Modern single-family home at twilight, lights on inside

Live · 2026 ranking

Home warranty,
decided.

10 providers reviewed. 43 states priced. Zero paid placements. The honest verdict on every major US home-warranty company.

Read the 2026 verdict →What it really costs →

Photo · R Architecture / Unsplash

This week’s top picks

Old Republic Home Protection

3.9/5BBB A+

Real estate signing — keys and contract on a table

Honorable mention

First American Home Warranty

3.8/5BBB B

Ranked by overall score across five weighted criteria: coverage, pricing, claims, customer service, and contractor network. No paid placements; scores update with the contract and review corpus.

Award labels reflect the leader, among these top five, of a single figure: Best overall = highest overall score; Best on price = lowest starting monthly; Best for claims / service / coverage = highest sub-score on that dimension; Best track record = best BBB grade. How we score.

Start here

Three ways into the year’s research.

01 / Pick

Pick a provider

Five weighted criteria, every contract reviewed. No sponsored placements anywhere on the page.

Begin →

02 / Compare

Compare two head-to-head

Per-criterion winners, honest tradeoffs, and who each pairing is wrong for.

Begin →

03 / Estimate

Estimate your plan

Three questions return a likely annual-cost range and the provider whose contract fits your profile. No email.

Begin →

Your state, priced.

All state guides →

State-specific claim patterns, regulation, and provider availability. Start with the guides below.

By state

All 43 state guides

Popular head-to-head.

All matchups →

Choice Home Warranty vs American Home Shield

American Home Shield takes 2 of 4 rounds

→

American Home Shield vs Liberty Home Guard

Liberty Home Guard takes 2 of 5 rounds

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Choice Home Warranty vs First American Home Warranty

First American Home Warranty takes 3 of 5 rounds

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American Home Shield vs Cinch Home Services

Cinch Home Services takes 2 of 5 rounds

→

The data behind the picks

The figures that decide everything else.

Premium drift, 2020 → 2026

What you actually pay at renewal.

Budget tier

Mid tier

Broad tier

Across the category, the premium you are first quoted is rarely the premium you pay by year five. Coverage tier drives most of the spread; figures shown are illustrative of the trend, not any one plan.

Where claims actually come from · industry mix

HVAC

31%

Plumbing

22%

Appliances · kitchen

14%

Electrical

12%

Appliances · laundry

Water heater

Roof leak / other

HVAC is roughly a third of all home-warranty claims. If a contract’s HVAC language is weak, the rest of the contract barely matters.

The editorial standard

“We read the schedule of coverage before we say a word about a plan. If a figure is not in the contract or a public filing, it does not go on the page.”— The Warranta editorial standard