A 6% commission on a $450,000 home is $27,000. A flat fee MLS listing starts at $99 — with the same MLS exposure and no listing commission at closing.
In a traditional listing, the seller signs a listing agreement with a brokerage and agrees to pay a percentage of the final sale price at closing. Historically that total has often landed near 5–6%, split between the listing brokerage and the brokerage representing the buyer.
The important part: that percentage is charged on the entire sale price, not on the work performed. A home that sells in a weekend costs the same percentage as one that takes six months. As prices rise, the dollar amount rises with them.
Commission rates have always been negotiable, and since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately rather than advertised through the MLS. Sellers now have more room to unbundle the two halves — which is exactly what a flat fee MLS listing does.
Traditional 6% total commission vs. a $99 flat fee listing plus a 2.5% buyer-agent commission.
Illustrative comparison only. Actual commissions are negotiable and vary by market and brokerage. Flat fee shown at the $99 standard tier; $149 and $188 tiers include additional listing features, and certain states require $299 pricing due to local brokerage requirements. Buyer-agent compensation, if you choose to offer it, is separate from your flat fee.
Adjust your sale price, the buyer-agent commission you plan to offer, and your flat fee tier.
$299 applies in states with additional brokerage requirements. Check your state.
Comparing a discount brokerage instead? See flat fee vs. a 1% listing fee.
Paying less does not mean listing somewhere else. It is the same MLS.
Your listing goes on the local MLS that full-commission agents use — the database every buyer's agent searches daily.
Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin and hundreds of partner sites pull from the MLS, so your home shows up where buyers browse.
You pay your flat fee upfront. There is no percentage-based listing commission taken out of your proceeds.
Pricing strategy, showing coordination, negotiation, and closing follow-up. If you want support on those pieces, our free AI tools cover valuation, listing descriptions, seller disclosures, and net proceeds — and higher tiers add more listing features. Browse the tools.
What sellers ask before walking away from 6%.
Same MLS. Same portals. No percentage-based listing commission at closing.
