Ideal Agent Listing Fees: Everything You Need to Know

Jump to section: Ideal Agent vs. top alternatives | Ideal Agent fees (full breakdown) | What you get for the fee | FAQ

How much are Ideal Agent fees?

Ideal Agent’s standard listing fee for home sellers is 2% of the final sale price. With a conventional real estate agent, you’ll typically pay between 2.5–3%. That said, the minimum Ideal Agent listing fee is $3,000. So if your home is worth less than $150,000, you’ll be paying more than 2% to list your home with Ideal Agent.

Although Ideal Agent offers more competitive rates than you’ll get listing with a conventional realtor, other real estate brands offer lower listing fees for the same level of service. And no matter which brand you list with, you’ll still have to cover the buyer’s agent fee, which is an additional 2.5–3% commission on top of your listing fee.

» SAVE: Top local realtors, 100% full service, lower listing fees than Ideal Agent (learn more)

Is Ideal Agent your best option?

Ideal Agent is an agent-matching service that works exclusively with top-producing agents. They have a strict vetting process, which means you’ll be working with only the best agents closest to you. But because they’re vetting process is so strict, they don’t have many agents to choose from (2,000 total nationwide). So there’s a chance you could be working with an agent who’s unfamiliar with your area, which could be a disadvantage.

Want to learn more about Ideal Agent fees? We’ll help you decide whether the 2% Ideal Agent fee is worth foregoing other real estate brands with lower rates.

Ideal Agent listing fees vs. top alternatives

Ideal Agent’s 2% listing fee is 0.5–1% lower than the traditional listing commission rate (2.5–3%). That certainly makes a difference when you’re dealing with real estate prices, but you can get even better discounts from other brands.

We recommend Clever Real Estate as the best value overall. Like Ideal Agent, Clever is an agent-matching service that partners with conventional agents nationwide. However, Clever’s listing fee is just 1%, which is half of the Ideal Agent fee.

Clever’s minimum fees also deliver deeper savings than Ideal Agent’s minimum fee. If your home sells for $350,000 or less with Clever, you’ll pay a flat fee of $3,000. But if your home sells for $350,000 with Ideal Agent, you’ll pay $7,000. Although Ideal Agent boasts superior agent quality, Clever also vets its agents carefully, working only with experienced, full-service realtors from top-rated brands like Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Keller Williams.

Redfin is another Ideal Agent alternative we’d recommend. Redfin’s rate is 1.5% of the sales price, charging you half a percent less than Ideal Agent. But Redfin operates differently than Ideal Agent and Clever. Rather than partner with seasoned realtors across the country, Redfin maintains in-house teams of salaried agents that manage multiple deals at once, which means your realtor could be more distant and distracted.

Additionally, Redfin service is limited to about 100 cities and highly populated regions. Redfin’s minimum fees are also less straightforward than Clever’s and could cost you more than 1.5% if you’re selling a lower-priced home.

How much does Ideal Agent charge to sell your home?

If you sign a contract with an Ideal Agent, you agree to pay a listing fee equal to 2% of the sale price of your home. Similar to how it works with a conventional realtor, you’ll be responsible for paying your agent only after your home sells.

You’re also still responsible for the buyer’s agent fee, which is standard practice in the real estate industry. You’ll set the buyer’s agent rate in your residential listing, but it’s usually 2.5–3% of the sales price. If you offer less than the standard rate for your area, you may have difficulty finding buyers. Buyer’s agents prioritize homes that both match their clients’ criteria and pay a decent buyer’s agent commission.

What services do you get for the Ideal Agent 2% commission fee?

Ideal Agent’s partner agents are conventional real estate agents who work with traditional brokerages nationwide. When signing with Ideal Agent, they agree to provide full service to their clients to help sell homes for a 2% commission rate. So, you receive about the same level and type of services you get with a conventional agency even though you’re working with a low commission broker.

Ideal Agent advertises that its partner real estate agents are the top 1% in their profession. Some vetting criteria include 14 years of experience as a real estate professional, a minimum of 100 closings per year, and a 5-star rating.

Ideal Agent’s buyer agents

Home buyers won’t save money by buying a house with Ideal Agent. The focus on savings is solely on the sales side of real estate transactions. In fact, you can’t even match with a buyer’s agent through Ideal Agent. That can complicate matters for home sellers who want to use the same agent to look for a new home.

Get a home buyer rebate with Ideal Agent alternatives

If you want to get money back after you close on a new home, go with Clever Real Estate. You can get up to 0.5% of your home’s purchase price in cash back when you buy a house with a Clever agent. For example, if you buy a house for $400,000, your agent will send you a check for up to $2,000 after you close.

You can spend Clever Cash Back on whatever you want, whereas other rebate programs like Redfin Refund require you to put the money toward things like closing costs.

» MORE: Learn more about how home buyer rebates work

FAQ about Ideal Agent fees