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Real Brokerage vs Century 21: What Each Publishes About Agent Costs
Updated
Bottom line: Real publishes one split, cap and fee schedule for every agent. Every Century 21 office is an independently owned franchise that sets its own terms, and neither the brand nor its owner, Compass, publishes an agent's split, cap or fees.
Alexis Ruiz-Ney, Partner, Jumpstart Partners · Concierge Director, Houston Properties TeamOr call (713) 425-4194.
Who sets what a Century 21 agent pays?
The office does. Century 21's own franchise page says each franchise is independently owned and operated, and Compass, which owns the brand, says it does not control its franchisees day to day and that they manage their own relationships with their agents. So no national split, cap or fee is published for Century 21 agents.
A franchise itself is offered only through a Franchise Disclosure Document, the brand's franchise page says, and that document is not posted on the site.
| What is compared | Real | Century 21 |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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. | A royalty on its commission income. Compass's filings list a flat percentage, a model capped per agent and a tiered model across its brands, without naming Century 21's. |
| 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. | 21Online, the brand intranet, and products by MoxiWorks. Compass plans to bring its Home Platform to its franchise network in 2027. |
| Canada | Real runs its own brokerage in six provinces. | Century 21 Canada, a Canadian-owned company using the brand under license, with nearly 400 offices and its own HUB21 tools. |
| Agents | 35,348 at the end of June 2026. | More than 126,000 in about 11,000 offices worldwide, as of June 2025. |
Who owns Century 21, and what does a franchise pay it?
Compass owns the Century 21 trademark. It completed its merger with Anywhere Real Estate on 9 January 2026, and Century 21 is one of the franchise brands that came with it. Century 21 is not among the brands Compass lists for its own offices.
A franchised office pays a royalty on its commission income. Compass's filings describe three kinds of royalty model across its franchise brands (a flat percentage, a model capped at a set amount per agent per year, and a tiered model), and Anywhere's last annual report described a volume-based model for certain brands that starts at 6% of the office's commission income. Neither filing says which model Century 21 franchisees pay. 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 Century 21 agent who moves to Real?
An agent's split, cap and fees become published figures: Real's split is 85/15 for every agent in a country, with a $12,000 cap in the US, and every fee is in its 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 Century 21 agents.
In Canada, Century 21 is a separate Canadian company, which says it is Canadian owned, operated and family-run, and uses the brand under license. 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 Century 21 office?
The office does. Every Century 21 office is an independently owned and operated franchise, and Compass, which has owned the brand since January 2026, says it does not control its franchisees day to day and that they manage their own relationships with their agents. Neither Century 21 nor Compass publishes a split, cap or fee for Century 21 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. Century 21 sits beside ten other brokerages on the page setting out what each brokerage publishes about splits, caps and fees.
Who runs Century 21 in Canada?
Century 21 Canada, a separate company that uses the brand under license from its owner. It describes itself as Canadian owned, operated and family-run, with a network of nearly 400 offices and over 11,700 members coast to coast, and its own HUB21 tools, powered by MoxiWorks. It publishes no split or fee for its agents.
Real runs its own brokerage in six Canadian provinces, with fees set in Canadian dollars and a $15,000 cap. How a license moves in each province is set out on the page about moving your license to Real, state by state and province by province.
This page sets Real's published terms beside what Century 21 and Compass publish, as each read in the month shown, and it is not legal or tax advice. At a Century 21 office, your agreement with that office sets your split and fees.