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Real Brokerage vs Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate: What Each Publishes
Updated
Bottom line: Real publishes one split, cap and fee schedule for every agent. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is all independently owned franchises, run by Compass under license, and it publishes no agent split, cap or fees.
Alexis Ruiz-Ney, Partner, Jumpstart Partners · Concierge Director, Houston Properties TeamOr call (713) 425-4194.
Who sets what a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate agent pays?
The office does. The brand's careers site says each Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate franchise is independently owned and operated, and Compass, which runs the brand, says it does not control its franchisees day to day and that they manage their own relationships with their agents. No split, cap or fee for the brand's agents is published.
| What is compared | Real | Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the split | Real, the same for every agent: 85/15. | Each independently owned franchise. |
| Yearly cap | $12,000 in the US and $15,000 in Canada. | None published for the agent. The office's royalty to the brand is capped per agent, at an amount not published. |
| Monthly fee | None. | None published. |
| Fees on each transaction | $50 in the US and $40 in Canada, for compliance and broker review. | None published. |
| What the office pays the brand | Not applicable: Real is itself the brokerage. | Generally 5% of its commission income, capped at a set amount per agent each year, for offices that joined since 2019 or chose that model. |
| Revenue share | Five tiers, 5% down to 1% of a sponsored agent's gross commission, paid out of Real's 15%. | None described in Compass's filings or Anywhere's last annual report. |
| Technology | reZEN, Real's own. | The MoxiWorks platform. Compass plans to bring its Home Platform to its franchise network in 2027. |
| Canada | Real runs its own brokerage in six provinces. | Compass says it franchises the brand directly outside the US in some cases. No Canadian terms are published. |
| Agents | 35,348 at the end of June 2026. | 12,000+ affiliated agents, on its careers site in September 2026. |
Who owns the brand, and what does a franchise pay?
Compass runs Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate under a long-term license from Meredith, which owns the name, and pays Meredith 9.0% of the net royalties the brand's franchisees generate. It took the brand on with its merger with Anywhere Real Estate on 9 January 2026.
Anywhere's last annual report said the brand uses a capped fee model, which has applied to every new franchisee since 2019 and to older franchisees who chose to switch: the office pays a royalty of generally 5% of its commission income, capped at a set amount per agent per year. The report does not give the amount. Across all of Compass's franchise brands, the average net royalty was $505 per US transaction side in the quarter to June 2026.
What changes for a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate agent who moves to Real?
At Real the split, the cap and the fees are all published: the split is 85/15 for every agent in a country, with a $12,000 cap in the US, and every fee is in Real's US fee schedule. Real also pays revenue share out of its own 15% split to the agent who sponsored you, which Compass's filings do not describe for this brand's agents.
In Canada, Compass says it franchises the brand directly in some countries outside the US, and neither it nor the brand publishes Canadian terms. Real's Canadian terms are in its Canadian fee schedule, set in Canadian dollars, with a $15,000 cap.
Questions & answers
What else do agents in the US and Canada ask?
Who sets the commission split at a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate office?
The office does. Every Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate office is an independently owned franchise, and Compass, which runs the brand under license, says it does not control its franchisees day to day and that they manage their own relationships with their agents. Neither the brand nor Compass publishes a split, cap or fee for the brand's agents.
Real publishes one split for every agent, 85/15, with a $12,000 cap in the US and $15,000 in Canadian dollars in Canada. The brand sits beside ten other brokerages on the page setting out what each brokerage publishes about splits, caps and fees.
What is the royalty cap at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate?
It is a cap on what the franchised office pays the brand, not on what an agent pays the office. Anywhere Real Estate's annual report for 2024 said offices on the brand's capped fee model pay a royalty of generally 5% of their commission income, capped at a set amount per agent per year. The amount of that cap is not published.
What an agent pays the office is in the agent's own agreement with it. Real's cap is an agent's own: 15% of each commission until $12,000 in the US, with the team cap set out on the page about how the team cap works at Real for leaders and members.
This page sets Real's published terms beside what Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and Compass publish, as each read in the month shown, and it is not legal or tax advice. At a franchised office, your agreement with that office sets your split and fees.