Real estate & rental
Real Estate Agent Brokerage Fee Calculator
Totals what a brokerage costs an agent across every charge.
Result
Headline splits are not comparable without the cap and the fees. A 70/30 split with a low cap can cost far less than a 90/10 split with a high desk fee, and the crossover depends entirely on your volume.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
The split retained by the brokerage plus transaction fees, franchise fees, desk or office charges, technology fees and any required marketing contributions, totalled annually and expressed as a share of gross compensation. That total share is the honest comparison between brokerages, rather than the split alone.
What moves the number
- The split and whether it caps.
- Per-transaction fees.
- Monthly desk, office and technology charges.
- Required contributions and mandatory programmes.
Where this one goes wrong
A brokerage with a favourable split and substantial monthly and per-transaction charges can cost more than one with a less favourable split and nothing else, and at low production the fixed monthly charges dominate entirely. Run the total at your actual production. What the brokerage provides in return belongs in the comparison too, since leads, training, administrative support and errors and omissions cover have real value that a pure cost comparison ignores.
Before you quote
- Total every charge, not just the split.
- Run the comparison at your actual production level.
- Value what the brokerage provides, not only what it costs.
Questions
About this calculator
How should brokerages be compared?
On total annual cost at your actual production, including the split, per-transaction fees, monthly desk and technology charges and any required contributions. A favourable split with heavy fixed charges can cost more than the reverse.
Does production level change the answer?
Substantially. At low production fixed monthly charges dominate and a high-split model performs badly; at high production the split matters most and a cap becomes valuable. The same two brokerages rank differently at different volumes.
Should the comparison be cost only?
No, because leads, training, administrative support and errors and omissions cover have real value. A pure cost comparison makes the thinnest model look best, which is only true for an agent who needs none of what the others provide.
The formula
total = the lower of split or cap, plus desk fees, transaction fees and annual dues
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Please keep the attribution line. It is the only thing we ask in return.
How to use this calculator
- Transactions per year. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 14.
- Your side commission per deal ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $11,550.
- Brokerage share before cap (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 30%.
- Annual cap ($). Zero if there is no cap.
- Monthly desk fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $0.
- Fee per transaction ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $395.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to total brokerage cost, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Transactions per year | 14 |
| Your side commission per deal | $11,550 |
| Brokerage share before cap | 30% |
| Annual cap | $16,000 |
| Monthly desk fee | $0 |
| Fee per transaction | $395 |
| Other annual fees | $800 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total brokerage cost main result | $22,330 |
| Paid through the split | $16,000 |
| Effective share you keep | 86.19% |
| Transaction you cap on | 5 |
| Cost per transaction | $1,595 |
The brokerage costs $22,330 a year, so you keep an effective 86.19% of gross commission, capping on transaction 5, after which the split stops costing you.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only your side commission per deal, this is what happens to total brokerage cost. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Your side commission per deal ($) | Total brokerage cost |
|---|---|
| $5,775 | $22,330 |
| $8,663 | $22,330 |
| $11,550 example above | $22,330 |
| $17,325 | $22,330 |
| $23,100 | $22,330 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Transactions per year
- A number, between 0 and 500, starting at 14.
- Your side commission per deal ($)
- A money amount, starting at $11,550.
- Brokerage share before cap (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 100, starting at 30%.
- Annual cap ($)
- Zero if there is no cap.
- Monthly desk fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $0.
- Fee per transaction ($)
- A money amount, starting at $395.
- Other annual fees ($)
- Technology, errors and omissions insurance, association dues.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Total brokerage cost | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Paid through the split | A money figure. |
| Effective share you keep | A percentage. |
| Transaction you cap on | A number. |
| Cost per transaction | A money figure. |
What is not in this number
Property figures here exclude the costs that decide whether a deal works: vacancy, maintenance, management, capital expenditure and the transaction costs at both ends. A return that looks strong before those frequently does not survive them.
Keep going
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