Real Estate Commission Calculator (Listing Side, Buyer Side and Agent Split)

This real estate commission calculator works out what a home sale's commission comes to, how it divides between the listing brokerage and the buyer's brokerage, and what the listing agent takes home after the brokerage's share. You enter the sale price and each side's rate; it returns the total commission, each side's dollars, the all-in rate including any flat fee, and the sale price left after commission.

Commissions are negotiated, and how they are set has changed. The Justice Department, in a 2024 statement filed in the Burnett commission case, described sellers feeling pressure to offer a "customary" rate of 2.5 to 3% to buyer brokers. The settlement in that case stops offers of buyer-broker compensation from being made on a multiple listing service, though it still allows them to be made and posted publicly. As a result the buyer side can be paid by the seller, by the buyer, split between them, or not at all, depending on what is agreed, and the listing side is whatever the seller agreed in the listing contract.

The calculator handles any of those arrangements. Enter 0 for the buyer side if the seller is not paying one. The defaults of 2.5% a side are only an example, chosen because they sit at the low end of the customary rate the Justice Department described, not a recommendation.

1. Enter the sale price, or the expected price if you are planning ahead.
2. Enter the listing side rate from your listing agreement.
3. Enter the buyer side rate the seller has agreed to pay, or 0 if the buyer's agent is paid separately.
4. Add any flat brokerage fee, such as a transaction or administrative fee.
5. To see what the listing agent keeps, enter the agent's split with their brokerage.

The presets cover a seller paying only the listing side, a discounted 1% listing with a $495 fee, and a $750,000 home with a 2% listing rate. Two tables below the calculator list the commission at common sale prices and at common total rates.

1. Commission for each side. Each side's commission is the sale price times that side's rate.

1. Total commission. The two sides are added together.

1. All-in cost. Any flat fees are added to the total commission, and that cost is shown as a percentage of the sale price.

1. Sale price after commission. The all-in cost is subtracted from the sale price.

1. The agent's split. The listing agent's share is the listing side commission times the agent's split. The rest stays with the brokerage.

1. Round for display. Dollar figures are rounded to the cent and the all-in rate to three decimal places only when shown.

With the default inputs, a $400,000 sale at 2.5% per side, with a 70% agent split:

1. Listing side: $400,000 × 2.5% = $10,000.00.
2. Buyer side: $400,000 × 2.5% = $10,000.00.
3. Total commission: $20,000.00, or 5% of the price.
4. Sale price after commission: $380,000.00.
5. Listing agent's share: $10,000 × 70% = $7,000.00. The listing brokerage keeps $3,000.00.

If the seller pays only the listing side, the commission halves to $10,000.00 and the price after commission is $390,000.00.

A discount listing at 1% plus a $495 fee, with 2.5% still offered to the buyer side, costs $14,000.00 in commission and $14,495.00 all in, an all-in rate of 3.624%.

It is the sale price times the agreed rate, so it grows with the price. At 2.5% a side, a $300,000 home carries $15,000.00 in total commission, a $500,000 home $25,000.00, and a $1,000,000 home $50,000.00. The first table below the calculator lists more prices.

Because the commission is a percentage, half a point makes a big difference on an expensive home. On $400,000, each half point of total rate adds the same amount again: $16,000.00 at 4%, $18,000.00 at 4.5% and $20,000.00 at 5%. That is why the rate is worth negotiating, and why some sellers prefer a flat fee.

• Other closing costs. Title insurance, transfer taxes, attorney fees, prorated property taxes and the mortgage payoff all come out of the proceeds too. "Sale price after commission" is not your net.
• Concessions and credits. Repair credits and seller-paid buyer closing costs reduce what you receive but are not commission.
• Who pays the buyer side. The calculator adds both sides together as the total commission on the deal. If the buyer pays their own agent, enter 0 for the buyer side to see the seller's cost alone.
• Tiered or capped commissions. Some agreements charge one rate up to a price and another above it, or cap the commission. Only a flat percentage per side is modelled.
• The agent's own costs. The agent's share is before their marketing costs, licensing fees, franchise fees and income tax.
• Referral fees. A referral fee paid to another agent comes out of one side's commission and is not shown separately.

• Treating the rate as fixed. Commission rates are negotiable. Compare the dollars at different rates before you sign.
• Forgetting the buyer side. A listing rate quoted on its own may not be the whole cost if you also agree to pay the buyer's agent.
• Confusing the agent's share with the commission. The agent you work with usually keeps only part of the listing side; the brokerage keeps the rest.
• Rounding the price. Commission is a percentage of the actual sale price, not the list price. A price cut lowers it too.
• Mistaking price after commission for proceeds. Plan for every closing cost, not just the commission.

• US Department of Justice, Statement of Interest of the United States, Burnett v. National Association of Realtors, No. 4:19-cv-00332 (W.D. Mo., filed November 24, 2024): the "customary" 2.5 to 3% buyer-broker rate and the settlement's ban on compensation offers made on an MLS. justice.gov/atr/media/1386031/dl