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Realtor Commission Calculator

Commission is one line in a closing statement and the largest single cost in most home sales, yet sellers usually negotiate it before they know what it removes from their proceeds. It is also no longer a single price: since the 2024 settlement changes, the fee paid to a buyer agent is negotiated separately from the fee paid to the listing agent, in writing, and it is not published in the local listing service.

$

The fee in your listing agreement, as a percent of the price.

What you are offering the buyer side. Set it to 0 to see the difference.

$

Credits for repairs, rate buydowns or the buyer closing costs.

$

The loan balance cleared from the proceeds at closing.

$

Title, escrow, recording fees and transfer taxes.

Results update as you type. Nothing leaves your device.

Net proceeds

$166,000

$34,000 of costs and a $300,000 mortgage payoff come out of a $500,000 sale price.

Commission
$25,000
Costs as a share of price
6.8%
Total seller costs
$34,000
Price kept as cash
33.2%

Where the sale price goes

  • Net proceeds$166,000
  • Listing commission$12,500
  • Buyer-agent commission$12,500
  • Concessions and seller costs$9,000
  • Mortgage payoff$300,000

The mortgage payoff is often the largest slice and the one sellers forget: it is money already spent rather than money being lost today.

Every line that comes out of the price

AmountPercent of price
Listing commission$12,500.002.5%
Buyer-agent commission$12,500.002.5%
Seller concessions$5,000.001%
Other seller costs$4,000.000.8%
Total seller costs$34,000.006.8%
Mortgage payoff$300,000.0060%
Net proceeds$166,000.0033.2%

The title, escrow and transfer-tax lines vary most by state, so use the number from your own settlement estimate rather than a national average.

What a different commission would cost

Commission on each sideTotal commissionNet proceedsDifference
2% + 2%$20,000$171,000+$5,000
2.5% + 2.5%$25,000$166,000—
3% + 3%$30,000$161,000−$5,000
3.5% + 3.5%$35,000$156,000−$10,000

This is the table to negotiate from: half a point on each side of a $500,000 sale is the difference between a new kitchen and not.

Recheck everything once the settlement statement arrives: title insurance, escrow fees and transfer taxes are the lines that most often differ from the estimate made at listing.

This calculator prices both sides of the commission explicitly, adds the concessions and seller-side costs that appear in the same settlement statement, clears the mortgage, and shows what is left. The percentage it reports is the one that matters: total seller costs as a share of the sale price.

How this realtor commission calculator works

Two commissions, set separately

The listing commission pays the brokerage that markets the home. The buyer-agent commission, where one is offered, pays the brokerage that brings the buyer. Since August 2024 those are separate negotiations rather than a single split, so the calculator lets you set each side instead of assuming one total.

A seller who offers nothing to the buyer side should expect the buyer to fund their own agent, which usually shows up as a lower offer rather than a saving. The question is not whether the fee is paid but who pays it and whether the price reflects it.

Everything else that comes out of the price

Seller concessions are the credits a buyer negotiates for repairs, rate buydowns or closing costs, and they are paid from the same pot as the commission. Title search and insurance, escrow or settlement fees, recording charges and state or local transfer taxes are the seller costs that vary most by state, so the field is one number you fill in from your own settlement estimate.

The mortgage payoff comes out before anything reaches you, which is why the net proceeds figure can be far smaller than the arithmetic on the sale price suggests. Prices went up and balances went up with them.

Reading the result

Net proceeds are the cash that moves to the seller at closing. They are not profit: the original purchase price, the money spent on improvements and the cost of the years of ownership are all outside this calculator, which prices the sale rather than the investment.

The cost ratio is included because it is the practical negotiating number. Each 0.5 percentage point of commission on a $500,000 home is $2,500, which is easier to argue about than a percentage.

Worked examples

Each example below was run through the calculator on this page when the site was built, so the numbers match what you see when you enter the same inputs.

A $500,000 sale with 2.5% on each side

Sale price
$500,000.00
Listing commission
2.5%
Buyer-agent commission
2.5%
Seller concessions
$5,000.00
Mortgage payoff
$300,000.00
Other seller costs
$4,000.00

Net proceeds

$166,000

$34,000 of costs and a $300,000 mortgage payoff come out of a $500,000 sale price.

Commission
$25,000
Costs as a share of price
6.8%
Total seller costs
$34,000
Price kept as cash
33.2%

The commission is $25,000 and the other costs add $9,000, so $34,000 leaves the seller before the mortgage is cleared.

The same sale with no buyer-agent commission offered

Sale price
$500,000.00
Listing commission
2.5%
Buyer-agent commission
0%
Seller concessions
$5,000.00
Mortgage payoff
$300,000.00
Other seller costs
$4,000.00

Net proceeds

$178,500

$21,500 of costs and a $300,000 mortgage payoff come out of a $500,000 sale price.

Commission
$12,500
Costs as a share of price
4.3%
Total seller costs
$21,500
Price kept as cash
35.7%

Dropping the buyer side saves $12,500 in cash at closing, but buyers who are paying their own agent usually reflect that in the offer, so the saving is not automatic.

A sale with little equity left

Sale price
$320,000.00
Listing commission
3%
Buyer-agent commission
2.5%
Seller concessions
$8,000.00
Mortgage payoff
$280,000.00
Other seller costs
$4,500.00

Net proceeds

$9,900

$30,100 of costs and a $280,000 mortgage payoff come out of a $320,000 sale price.

Commission
$17,600
Costs as a share of price
9.41%
Total seller costs
$30,100
Price kept as cash
3.1%

About $30,100 of costs and a $280,000 payoff leave roughly $9,900: on a highly mortgaged home the costs decide whether a sale is possible at all.

Frequently asked questions

How much is realtor commission?

There is no fixed rate. Five to six percent of the sale price was the long-standing convention in the United States, split between the listing and buyer sides, and it is now negotiable in both parts. The only figure that matters is the one written in your listing agreement, which this calculator takes as two separate percentages.

What changed in 2024?

As part of the National Association of Realtors settlement, offers of compensation to a buyer agent are no longer published in the local listing service, and buyers who want an agent to represent them sign an agreement setting that agent fee before touring homes. Practically, a seller decides whether to offer anything toward it, and a buyer who is paying their own agent tends to price that into the offer.

Are seller concessions the same as a lower price?

No. A concession reduces the cash the buyer needs at closing, which matters most to buyers who are short of cash, while it usually leaves the sale price on the record. Both come out of the seller proceeds, which is why they sit in the same block here.

What seller costs vary most by state?

Transfer taxes and recording fees vary enormously, and a few states charge a mortgage tax on the buyer side. Title insurance and settlement fees are also priced differently by state, which is why they are one field rather than three: read your own settlement estimate and put the total in.

Is the net proceeds figure my profit?

No. It is the cash that reaches you at closing. Profit would have to subtract the original purchase price, every mortgage payment made, the cost of improvements and the opportunity cost of the down payment. When people say they made money on a house, they are usually comparing prices rather than computing a return.

Can I sell without an agent?

Yes, and the commission saving is real, but the buyer side of the transaction is rarely free: a represented buyer asks the seller to contribute, so the difference shrinks. A flat-fee listing service is a middle route that keeps the property in the listing service while paying for a smaller set of services.

Assumptions and sources

  • Method: commission is applied to the sale price on each side separately, then concessions, seller-side costs and the mortgage payoff are deducted from the price to reach the net proceeds.
  • Commission rates, concessions and seller costs are inputs rather than market averages, because they are negotiated per transaction and vary by state and brokerage.
  • Background: the National Association of Realtors settlement practice changes, effective 17 August 2024, removed offers of buyer-agent compensation from the listing service and required written buyer agreements. This is not legal, tax or financial advice.

Last reviewed 2026-09-14. This page is an estimate tool, not financial, tax or legal advice.Read the full disclaimer.

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