What’s the actual difference between a “low commission” realtor and the agent your neighbor used last year? The answer (not surprisingly) has largely to do with realtor commission.
The U.S. average real estate commission today is 5.70%, which, for the median-priced U.S. home, translates to roughly $20,000 to $25,000, split between two agents at closing. But a “low commission” realtor charges meaningfully less than that on the listing side, typically 1% to 2%, and the savings are real. On a $450,000 sale, dropping from a 2.88% listing fee to a 1.5% one keeps about $6,200 in your pocket.
Seems too good to be true? It's not. But readers should understand that "low commission" encompasses several different business models. Some services match you with full-service local agents at pre-negotiated rates (your best bet for success). Others are brokerages with salaried, team-based agents. A few charge a flat fee and leave most of the work to you. Pick the wrong model, or company, and it could cost you more than you can save.
Our guide explains how each model works, what the savings look like at different price points, and how to vet the companies competing for your listing.
Find your low-commission listing agent
Five low-commission brokers, five different sweet spots. Answer four quick questions and we'll point you to the one that fits your state, your home value, your timeline, and what matters most in the sale.
No email or account required. Recommendations are guidance, not financial advice.
What state is your home in?
Several of these brokers only work in certain states. This narrows the field.
What's your home's estimated value?
Different brokers shine at different price points.
How soon do you want to sell?
All five brokers can close in 60 to 90 days. Some respond faster to a new listing than others.
What matters most in this sale?
Most sellers can't optimize for all three. Pick the one that matters most.
Clever pairs you with a vetted, full-service agent from a top brokerage like Keller Williams, RE/MAX, or eXp who has already agreed to a flat 1.5% listing fee. Nationwide coverage, the same service you would get from a traditional agent, and no contracts to compare offers.
- Full-service agents from Keller Williams, RE/MAX, eXp, and other top brokerages
- Available in all 50 states plus DC
- No contract to interview matches, so you can compare a few agents before picking
- Agent bench depth varies city-to-city, strongest in major metros
- $3,000 minimum listing fee, so very low-priced homes save proportionally less
Recommendations are guidance, not financial advice. Service availability, fees, and timelines vary by market and provider. Always confirm the details before committing.
What is a low commission realtor?
A low commission realtor is any agent willing to list and sell your home for less than the typical 2.5% to 3% listing fee in your area. There are three models:
- Agent matching services connect you with traditional full-service agents who have agreed to a pre-negotiated or competing rate, typically 1.5% to 2%. The agent works for their normal brokerage; the matching service takes a referral fee.
- Discount brokerages employ their own salaried or team-based agents and run a more centralized, tech-driven process, usually at 1% to 1.5%.
- Flat-fee MLS services charge a fixed $200 to $1,000 to list your home on the MLS. You handle showings, negotiations, and closings yourself. This is closer to FSBO with a listing assist than to a full-service agent
How do low commission realtors work?
Matching services send agents a steady stream of motivated sellers, so agents accept a lower fee in exchange for skipping the cost of finding those clients themselves. So, instead of charging the usual 2.5% to 3%, these agents can take a fee as low as 1%, in some cases. Discount brokerages get there differently: salaried agents, specialized teams, and software that standardizes the busywork.
Either way, a legitimate low commission service includes the same core work a 3% agent does: pricing analysis, professional photos, MLS listing and syndication, showings, negotiation, and closing coordination. Confirm the full list in writing, because inclusions vary more at the bottom of the market.
How much can you save?
The U.S. average listing fee is 2.88%, per our 2026 survey of commission rates in all 50 states. On a $400,000 sale, that's $11,520. The same sale at a 1.5% listing fee costs $6,000, a savings of $5,520. At a 1% rate, you'd save $7,520. On a $700,000 sale, those gaps roughly double.
The listing fee is only half the bill. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer agent fees average 2.6% to 2.7%,[1] and most sellers still cover some or all of that at closing to keep qualified offers moving. Build both fees into your net sheet.
Top low commission companies in 2026
| Company | Listing fee | Minimum fee | Coverage | Customer rating* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall Clever Real Estate | 1.5% | $3,000on homes under $200K | 50 states + DC | |
| Redfin | 1.5%1% if you buy and sell | Up to $9,000varies by market | 47 states | |
| Ideal Agent | 2% | $3,000on homes under $150K | Nationwide | |
| Houwzer | 1% | None published | ~13 states + DC | |
| UpNest | ~2.5% avg.varies by proposal | None | Nationwide |
*Ratings compiled from verified Trustpilot, Google, and Better Business Bureau reviews. Figures update automatically as new review data comes in.
We scored the five services below on fees and minimums, service model, agent quality and selection, fee transparency, and verified customer reviews.
1. Clever Real Estate: Best overall
Clever Real Estate is a discount broker that matches you with two or three local agents who have agreed to a 1.5% listing fee, with a $3,000 minimum on homes under $200,000. You compare the matches, interview them, and hire one or walk away, with no upfront cost. The network of roughly 14,000 agents covers all 50 states and is pre-screened for sales performance and reviews. The fee is locked in before you commit, but service quality still depends on the agent you pick, so interview at least two matches. Simply fill out a quick form to get matched with agents today.
2. Redfin: Best technology
Redfin, now owned by Rocket Companies, charges a 1.5% listing fee, or 1% if you also buy through Redfin.[2] Its salaried, team-based agents come with the most polished technology in the category. Two flags: minimum fees reach $9,000 in San Francisco, which makes the 1.5% rate meaningless below roughly $600,000 there, and its 2.6/5 average across 1,476 verified reviews reflects real communication gaps in the team model.
3. Ideal Agent: Best single match
Ideal Agent pre-negotiates a 2% listing fee, with a $3,000 minimum on homes under $150,000, and connects you with one top-producing agent instead of several matches. Its 5.0/5 Trustpilot rating across 6,910 reviews is the highest in the category, though most reviews are solicited at the point of transaction.[3] The 2% fee costs $2,250 more than a 1.5% service on a $450,000 sale.
4. Houwzer: Lowest full-service rate
Houwzer charges a flat 1% listing fee with no published minimum, the lowest full-service rate available in 2026.[4] Its in-house agents cover roughly 13 states plus D.C., concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic, Florida, Arizona, and Colorado. Parent company Newfound also owns Trelora, a similar 1% brokerage in western markets. At 1%, expect a leaner, more digital process and less choice in who represents you.
5. UpNest: Best for comparing proposals
UpNest, owned by Realtor.com, surfaces competing proposals from two to five local agents within about 24 hours. Savings aren't guaranteed and average around 2.5% on the listing side, per UpNest's own disclosures. One caution: UpNest currently holds a 1.4 rating from the BBB due to unanswered complaints.[5]
Also worth a look: Prevu, a 2% discount brokerage in higher-priced metros like New York, Boston, Denver, and Seattle. Minimums are steep ($12,500 in NYC), but buyers can get up to 2% cash back.
⚖️ How we evaluate and rank companies
Every company in this guide was scored on five weighted criteria.
- Listing fee and minimums: the actual out-of-pocket cost to sellers, including any minimum that applies in lower-priced markets.
- Service model: whether you work with a dedicated agent, a team, or a matching platform, and what’s included at the stated fee.
- Agent quality and selection: the size of the agent network, brokerage affiliations, and whether you can compare or choose your agent.
- Fee transparency: whether pricing is clearly disclosed upfront, without hidden charges or variable conditions.
- Customer experience: patterns in verified reviews across Google, BBB, Trustpilot, and Consumer Affairs, with a focus on communication, negotiation outcomes, and post-sale support.
We cross-checked all pricing claims against each company’s public pricing pages, listing agreements where available, and market-level commission data from our 2026 nationwide survey.
Where each competitor outperforms our top pick
Clever isn’t the cheapest service on this list, and it isn’t the highest-rated on every platform. Being honest about that matters more than the ranking.
Houwzer’s 1% listing fee is lower than Clever’s 1.5%.[6] If you’re in one of Houwzer’s roughly 13 covered states and your home is priced high enough that the 0.5% difference matters more than agent choice, Houwzer wins on price.
Ideal Agent’s Trustpilot rating (5.0/5 across 6,910 reviews) is higher than Clever’s,[7] though most of Ideal Agent's reviews are solicited at the point of transaction (Trustpilot labels them “Invited”), which inflates ratings industrywide.
Prevu’s buyer rebate program (up to 2% cash back in NYC) beats Clever's $250 rebate for buying with an agent and $500 for buying and selling.[8] If you’re buying in one of Prevu’s metro markets and your purchase price is high enough to clear the minimum commission threshold, Prevu beats Clever on the buyer side.
Redfin’s in-house technology (online dashboard, app integration, photography pipeline) is more mature than what most matching services provide. If you want one branded experience end-to-end and you’re in a top metro, Redfin wins on workflow polish even though its customer satisfaction scores lag.
What are the tradeoffs?
The savings are real, but so are the risks and downsides. Here are the top ones to consider:
- Minimums can erase the discount. A $3,000 to $9,000 floor changes the math on lower-priced homes. Confirm the minimum for your market before counting on the advertised rate.
- Team handoffs. "Maybe you meet with one agent who's the face of the team, and then you have a junior agent that just got their license six months ago handling the negotiations of your contract," says Christina Rordam, an Orlando REALTOR with 21 years of experience.[9] Get names, not "our team."
- A cheap fee on a bad agent is expensive. An agent who underprices your home by $20,000 wipes out the commission savings several times over, and every extra month on the market adds mortgage interest, taxes, and insurance.
How to choose a low commission agent
Reputation should outweigh rate. 35% of recent sellers said an agent's reputation was the most important factor in their decision, versus just 4% who prioritized commission, per NAR's 2025 survey.[10]
- Get the fee in writing, including any minimum for your market and exactly which services it covers.
- Check recent closings, not star ratings. Ask each candidate how many listings they closed in your zip code in the past year and their average days on market. Five-star reviews with zero recent closings is a red flag.
- Compare at least two services. Fees, minimums, and agent quality vary enough by market that the best option in Charlotte can be the wrong one in Sacramento.
What sellers really think about low-commission agents
What sellers really think about low commission agents
The awareness gap
Would you trust a 1.5% agent as much as a 3% agent?
Why sellers skip a low commission agent
Aided brand awareness
Anytime Estimate surveyed 500 U.S. adults who sold a home in the previous 12 months. Fielded July 2026. Percentages are rounded and may not total 100%.
* Service-quality figures reflect only the 45 respondents who used a low commission agent, so treat them as directional rather than precise.
Most of the debate about low-commission agents happens without the people who have actually used one. We went to the source. In our 2026 survey of 500 U.S. home sellers, a handful of findings stood out, and most of them go against the idea that a lower fee buys you a worse sale.
The most common reasons sellers skip a low-commission agent are loyalty to an agent they already planned to use (28%), a friend-or-family connection (24%), and never knowing the option existed (23%).
Only one of those three is about the service itself. The other two are about defaulting to a familiar name before comparing the fee.
On the question that actually worries most sellers, the service, the data is reassuring. 82% of the low-commission sellers we surveyed said their service was as good as or better than that of a traditional agent.
That lines up with what the agents themselves told us: a discounted fee is a business decision, not a signal of lower effort. Trust follows the same pattern. 72% of sellers would trust a 1.5% listing agent to do as good a job as a 3% agent, either fully (31%) or with some doubts (41%).
What is the lowest commission a realtor will take?
The lowest commission you’ll find in 2026 is 1%, offered by Houwzer in its covered markets. Below that, you’re in flat-fee MLS territory rather than full-service representation.
The rate you can actually secure depends on:
- The type of agent. Full-service agents charge more than limited-service agents, regardless of brand. Compare apples to apples: a 1.5% Clever agent and a 1.5% Redfin agent should provide roughly the same scope of work.
- The property. Higher-priced and in-demand homes have more room for fee negotiation, because the agent’s effective dollar take stays meaningful even at a lower percentage. A 1% commission on a $1M sale ($10,000) is still a real payday.
- Local market conditions. Agents are more willing to discount during slower seasons or in oversaturated markets. In Henderson, Nevada, for example, realtor David Baca notes there are 18,000 licensed agents competing for 6,000 active listings, which is part of why discount-heavy brokerages have traction in that market.
For more on negotiating directly with agents, see how to negotiate realtor commission.
Pros and cons of low commission realtors
Choosing a low commission realtor can offer significant financial benefits, but it’s important to weigh both the advantages and potential drawbacks carefully. Here’s a detailed look at the pros and cons:
✅ Pros: Cost savings, full-service
The primary advantage of working with a low commission realtor is the potential to save thousands of dollars on real estate commissions. Traditional realtors typically charge a commission rate of 2.5–3%, but with a low commission realtor, you might only pay 1–1.5%.
The savings can be substantial, particularly with higher-priced homes. For example, a 1% savings on a $1 million home equals $10,000, whereas the same percentage on a $350,000 home results in $3,500 in savings.
Despite these lower fees, many low commission realtors still provide a full range of services. They'll list your property on the MLS, coordinate showings and open houses, negotiate offers, handle all the necessary contracts and paperwork, and guide you through the closing process.
Kristyn Grewell, a former licensed real estate agent in Oklahoma City, pushes back on the common critique that low-commission agents have to cut corners to make the math work.
“It’s often a pretty broad-brush assumption that reduced commission automatically means reduced service, and honestly I think that can be a disservice to the agents themselves. Many of these agents see discounted listings as business they might not otherwise have, or as part of a broader marketing strategy. They may reduce the commission, but they still gain a property to market, a sign in the yard, and future referral opportunities. At the end of the day, discounting commission is a business strategy, not necessarily a reflection of service level.”
Choosing a reputable low commission brand ensures you receive the same comprehensive support you would expect from a higher-priced agent, covering all aspects of the sale from start to finish.
❌ Cons: Some offer less-personalized service
Some discount services have less-personalized service. Team-based brokerages can feel less responsive than working with a single dedicated agent. Coverage varies. Houwzer and Prevu only cover select states. Clever’s network is thinner in some rural markets.
Agent quality varies within services. A discounted fee doesn’t guarantee a good agent; you still have to interview.
Next steps: How to find a low commission realtor
Your next best step is to speak with a few agents, compare your options, and secure a lower fee without compromising service.
Compare options
Most sellers skip this step. Our research found that the most common reasons sellers skip a low-commission agent are loyalty to an agent they already planned to use (28%), a friend-or-family connection (24%), and never knowing the option existed (23%). Compare the top options on our list, and when you speak with agents, compare:
- Their experience with homes like yours
- Their marketing plan and pricing strategy
- The exact fee they'll charge you in writing
Interview and pick your agent
Talk to two or three agents before you decide. Ask:
- How many listings they have closed in your area in the past year
- How they would price your home and why
- What services are included in their fee, and what is extra
Choose the agent who gives you a clear plan, communicates well, and is transparent about commissions.
Final tip: Get the fee and services in writing
Before you sign a listing agreement, make sure it spells out:
- The listing commission you'll pay
- Any minimum fees or added costs
- What is included in their service package
If something is unclear, ask for changes before you sign. You can always walk away and interview another agent.
Anytime Estimate Methodology
Why you should trust us
Expert voices in this article
How we rank low commission realtors
Click any criterion to expand6
Services evaluated
5
Original expert interviews
23,000+
Reviews analyzed
50
States with our original commission data
FAQ
What's the lowest commission a realtor will take?
The lowest full-service rate in 2026 is 1%, offered by Houwzer in its covered markets. Below that, you're in flat-fee MLS territory, which is a different product with no support for showings, negotiations, or closings.
Are low commission realtors legit?
Yes. In our July 2026 survey of 500 recent home sellers, 82% of those who used a low commission service said the service was as good as or better than a traditional agent's, and 72% would trust a 1.5% agent to do as good a job as a 3% agent.
Do I still have to pay the buyer's agent?
Usually, some or all of it. Buyer agent fees average 2.6% to 2.7% nationally, and most sellers still cover them to keep offers competitive.
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