agents to present themselves under their own brands and retain more of their earnings. Side handles all the regulatory, operational, and technology overhead of running a licensed brokerage, allowing agents to focus entirely on client relationships and transaction volume. The company is particularly attractive to top producers who have built strong personal brands but lack the resources or desire to manage brokerage operations. Founded in 2017, Side raised over $300M and reached a unicorn valuation in 2021, backed by investors including Sapphire Ventures and Trinity Ventures. It competes with eXp Realty and Real in the agent empowerment brokerage model.
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