Guide · Services · November 9, 2026 · 2 min read
Craigslist services ads for local businesses: what works in 2026
Craigslist charges $5 to post in services in every city, and the posts run 30 days. Here's which services category to pick, how to write an ad that gets calls, and how often to post.
A Craigslist services ad costs $5 to post in every US city and stays up 30 days. For movers, cleaners, handymen, landscapers and other local service businesses, that's one of the cheapest lead sources there is. The catch is that services is busy, so how you post matters more than whether you post.
Pick the right services category
Craigslist splits services into about 20 categories. Posting in the wrong one is one of the fastest ways to get flagged. The common fits:
| Your business | Category |
|---|---|
| Moving, junk removal, delivery | labor/move |
| Handyman, painting, roofing, electrical, plumbing | skilled trade |
| House cleaning, organizing | household |
| Lawn care, landscaping, tree work | farm+garden |
| Auto repair, detailing, mobile mechanic | automotive |
| Tutoring, music lessons, coaching | lessons |
| Bookkeeping, tax prep | financial |
| Photography, video, design | creative |
| Small business services that fit nowhere else | small biz ads |
If you do several things, post the main one. Posting the same ad in three categories counts as overposting.
What a services ad that gets calls looks like
- A specific title. "Two-Man Moving Crew, $95/hr, Same-Week Booking" beats "MOVERS!!! CHEAP!!!"
- Your price or how you price. Hourly rate, flat rates, or "free estimates." Ads with real numbers get fewer tire-kickers.
- Where you work. Name the neighborhoods or towns you cover.
- Proof you're real. Years in business, licensed and insured if you are, a first name.
- Real photos of your work, truck or crew. Not stock images.
- One clear way to reach you. A phone number with "call or text" usually beats email for services.
Keep it plain. Craigslist's prohibited list includes keyword spam, so skip the block of 40 search terms at the bottom.
How often to post
Services posts are paid, so they run 30 days and can't be renewed. But in a busy market a new services post is off page one long before that; in big metros it can be hours, not days.
What works for most local service businesses:
- One post per week per city in a busy metro, on a weekday morning.
- One post every two weeks in a smaller market where listings move slowly.
- Don't post the same ad twice in one city on the same day. Duplicates get flagged.
At $5 a post plus your time, a weekly post in one metro costs about $20 a month in Craigslist fees.
Covering more than one metro
Each city is a separate post, and each should speak to that city. A Dallas mover covering Fort Worth posts once in the Dallas site's Fort Worth subarea, not in the Houston site. Check which subareas a metro has before you post.
When to hand it off
If you're posting weekly in several metros, the posting becomes the job. Scale Classifieds posts services ads for $20 each ($5 Craigslist fee plus $15), sends you every live link within 24 to 48 hours, and can repeat your order weekly so the ads stay fresh. Price your order.
Sources
Post it once. We'll put it everywhere.
Craigslist's fee + $15 per post, any of 413 cities, live within 24–48 hours.
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