The money
The Money at Real: Split, Cap, Fees, Revenue Share and Stock
Updated
Bottom line: Real pays every agent on an 85/15 split until the yearly cap, then charges a fee on each deal instead. The cap is $12,000 in the US and $15,000 in Canadian dollars in Canada, and a sponsor is paid out of Real's share, never the agent's.
Alexis Ruiz-Ney, Partner, Jumpstart Partners · Concierge Director, Houston Properties TeamOr call (713) 425-4194.
What does Real charge an agent who joins?
Real's commission split is 85/15 for all agents. Real takes 15% of each commission until the agent pays the annual cap, and after that it charges a fee per deal instead. The split is written into the Independent Contractor Agreement (ICA), and Real's help center says it is not open to change at this time.
The table sets Real's US and Canadian fee schedules for an individual agent side by side, as both read in August 2026, with Canada's amounts in Canadian dollars. The cap resets every year on the agent's anniversary date, and the US Elite fee applies to transactions created on or after 1 September 2026. Neither schedule lists a monthly fee.
Where does a sponsor's pay come from?
Real pays it. Its help center says agents who bring other agents to Real as a sponsor are eligible for a pre-defined portion of Real's 15% split, and that revenue share is paid out of that 15%. Nothing comes out of the joining agent's commission for it, and nobody pays revenue share to their own sponsor or to anyone above that sponsor.
Real's model pays higher percentages on the first tiers of agents a sponsor brings to Real: 5% of the sponsored agent's gross commission income at the first tier, down to 1% at the fifth. The page on revenue share in this section sets out how the tiers open and who gets paid.
Does Real give agents stock?
Through a stock purchase plan, agents can set aside part of their commission to buy shares. Real's help center says the plan invests 5% of net commission income before the cap and 10% after it, and that agents can opt in and out at any time.
Agents who pay the annual cap to Real in their anniversary year are also eligible for additional stock awards. The help center still calls the shares Real's. The release announcing the RE/MAX combination's completion put Real REMAX Group's shares on Nasdaq under the symbol REAX from 25 August 2026.
An agent who reaches Elite status also receives a stock award of $12,000 in the US or $15,000 in Canadian dollars, in restricted stock units that vest over three years. The page on Elite status in this section sets out how to qualify.
Standing answers
What does this library answer?
- Elite Agent Status at Real: How to Qualify and What It Changes, in the US and CanadaAn agent on Real's full cap reaches Elite by paying $6,000 in post-cap fees in the US, or $9,000 in Canadian dollars, or by $500,000 in GCI and 10 deals of $1 million or more. The post-cap fee then drops to $100, or $150 in Canada.
- How the Team Cap Works at Real for Team Leaders and Team MembersOn a Real team, a member can owe two caps: Real's company cap and a team cap the leader sets. On a ProTeam, Real puts the leader on a $12,000 cap in the US or $15,000 in Canada, and members on $6,000 or $12,000, or $7,500 or $15,000 in Canada.
- Revenue Share at Real: The Five Tiers, How They Open and Who Gets PaidReal pays revenue share out of its own 15% split: 5% of a sponsored agent's gross commission income at the first tier, down to 1% at the fifth, and only while that agent is paying the split. The percentages are the same in the US and Canada.
- What Real Takes From Each Commission, Before and After the CapBefore the cap, Real takes 15% of each commission. After it, a fee per deal replaces the split, while the compliance and broker review fee and the year's three brokerage fee installments apply either way. The cap resets each anniversary.
Questions & answers
What do agents in the US and Canada ask about the money?
I'm comparing brokerages. What does Real charge an agent?
Real pays every agent on an 85/15 split: Real takes 15% of each commission until the agent pays the annual cap, which in the US is $12,000 for an individual agent and resets on the anniversary date. After the cap, Real charges US agents $285 per sale or $125 per lease, or 15% if that is less. Real's US fee schedule also lists a $249 sign-up fee, a $50 compliance and broker review fee on every transaction and a $900 annual brokerage fee.
The split is set in the Independent Contractor Agreement, and Real's help center says it is not open to change at this time. The $900 brokerage fee is paid from the first three transactions of each anniversary year. Once an agent reaches Elite status, Real's post-cap fee drops to $100 on transactions created on or after 1 September 2026. In Canada, Real's own schedule sets the cap at $15,000 and the post-cap fee at $375 a sale, in Canadian dollars.
What does Real charge after I cap, and did that fee change recently?
After the cap, Real stops taking its 15% and charges a US post-cap fee of $285 on each sale and $125 on each lease, or 15% of the commission if that is less. Real's US fee schedule, edited in August 2026, adds that once an agent reaches Elite status the fee drops to $100, for transactions created on or after 1 September 2026.
Real's US cap for an individual agent is $12,000, and it resets on the agent's anniversary date, so the post-cap fee applies for the rest of that anniversary year. The $50 compliance and broker review fee still applies to every transaction Real processes, capped or not. Canada's schedule charges $375 a sale and $125 a lease after the cap, falling to $150 at Elite status, all in Canadian dollars, and its cap is $15,000.
Does my sponsor's revenue share come out of my commission at Real?
No. Real pays revenue share out of its own 15% split, and none of it comes from the agent's side of the commission. Real's help center says agents who bring other agents to Real as a sponsor are eligible for a pre-defined portion of that 15%, and that you do not pay revenue share to your sponsor or to anyone above your sponsor.
Real's revenue share model pays higher percentages on the first tiers of agents a sponsor brings to Real. Because the money comes out of Real's share, the sponsor you name leaves your own split with Real as it was. Who can be a sponsor, and how to choose one, is set out on the page about what a sponsor at Real does.
Does Real give agents stock?
Real runs a stock purchase plan that agents can opt into and out of at any time. Before the cap, 5% of an agent's net commission income goes into stock, and after the cap 10% does, according to Real's help center. Agents who pay the annual cap to Real in their anniversary year are also eligible for additional stock awards.
The help center still describes the shares as Real's. Since the RE/MAX combination closed, the listed company is Real REMAX Group Inc., whose shares trade on Nasdaq under the symbol REAX from 25 August 2026.
What are Real's cap and fees in Canada?
Real's Canadian fee schedule, edited in August 2026, has an agent pay 15% of each commission until a cap of $15,000. After the cap, Real charges $375 a sale or $125 a lease, or 15% if that is less, and $150 a sale once the agent reaches Elite status. The schedule also lists a $249 sign-up fee and a $40 compliance and broker review fee on every transaction, all in Canadian dollars.
The annual Brokerage and Risk Management Fee is $1,200, paid from the first three transactions of each anniversary year, and the schedule lists no monthly fees. On a team plan, the leader's cap is $15,000 and a member's $7,500. Which provinces Real works in, how a license moves in each, and what a Canadian agent sets up beside the fees are on the page about moving to Real in Canada.