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Real estate

Real Estate Commission Comparison Calculator

See your real annual take-home across eXp, Keller Williams, Compass, Real and a 100%-cap brokerage — side by side, with honest defaults you can edit to your own market.

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Gross commission to your side, before the brokerage's cut.

How many closings you expect this year.

Average commission per deal: $15,000

I'd rather enter avg sale price + commission %

GCI is calculated as price × commission % × deals and fills in the fields above.

Advanced — edit each brokerage's numbers

Estimates — splits, caps and fees vary by market and over time. Adjust to your actual numbers.

Cap varies by market center.

Splits are highly negotiated; no standard cap.

Highest annual take-home

$292,912 /yr · Custom 100%-cap

At 20 deals and $300,000 GCI, the gap between the top and bottom model is $52,912/yr. No brokerage is favored — these are editable estimates.

  1. 1 Custom 100%-cap $292,912
    No cap to hit +$52,912 vs lowest
  2. 2 Real Broker $285,000
    Caps after ~6 deals (~$90,000 GCI) +$45,000 vs lowest
  3. 3 eXp Realty $279,230
    Caps after ~6 deals (~$90,000 GCI) +$39,230 vs lowest
  4. 4 Keller Williams $278,400
    Caps after ~4 deals (~$60,000 GCI) +$38,400 vs lowest
  5. 5 Compass $240,000
    No cap to hit lowest

How this is calculated

Your annual GCI is the gross commission paid to your side before the brokerage takes anything. We assume your deals are of equal size (average commission = GCI ÷ deals) and run each brokerage's model deal by deal.

Split is the share the company keeps from each commission (an 80/20 split means the company keeps 20%). Cap is the most the company will take from your splits in a year — once you hit it, you keep your full commission on the rest. Royalty (used by Keller Williams) is a separate percentage with its own annual cap. A post-cap fee is a flat per-transaction charge some brokerages apply after you've capped, and a monthly fee is a fixed cost charged 12 times a year.

Every default here is an editable estimate. Splits, caps, royalties and fees vary by market, by market center, and change over time — and some, like Compass, are individually negotiated. Treat these numbers as a starting point and confirm the exact figures with each brokerage before deciding. This tool favors no brokerage and shows every assumption.

Frequently asked questions

How is real estate commission split calculated?
Your side of the gross commission (GCI) is split with your brokerage by a percentage — for example, an 80/20 split means you keep 80% and the company keeps 20% of each commission. Many brokerages stop taking their share once you've paid them a fixed annual amount (the cap), after which you keep closer to 100%, sometimes minus a small per-transaction fee.
What is a brokerage cap?
A cap is the maximum total dollars a brokerage will collect from your commission splits in a year. Once your accumulated company-side payments reach the cap, you stop paying the split and keep your full commission on remaining deals (some brokerages then charge a flat per-transaction fee instead). Caps vary by market and market center and change over time.
eXp vs Keller Williams — which keeps more of my commission?
It depends on your volume. With the honest defaults here, eXp uses an 80/20 split with a $16,000 cap and small post-cap fees, while Keller Williams uses a 70/30 split with a higher cap plus a capped 6% royalty. At high GCI both let you reach roughly 100% after capping; at lower volume the split percentage matters most. Enter your real numbers above to see which keeps more for you — this calculator picks no winner by default.
Does Compass have a cap?
Compass does not publish a single standard cap; splits and any cap are highly negotiated per agent and market. The default here models a straight 80/20 split with no cap, which is conservative — if you negotiated a cap or a higher split, edit Compass's numbers to match your actual agreement.
What is a 100% commission brokerage?
A 100%-commission (or 100%-cap) brokerage lets you keep all of each commission and instead charges flat fees — typically a per-transaction fee on every deal plus a monthly fee. It can be the highest take-home for high-volume agents, but the fixed fees can outweigh the benefit at low volume. The 'Custom 100%-cap' model here is fully editable so you can plug in any flat-fee brokerage you're considering.

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter your numbers

    Type your annual GCI and how many deals you close in a year. We show your average commission per deal automatically.

  2. Adjust any brokerage to your market

    Open the advanced settings and edit any split, cap, royalty or fee to match your actual market center or negotiated agreement — every default is editable.

  3. Compare net take-home

    Read the ranked results: each brokerage's real annual take-home, when you'd hit its cap, and the gap between the best and worst model at your volume.