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Real Brokerage vs Sotheby's International Realty: What Each Publishes
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Bottom line: Real publishes one split, cap and fee schedule for every agent. Sotheby's International Realty, run by Compass under license, is company-owned and franchised offices admitted by qualification, and none of them 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 Sotheby's International Realty agent pays?
The office does, and there are two kinds. Compass runs Sotheby's International Realty offices of its own and also franchises the brand, and the brand's join page says each office is independently owned and operated and that affiliation is granted only to brokerages and individuals meeting strict qualifications. At the owned offices, Anywhere Real Estate's last annual report said each agent's share of the commission is set in that agent's own independent contractor agreement; at a franchised office, Compass says the franchisee manages its own relationships with its agents. Neither publishes a split, cap or fee.
| What is compared | Real | Sotheby's International Realty |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the split | Real, the same for every agent: 85/15. | At an owned office, each agent's own contract. At a franchised office, the franchisee. |
| 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, at a rate not published for this brand. Compass pays Sotheby's 9.5% of the brand's net royalties. |
| 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. |
| Canada | Real runs its own brokerage in six provinces. | Sotheby's International Realty Canada, the trading name of Max Wright Real Estate Corporation. Peerage announced in 2019 that it had bought its operations and franchise rights. |
| Agents | 35,348 at the end of June 2026. | 26,100 sales associates, on its join page in March 2026. |
Who owns the brand, and what does it cost the office?
Sotheby's owns the name. Compass runs, franchises and operates the brand under a long-term license and pays Sotheby's 9.5% of the net royalties the brand's franchisees earn, including its own company-owned offices. Compass took the brand on with its merger with Anywhere Real Estate on 9 January 2026, and outside the US it franchises the brand directly to independent owner-operators.
A franchised office pays Compass a royalty on its commission income. Compass's filings describe a flat percentage, a model capped per agent per year and a tiered model across its franchise brands without naming the one this brand uses, and across all of those brands the average net royalty was $505 per US transaction side in the quarter to June 2026.
What changes for a Sotheby's International Realty agent who moves to Real?
Real publishes all three: its 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 this brand's agents.
In Canada, Sotheby's International Realty Canada asks for a minimum of three years' industry experience and gives agents a branded website and its Guestbook and Folio tools. 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 Sotheby's International Realty?
The office does. At an office Compass owns, each agent's share of the commission is set in that agent's own independent contractor agreement; at a franchised office, the independently owned franchisee manages its own relationships with its agents. Neither the brand nor Compass publishes a split, cap or fee, and the brand admits brokerages and agents only on qualification.
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.
Who owns Sotheby's International Realty?
Sotheby's owns the name, and Compass runs the brand under a long-term license, paying Sotheby's 9.5% of the net royalties the brand earns. Compass took it on with its merger with Anywhere Real Estate on 9 January 2026 and operates some offices itself. In Canada the brand is run by Sotheby's International Realty Canada, whose operations and franchise rights Peerage announced it had bought in 2019.
Compass also owns Coldwell Banker and Century 21 and runs Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate under license. What that merger added is set out on the page about what changes for an agent between Real Brokerage and Compass.
This page sets Real's published terms beside what Sotheby's International Realty and Compass publish, as each read in the month shown, and it is not legal or tax advice. At a Sotheby's International Realty office, your agreement with that office sets your split and fees.