Realtor Commission Calculator
Price & rates
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Fill in the fields on the left and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- United States — state and local practice
- Scope and limitations
- Educational estimate only. U.S. real estate costs are local: property tax rates, transfer and recording taxes, title practice, who customarily pays which closing cost, and landlord-tenant rules all change by state and often by county or city. Agent commission is negotiable and, since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately rather than assumed. Only a lender's Loan Estimate, a title company's fee sheet or a signed contract binds a number.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter the sale price.
- 02
Enter what you have agreed to pay your own listing agent.
- 03
Enter separately whatever you have agreed to contribute toward the buyer's agent — since 2024 that is a distinct negotiation, not an assumption.
- 04
Read the total, the blended rate, and what half a point is worth on this sale.
- 05
Open Advanced options to see what your agent actually takes home after their brokerage split.
Formula
The listing fee is the sale price times the listing rate; the buyer-agent contribution is the sale price times whatever you have agreed to contribute. The total commission is the two added, and the blended rate is that total as a percentage of the sale price. What half a point is worth is simply the sale price times 0.5%, which is the figure to hold in mind during a negotiation. The agent's take-home is the listing fee less the brokerage transaction fee, times one minus the brokerage split — the number that explains why discounting meets resistance. Both commission rates keep their defaults rather than opening blank, because a page that opens saying you pay no commission is answering a different question from the one you arrived with.
Example
A $420,000 sale with 2.5% to the listing agent and 2.5% contributed to the buyer's agent. Listing side: $420,000 x 2.5% = $10,500. Buyer's agent: $420,000 x 2.5% = $10,500. Total: $21,000, a blended 5.0%. Price left after commission: $399,000. Half a point is worth $2,100 on this sale — so moving the listing side from 2.5% to 2.0% is a $2,100 saving for one conversation. Now the part sellers rarely see. Of the $10,500 listing side, the brokerage takes a 30% split and a $495 transaction fee, so the agent nets about $7,004. That is the number they are defending when they resist a discount, and knowing it changes the tone of the conversation: you are not asking a brokerage to give up $2,100, you are asking an individual to give up roughly $1,470 of their own income. And the buyer-agent line is now genuinely optional. Offering nothing saves $10,500 outright — at the cost of a narrower buyer pool, since a buyer paying their own agent has that much less to put toward your price.
Definitions
- Listing side
- The commission paid to the agent representing the seller.
- Buyer-agent compensation
- What the seller contributes toward the buyer's agent. Since 2024, negotiated separately rather than published.
- Blended rate
- Total commission as a percentage of the sale price, combining both sides.
- NAR settlement
- The 2024 agreement changing how buyer-agent compensation is offered and requiring written buyer agreements.
- Brokerage split
- The share of commission the agent's brokerage keeps, commonly 20% to 40%.
- Transaction fee
- A flat brokerage charge per deal, deducted before the agent's split.
- Flat-fee MLS
- Paying a few hundred dollars to be listed on the MLS while handling the sale yourself.
- Discount brokerage
- A full-service brokerage charging a reduced listing rate, commonly 1% to 2%.
- FSBO
- For sale by owner — selling without an agent. Legal everywhere, and generally associated with lower sale prices.
- Dual agency
- One agent representing both buyer and seller. Legal in some states, banned in others.
- Buyer representation agreement
- The written contract a buyer must now sign with their agent before touring, covering compensation.
- Net to seller
- The sale price less commission and other selling costs — the figure the whole negotiation is really about.
Good to know
What the 2024 NAR settlement actually changed
Until 2024, a seller listing on the MLS effectively set the buyer's agent commission too — the listing agreement bundled both sides and the offer of compensation was published with the listing. The National Association of Realtors settlement ended that. Offers of buyer-agent compensation can no longer appear in the MLS, and buyers must sign a written agreement with their agent stating that agent's fee before touring homes. The practical result is that the two sides are now separately negotiated: a seller can still offer to pay the buyer's agent, and most do, but it is a concession negotiated in the contract rather than a rate set at listing. What did not change is the total on a typical transaction, which remains close to 5% to 6% in most markets. What changed is that both halves are now visibly negotiable.
Half a point is more money than it sounds
On a $420,000 sale, half a percentage point is $2,100. That is the number worth carrying into a listing appointment, because commission is customarily discussed in points and paid in dollars, and the two framings feel very different. A move from 5% to 4.5% is a rounding difference in conversation and a meaningful sum in the settlement statement. Where the leverage is real: a higher-priced home, because the work does not scale with price; a fast-moving market, because the listing period is short; a seller who is also buying through the same agent, which is two commissions from one relationship; and a property the agent expects to sell quickly to a known buyer. Where it is weak: a difficult property, a slow market, or a price point where the total commission is small enough that the agent's own take-home after splits is marginal.
The agent does not keep the commission
Of the $10,500 on the listing side, the agent's brokerage takes its split — 30% here — and a transaction fee, leaving about $7,004 before the agent's own costs. Out of that come self-employment tax, health insurance, MLS and association dues, licensing, marketing, photography, signage and the months of work on listings that never closed. New agents commonly run splits of 50/50 or worse; established producers negotiate to 80/20, 90/10 or a flat-fee cap model. This matters to a seller for one reason: it explains where the resistance to a discount comes from, and it identifies who can actually grant one. An agent on a 50/50 split has half the room to move that an agent on a 90/10 split does, and asking about the structure is a fair question in a listing interview.
The alternatives, and what each one costs you
Flat-fee MLS services list a property for a few hundred dollars and leave the seller to handle showings, negotiation, disclosures and the contract — the saving is the listing-side commission, and the buyer's side is usually still offered. Discount brokerages charge 1% to 2% on the listing side with a full service model, and have become substantially more common. iBuyers and cash-offer platforms charge a service fee in the same range as a commission and buy directly — the Cash Offer vs Listing Calculator prices that properly. For-sale-by-owner saves the most and sells the least: NAR's own data puts FSBO at under 10% of transactions, and a meaningful share of those are private sales to a known buyer, where the saving is real and the marketing was never needed. The honest comparison is not commission against zero, but net proceeds against net proceeds.
What commission is charged on, and when it is owed
Commission is calculated on the gross sale price, not on your equity and not on your net. On a $420,000 sale with a $385,000 mortgage, $21,000 of commission is 5% of the price and 60% of the equity — which is why the percentage feels different to a seller with little equity than to one who owns outright. It is paid at closing from the proceeds, so no money leaves your pocket directly, and it is deducted before the mortgage payoff on the settlement statement. Two clauses in the listing agreement are worth reading before signing: the protection period, which obliges you to pay commission if you sell to a buyer the agent introduced within a set window after the listing expires, and the cancellation terms, which vary from a simple release to a marketing-cost reimbursement.
Frequently asked questions
What changed after the 2024 NAR settlement?
Two things. Offers of buyer-agent compensation can no longer be published on the MLS, and buyers must sign a written agreement with their agent covering compensation before touring homes. The practical effect is that what the seller contributes to the buyer's side is now negotiated in the open rather than assumed at 2.5% or 3%.
Do I still have to pay the buyer's agent?
No, and that is the change. You can offer nothing, a fixed amount, or a percentage, and it becomes part of the negotiation like any other term. In practice most sellers still contribute something, because a buyer who must pay their own agent out of pocket has less to offer on price.
What is a typical commission now?
The old 5% to 6% combined convention is loosening but has not collapsed. Listing sides commonly run 2% to 3%, and buyer-side contributions similar, so combined figures in the 4% to 5.5% range are widespread. There is no standard rate and there never legally was.
Is commission negotiable?
Always, and it always was — a fixed rate would be price fixing. Half a point on a $420,000 sale is $2,100, which is a substantial return on one uncomfortable conversation. Agents at established brokerages have less flexibility than they suggest, but more than they offer unprompted.
Why does my agent not keep the whole listing side?
Because the brokerage takes a split, commonly 20% to 40% for a mid-career agent, plus a transaction fee. On a $10,500 listing side at a 30% split, the agent nets around $7,000 before their own marketing costs, taxes and licence fees — worth knowing, because it explains where the resistance to discounting comes from.
What do I actually get for the listing side?
Pricing advice, photography, MLS and portal listing, showings, negotiation, and management of inspection and appraisal issues through to closing. The value varies enormously by agent, which is the real argument for interviewing three rather than for paying less.
Is a flat-fee or discount brokerage worth it?
Sometimes, and the trade is real. Flat-fee MLS listings cost a few hundred dollars and leave you doing the work. Discount brokerages at 1% to 2% sit between. In a fast market with an obvious price, the saving is close to free; in a slow one, a good agent frequently earns the difference back on price alone.
Can I sell without an agent?
Yes — for sale by owner is legal everywhere. Studies consistently show FSBO homes sell for less, though the comparison is muddied by which homes people choose to sell themselves. If you already have a buyer, a real estate attorney at a few thousand dollars handles the paperwork.
Who pays commission at closing?
It comes out of the seller's proceeds at settlement, paid by the title or escrow company from the sale price. You never write a check; the money simply never reaches you, which is part of why the amount goes unexamined.
Is commission tax-deductible?
Not as a deduction, but it reduces the amount realized on the sale, which reduces any taxable gain. On a sale where the gain exceeds the section 121 exclusion, commission indirectly saves tax at your capital gains rate.
Should I offer a buyer-agent contribution at all?
It is now a marketing decision. Offering nothing narrows your buyer pool to those who can pay their agent separately; offering generously widens it. Many sellers now list without an offer and negotiate it as part of the contract, which is exactly what the settlement intended.
What is dual agency?
One agent representing both sides, which is legal in some states and banned in others. It sometimes comes with a reduced total commission, and it removes independent representation from both parties — a saving with a real cost attached.