Voting has closed! Readers' Choice Awards Best Plumbing Companies of 2026

A burst supply line or a backed-up sewer lateral turns into a whole-house problem fast, and the company you call is as much a part of the fix as the wrench. Our panel of experts combed through plumbing and home-service providers working across multiple states and selected the group below, weighing how each one prices a job, how quickly it can get a technician to a door, what diagnostic tools its crews carry, and what happens if something goes wrong after the truck pulls away.

Now the vote is yours. Take a look at the finalists, think about the companies that have shown up for your home, and tell us which ones deserve the title. We've got loads of suggestions and picks, from casinos to grocery store delis, among our Readers' Choice Award winners.

Voting has closed. We'll announce the winners on October 15.

Nominee 1: 1-800-Plumber +Air

1-800-Plumber +Air handles plumbing, heating, and cooling under one roof, a relief for homeowners dealing with a failing water heater and an aging furnace in the same season. Plus, its contact number is easy to remember.

The service list includes drain cleaning, repiping, and gas line work, as well as tankless water heaters, water treatment, and indoor air quality work, with emergency service available around the clock.

The company quotes jobs upfront and says customers see pricing before any work starts. Its Home Guard membership covers preventive maintenance for homeowners who would rather catch a problem early than have a plumber come at midnight.

Our panel pointed to the convenience of having one dispatcher, pricing model, and relationship covering two of the systems a home depends on most.

Nominee 2: 1-Tom-Plumber

Another example in a pool of memorable plumbing monikers, 1-Tom-Plumber builds its business model around emergency calls for overflowing drains, burst pipes, and flooded basements.

The company launched in 2018 outside Cincinnati and has since grown to more than 80 locations across the U.S. and Canada, running an immediate-response team around the clock rather than a next-available-appointment queue.

Crews handle drain cleaning and hydro-jetting, camera inspections, water and sewer line replacement, and excavation. And the same teams take on water damage restoration, so a single company can clear the blockage and dry out the room it ruined. Backflow prevention and commercial work round out the roster.

Our reviewers highlighted that emergency-first structure, along with the diagnostic camera footage that shows a homeowner exactly what's happening underground before anyone approves a dig.

Nominee 3: American Leak Detection

American Leak Detection has made hard-to-spot plumbing problems its specialty since 1974, using acoustic equipment, infrared imaging, and other non-invasive methods to pinpoint a leak before anyone opens a wall or breaks concrete.

Technicians work on residential plumbing, pools, spas, and fountains, and the company also takes on commercial and municipal water distribution work. Homeowners review the options and costs before repairs begin, and the company holds pre-approved status with several insurers for water damage claims.

Our experts appreciate that accurately locating a leak is what keeps a repair from turning into a demolition.

Nominee 4: ARS/Rescue Rooter

ARS/Rescue Rooter operates as a full-home services network seven days a week, with the plumbing side alongside HVAC, electrical, insulation, indoor air quality, and smart home work. For a homeowner, that means drain cleaning, water heater replacement, sewer and water line repair, and gas line service come from the same company that services the air conditioner.

The Exceptional Service Guarantee gives customers a full year from the original invoice to raise a problem with completed work, with the company pledging to do what it can to make it right. Its directory lists company-owned locations in roughly 30 states, which keeps a local crew within reach across most of that footprint.

Our panel noted the yearlong window on that guarantee as unusually generous for a trade where most warranties expire the moment the truck leaves.

Nominee 5: Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing has built its brand on punctuality in an industry notorious for vague or late appointment times, and guarantees to pay customers $5 for every minute a technician is late, up to 60 minutes or $300.

Plumbing expertise covers the full residential range, including drains and sewers, water heaters, repiping, leak detection, gas lines, boilers, pumps, water treatment, and fixture repair. Emergency service is available too.

Locations are independently owned and operated, and the brand sits under Authority Brands, the franchise group behind One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning and Mister Sparky—so the plumber and the HVAC tech may share a parent.

Nominee 6: bluefrog Plumbing + Drain

bluefrog Plumbing + Drain approaches residential plumbing as a maintenance relationship rather than a series of emergencies. Its $99 annual bluefrog Preventative Plumbing Plan waives service call fees, adds priority scheduling and a free yearly plumbing evaluation, and discounts repairs, a structure aimed at homeowners who want a plumber on file before the water heater fails.

Day-to-day, bluefrog locations handle 24/7 emergency calls, drain cleaning and hydro-jetting, burst pipe and sewer line repair, gas leak detection, backflow prevention, sump pumps, and water filtration. The company also sells Frog Flow, a drain-maintenance product certified under the EPA's Safer Choice program.

Our panel highlighted the membership model, including the transferable coverage that follows a customer who moves within bluefrog territory, as the reason it earned a spot.

Nominee 7: Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Family-owned since 1990, Hiller tackles everything its name implies across Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida, which means homeowners in those markets can call one company for most of what runs behind the drywall.

On the plumbing side, expect drain cleaning, water heater installation, pipe repair, and true 24/7 emergency dispatch. The company quotes work upfront under what it calls transparent pricing. Customers also get a dedicated channel for raising concerns; Hiller commits to responding within 24 hours under its Happy You'll Be or the Service is Free promise.

Our experts pointed to that combination of regional depth and a plainly stated satisfaction policy.

Nominee 8: Michael & Son Services

Michael & Son traces its founding to 1976 and now operates plumbing, HVAC, electrical, restoration, roofing, and remodeling divisions from locations across Baltimore and the Washington, D.C., suburbs, down through Richmond, Norfolk, Raleigh, Charlotte, and Myrtle Beach.

For homeowners, the practical advantage is that the same company that clears a drain or replaces a water heater can also handle water damage restoration when a pipe fails.

Michael & Son holds plumbing, HVAC, and electrical licenses across the states where it works, and more than 500 service trucks support 24/7 emergency response. That matters in dense corridors like Washington, D.C., where travel time decides how long a shut-off valve stays closed.

Nominee 9: Mr. Rooter Plumbing

Now part of the Neighborly network, Mr. Rooter Plumbing has been operating since 1970, covering residential and commercial work from routine drain cleaning to sewer line repair, water heaters, well pumps, septic systems, and remodeling.

The company does not charge overtime rates, so a Saturday night call is priced the same as a Tuesday morning one. Backing the work is the Neighborly Done Right Promise—if the job isn't right, the company commits to making it right. Our panel flagged this network-level guarantee, which applies to the brand rather than to an individual franchise, as a genuine protection for homeowners.

Nominee 10: Rooter Hero Plumbing

Rooter Hero concentrates on California, Arizona, and Nevada, running crews from the East Bay to Tucson to Reno. The work skews toward what goes wrong underground—drain cleaning, water leak detection, broken-pipe replacement, and trenchless sewer repair—alongside water heater service and fixture installation.

The company takes emergency calls 24/7 with no after-hours, weekend, or holiday surcharges. Rooter Hero also posts rotating promotional rates, including a flat price for drain cleaning up to 75 feet through a ground-level cleanout, as well as senior and military discounts. A Hero Club membership covers ongoing maintenance for $19.99 a month.

Our experts noted the density of its metro coverage: in traffic-heavy Western markets like Los Angeles, having a truck already nearby is what makes same-day service realistic.

Nominee 11: RooterMan

RooterMan has spent more than 50 years on drains and sewers, and its network now spans hundreds of locally owned locations across the U.S. and Canada.

Core work is diagnostic and mechanical, like drain cleaning, water jetting, tree root removal, video camera pipe inspection, sewer line repair, septic service, and general plumbing repairs.

Technicians quote the job before work begins, walking homeowners through the cost. One structural detail sets it apart for customers—the company says calls route to the local franchise team rather than through a national dispatch center, so the person taking the call works in the same area as the truck. Our reviewers highlighted that combination of camera-based diagnostics and upfront quotes as a check against surprise sewer bills.

Nominee 12: Roto-Rooter

Roto-Rooter has been in the drain business since 1935, and it remains the name most homeowners reach for first. Service runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with same-day and emergency availability and no added charge for nights, weekends, or holidays.

Beyond drain cleaning, the company handles water heater repair and replacement, leaks, toilets, and garbage disposals—and, once upon a time, ghost hunting: Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson worked the Providence, Rhode Island, franchise by day before Syfy's Ghost Hunters made them famous.

Water damage restoration and mold remediation teams carry extraction and drying equipment for the aftermath of a failure. Video camera line inspection supports diagnosis before major sewer work. Our panel pointed to the combination of near-universal availability and in-house cleanup as the reason it anchors this list.

Nominee 13: Service Experts Heating & Plumbing

Founded in 1996, Service Experts operates more than 75 service centers across 31 states and fields more than 3,000 technicians. It treats plumbing as one part of a whole-home mechanical package that also covers heating, cooling, water heaters, water treatment, ductwork, and electrical. This scale supports standardized installation practices and a corporate service guarantee behind every piece of equipment its technicians install.

Customers have two membership options: Maintenance+ adds priority scheduling and a discount on services and repairs, while the Advantage program leases equipment with maintenance and repairs folded into a monthly payment and no upfront cost.

Our experts cited that subscription-style approach as a fit for homeowners who prefer predictable monthly costs to unpredictable repair bills.

Nominee 14: Z Plumberz

Z Plumberz has served homes and businesses since 2007 and operates as part of Belfor Franchise Group, the restoration-focused parent company behind several property services brands. The company's scope is deliberately narrow and deep—plumbing, sewers, and drains—covering emergency repairs, water heaters, pipework, appliance installation, and drain maintenance, with pipe lining and coating available in place of digging.

The company promises upfront pricing before work starts.

Nominee 15: Zoom Drain

Zoom Drain specializes in just one area—drains and sewers—rather than generalized plumbing. This focus shows up in the equipment and the service list: hydro-jetting, video inspection, trenchless repair, sewer backup and root intrusion work, sump pumps, and septic service. On the commercial side, Zoom also tackles grease trap maintenance and catch basin cleaning.

Established in 1995, with franchising arriving in 2015, Zoom Drain offers custom maintenance plans for ongoing care, including commercial accounts. It otherwise uses flat-rate menu pricing that customers approve before work starts, which sidesteps the hourly-clock anxiety that comes with an unclear blockage. Zoom says it will get back to a caller within 90 minutes to schedule service and dispatch a technician. Our reviewers cited the video documentation homeowners receive as a useful record of what's actually in the pipe.

Our Experts

Susan Lanier-Graham

With decades of professional writing and consumer research experience, Susan Lanier-Graham covers topics ranging from lifestyle and travel to architecture and home services. Multiple corporate and military relocations have given her firsthand experience finding, evaluating, and hiring service professionals in communities across the country. From appliance repair technicians to pest control providers and other home-service companies, she understands the challenges consumers face when comparing qualifications, reputation, pricing, and reliability. Susan combines careful research with real-world experience to help readers make informed decisions about the professionals they invite into their homes. Follow Susan at Wander With Wonder.

Reviewed Editors & Experts

Reviewed editors and experts have hard-earned insight from a broad range of backgrounds, and our nomination panel includes independent researchers, subject matter experts, and editorial team members. We provide unbiased, experiential editorial coverage on products, brands, and companies across the U.S.