Coldwell Banker Commission Split (2026): Real Plans, Royalty and Fees

There is no single Coldwell Banker commission split. Most Coldwell Banker offices are franchises, and each one sets its own split, cap and fees. Coldwell Banker charges the office a royalty on its gross commission income.

The published office plans I found start at 70 to 80 percent for the agent. They rise to 90 or 100 percent with production. Both published office plans I found also charge a franchise fee of 6 or 6.5 percent on each commission.

This guide shows those real plans, what the royalty is, and what you keep at three income levels. It also covers what Compass has and has not changed since it bought Coldwell Banker's parent in January 2026. Sources were checked on 13 October 2026.

Where I stand: I am a Realtor with Samson Properties, not Coldwell Banker, and I run Jamil Academy, which sells training to agents. No brokerage paid to be mentioned. The one product block near the end is my own.

How does the Coldwell Banker commission split work?

Short answer: the office you join sets the split. Coldwell Banker itself does not publish one split for every agent.

Coldwell Banker runs two kinds of offices. Most are franchises: independent businesses that license the brand. Some are company-owned and operate as Coldwell Banker Realty.

A franchise owner decides your split, any cap, the monthly fee and each transaction fee. The owner also decides whether you carry part of the royalty the office pays to Coldwell Banker.

Anywhere Real Estate, the parent company until 2026, said its franchisees are "independent business operators." Agent pay is set by each agent's independent contractor agreement.

Anywhere Real Estate Form 10-K for 2024, filed with the SEC in February 2025.

Franchise or company-owned: how to tell

Coldwell Banker websites carry a footer about the whole system. It says the system "is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated."

That line covers both kinds, so it will not tell you which one you are looking at. Look for the operating company's own name on the office's site.

Then ask the recruiter directly whether the office is a franchise or part of Coldwell Banker Realty. The answer tells you who sets your plan and who can change it.

Three numbers decide what you keep

• The split. The share of each commission you keep. Many plans step up as your gross commission income, or GCI, grows.
• The franchise fee. Whether a royalty-style fee comes out of your commission, and whether it comes out before or after the split.
• Fixed fees. Monthly fees, per-transaction fees and E&O insurance. These cost the same in a slow year as in a busy one.

Most recruiting pages lead with the first number. The other two can move your income by thousands of dollars a year.

Why the split headline can mislead

An 80 percent split sounds simple. But if a 6.5 percent fee comes off the top first, you keep 80 percent of 93.5 percent. That is 74.8 percent of the commission, before any other fee.

My view: never compare two offices on the split alone. Ask for the whole fee schedule in writing and price a full year.

What does Coldwell Banker charge its offices?

Short answer: a royalty on the office's gross commission income. Coldwell Banker's tiered model starts at 5.5 percent and steps down to a 3 percent minimum as the office earns more during the year.

Anywhere's 2024 annual report describes several royalty models. Two matter here. Several brands used a royalty "initially equal to 6% of the franchisee's gross commission income," reduced by volume incentives.

Coldwell Banker's residential franchise business added a different option in 2021. The report calls it a "tiered royalty fee model."

How the tiered royalty works

• It starts at 5.5 percent of the franchisee's gross commission income.
• It steps down during the calendar year as the office reaches income thresholds.
• The floor is 3 percent. The report says the rate falls "to a minimum of 3%."
• Thresholds can change each year. Offices on the tiered model are generally not eligible for volume incentives.

The report does not publish the thresholds. So an office's actual average royalty depends on its size and its year. A large office may pay well under 5.5 percent.

Marketing fund contributions

Franchisees and company-owned offices also make "monthly contributions to marketing funds maintained by each brand."

The sections of the 2024 report I read give no percentage or dollar figure for these.

Who pays the royalty

The royalty is part of the franchise agreement between Coldwell Banker and the office owner. The parts of the annual report I read never say agents pay it.

Whether you pay some of it depends on your office's plan. That is the next question, and it is the one most agents forget to ask.

Source: Anywhere Real Estate 2024 Form 10-K, Franchise Group section.

Why the royalty matters even if you never pay it

An office has to cover its royalty, rent, staff and marketing from its share of each commission. A higher royalty leaves less room for a generous split.

So an office that pays close to 3 percent can afford better terms than one paying 5.5 percent. Larger offices reach the lower tiers sooner in the year.

My view: a royalty that falls to 3 percent for the office is not the same as a fee you pay. If your office charges a flat 6 percent, ask whether that changes when the office's own rate drops.

Do Coldwell Banker agents pay the franchise fee?

Short answer: at some offices, yes. Two Coldwell Banker offices publish a 6 or 6.5 percent fee for agents. Others do not mention a fee.

Sources: CB Tomlinson agent commission schedule (PDF) and CB Choice Properties "Our business model" page, read 13 October 2026.

Before or after the split?

This detail changes your check. On $100,000 of commission and a 90 percent split, a 6 percent fee can be handled three ways:

• The office pays it: you keep $90,000.
• It comes off the top, then the split: you keep $84,600.
• It comes from your share after the split: you keep $84,000.

Those figures are my arithmetic, not any office's plan. The point is that the same split can pay you up to $6,000 less a year.

What it looks like on one commission

Take a $10,000 side at an office with an 80 percent split and a 6.5 percent fee taken off the top. Your statement should read like this:

If the fee came from your share instead, you would get $7,350. Check your first statement against your plan, line by line.

A dispute that shows why it matters

In 2023, agents sued Coldwell Banker Seacoast Advantage in Wilmington, North Carolina, as Inman reported on 10 March 2023. Their contracts deducted a 6 percent franchise fee before the split.

The agents alleged that Coldwell Banker had cut fees for its largest franchisees to "as low as three percent," while the office kept charging them 6 percent. The office's lawyer called the claims "a complete fabrication." I could not find how the case ended.

These are allegations, not findings. But they show why you should ask what your office pays, not only what it charges you.

My view: if an office passes the royalty to you, ask for it as a line on your commission statement. A clear line is easier to check and easier to negotiate.

What do real Coldwell Banker offices offer agents?

Short answer: the two published schedules I found run from 70 to 100 percent. Both also charge a franchise fee of 6 or 6.5 percent.

Most Coldwell Banker offices do not publish their plans. These are the ones that printed real numbers on a page I could open.

Sources: thecbthub.com commission schedule PDF and coldwellbankerchoice.com/our-business-model, read 13 October 2026. Neither page says whether the office is still on these terms today.

Other details in the Tomlinson schedule

• Your own home: one personal residence a year with no company share. After that, $500 a transaction if you waive the commission.
• Relocation and referral leads: 60/40, or 65/35 if the client asked for you by name.
• No cap: the schedule does not mention one. The top band stays at 90/10.

Older figures you may still see quoted

Inman reported in August 2018 that Coldwell Banker Danforth, a Seattle-based franchise, charged $325 a month plus $250 a transaction on a 100 percent plan.

That is eight years old. I include it only because it still turns up in searches. Do not use it to judge a 2026 offer.

Offices that describe a plan but print no numbers

• CB Elite in Fredericksburg, Virginia mentions a "CAP commission program."
• CB Chesapeake in Easton, Maryland offers a "generous sliding scale commission plan."
• A Coldwell Banker Premier job listing for Basye, Virginia promises a "competitive commission structure."

My view: an office that will not put its plan in writing before you join is asking for trust it has not earned yet. Ask for the schedule anyway. Most will send it.

How much do you keep at different income levels?

Short answer: on these two plans, the capped one costs less at every level I tested. The gap is largest for high producers.

How I did the math

• The franchise fee comes off the top. Neither page says when the fee is taken. I assumed before the split, as in the Seacoast contracts Inman described.
• Tomlinson's bands apply to gross commission. The first $30,000 is split 70/30, the next $30,000 80/20, and the rest 90/10.
• Choice's $15,000 cap covers the office's share only. I did not count the royalty toward it.
• Some fees are missing. Choice's document review fee and E&O are not priced on its page, so its real cost is a little higher.

Why the capped plan pulls ahead

Choice stops taking an office share at $15,000. After that, only the 6.5 percent fee comes out. Tomlinson keeps taking 10 percent of every dollar above $60,000.

At low income, the plans are closer than the table suggests. Tomlinson's $110 a month includes E&O, signs and lockboxes, which Choice agents may pay for separately.

My view: for a newer agent, the first $30,000 matters most. A 70/30 start costs real money in year one. Ask whether the office's training and leads make up for it.

Which Coldwell Banker plan keeps more for you?

Short answer: the one that leaves more after a full year of fees. Put in your own income and both offices' terms.

The calculator starts with the two published plans above. Change any number to match the plans you are offered. It handles graduated splits, a cap and a franchise fee.

How to use it

• Use last year's GCI, not your goal. A plan should work in an ordinary year.
• Ask how the fee is charged. Then pick the matching option. Before or after the split changes the result.
• Add every fixed fee to the yearly box: E&O, technology and any brand fee the office lists.
• Try three incomes. Your slow year, your normal year and your goal.

Your local board and MLS dues are usually the same whichever office you join, so they are left out. I break those down in what it costs to be a Realtor.

Is Coldwell Banker Realty different from a franchise office?

Short answer: yes. It is company-owned, and it does not publish its split. Terms are set in each agent's contract.

Coldwell Banker Realty is the brand's company-owned brokerage. Its careers page says its agents "are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees." It shows no split, cap or fee table.

What the annual report shows

At the end of 2024, Anywhere's owned brokerage had about 52,900 agents in about 580 offices. That group ran Coldwell Banker Realty along with Corcoran and Sotheby's International Realty offices.

In 2024 it reported $4,629 million of gross commission income. It also reported $3,718 million of "commission and other agent-related costs."

That is about 80 percent, my calculation. It is an average across every owned office and agent, including teams and referrals. It is not anyone's split.

Company-owned offices still pay the brand. The owned brokerage paid $319 million in royalties and marketing fees to Anywhere's franchise group in 2024.

Source: Anywhere Real Estate 2024 Form 10-K, income statement and Owned Brokerage Group section.

Questions for a company-owned office

• Is my split set by my production, my tenure or my manager?
• Does the office pass any brand fee or marketing fee to me?
• Which company leads come with a different split, and what is it?
• Will any new technology from Compass carry a fee?

My view: at a company-owned office, your contract is the plan. Ask for the split, any cap and every fee in the offer letter, not on a recruiting call.

What changed when Compass bought Coldwell Banker?

Short answer: the owner changed. I found no announced change to Coldwell Banker splits, royalties or agent fees through 13 October 2026.

Compass's second quarter 2026 report says: "On January 9, 2026, the Company completed its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate Inc."

Anywhere ran Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Corcoran, Sotheby's International Realty (under license) and other brands. They all now sit under Compass.

The same filing puts the total purchase consideration at $2,569 million. Some news reports used a lower figure. I use the SEC number.

Source: Compass Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, Notes 1 and 3.

What Compass and Coldwell Banker have said

• On closing day, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said: "Our affiliates will continue to have the same independence they've always had." Real Estate News reported this on 9 January 2026.
• On the brand, Coldwell Banker CEO Kamini Lane said: "The Coldwell Banker brand will never be swapped out for Compass." Real Estate News reported this on 8 August 2026.
• On technology, Compass released its Home Platform in July to more than 4,000 agents at Coldwell Banker Realty, Corcoran and Sotheby's International Realty. It said nearly 50,000 should have it by the end of September. HousingWire reported franchise agents get it "beginning in Q1 2027."

What did change in 2026

• Coldwell Banker Warburg, the company-owned brokerage in New York City, is becoming "Warburg at Compass," Inman reported on 24 July 2026.
• Coldwell Banker Reliable Real Estate, the brand's largest New York City franchise, left in April 2026 and relaunched as an independent firm, MYNY. The Real Deal put the new firm at 135 agents.
• Owned-brokerage headcount fell from 84,187 to 83,184 agents in the second quarter. Compass said the drop was "driven primarily by a strategy at a specific brand acquired through the Anywhere transaction." It did not name the brand.

None of these announcements gave a new split, cap or royalty rate.

What the franchise network pays per side

Compass reports a net royalty per franchise side. It was $505 in the second quarter of 2026, against $591 a year earlier. In the first quarter it was $440, against $660.

Those year-earlier figures cover only Compass's pre-merger franchise network, Christie's International Real Estate. So the comparison is not like for like.

Compass says the drop came mainly from adding Anywhere's franchise sales, which have lower average prices. On its pro forma basis, the second-quarter figure rose 5.4 percent from $479.

For an agent, this number is context, not a bill. It shows what offices pay on average per side. It does not tell you what your office charges you.

The figure covers Compass's whole franchise network, not Coldwell Banker alone. Compass does not break it out by brand.

Is Coldwell Banker covered by the commission settlement?

Yes. Anywhere agreed to pay $83.5 million to settle the Burnett, Moehrl and Nosalek commission cases. The court gave final approval on 9 May 2024.

Anywhere said the settlement releases "all subsidiaries, brands, affiliated agents, and franchisees." Practice changes were required at its owned brokerage for five years. Franchisees were only encouraged to adopt them.

My view: watch the 2027 technology rollout. Brokerages that add platforms often add a technology fee. None has been announced, but it is a fair question to ask.

How big is Coldwell Banker in 2026?

Short answer: about 93,000 agents in 50 countries. Coldwell Banker's own site gives "93k+ Agents Worldwide" as of 31 December 2025.

A brand that started in 1906

Coldwell Banker traces its start to 1906, after the San Francisco earthquake. Colbert Coldwell founded Tucker, Lynch & Coldwell. Benjamin Arthur Banker joined in 1913.

Still adding offices

The brand said it added 60 new US office locations and 93 international locations in 2025. It now sits inside a much larger group. Compass says it has "more than 300,000 real estate professionals" across owned and franchise offices.

What company-owned offices charged per side

Anywhere's company-owned brokerage reported an average commission rate of 2.37 percent per side in 2024. That is the rate on the whole sale price for one side, before any split.

I compare that figure with every other published source in the average real estate commission guide.

My view: brand size helps with name recognition and relocation referrals. It does not set your split. Your office does.

How does Coldwell Banker compare with RE/MAX, Keller Williams and eXp?

Short answer: they charge in different ways. Coldwell Banker takes a percentage royalty from the office. RE/MAX leans on fixed fees. Keller Williams and eXp use company caps.

Sources: Anywhere Real Estate 2024 Form 10-K; RE/MAX Holdings 2025 Form 10-K; office pages read 12 and 13 October 2026.

Percentage fees versus fixed fees

A percentage fee grows with every sale. A fixed fee costs the same whether you close five deals or fifty.

So a percentage model is easier on a newer agent. A fixed-fee or capped model usually favors a high producer. Check the cap, though, because it decides who wins.

Where the cap models fit

Keller Williams and eXp both use annual caps. eXp sets one cap for the whole company. At Keller Williams, each market center sets its own. I walk through that math in the Keller Williams commission split.

If you are still choosing your first brokerage, the bigger questions are training, leads and mentorship. I cover those in how to choose a brokerage as a new agent.

My view: compare what you keep, not the logo. Run each offer through the calculator at your real income.

What do Coldwell Banker offices in Virginia, Maryland and DC offer?

Short answer: none that I found publish their dollar terms. You will need to ask each office for its schedule.

I looked for Coldwell Banker offices in Virginia, Maryland and DC with a published split, cap or fee. Here is what the pages say:

• CB Elite, Fredericksburg, Virginia: mentions a "CAP commission program," with no figures.
• CB Chesapeake, Easton, Maryland: describes a "generous sliding scale commission plan," with no figures.
• Coldwell Banker Premier: a job listing for Basye, Virginia promises a "competitive commission structure," with no figures.

A local merger worth knowing about

Coldwell Banker Prime, an 18-agent office in Midlothian, Virginia, merged into Coldwell Banker Premier on 7 January 2026. Richmond BizSense reported this on 22 January 2026.

The same report says Premier has more than 350 agents and about two dozen offices in seven states, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic. It ranks 23rd among Coldwell Banker affiliates. No split terms were disclosed.

Adjust the math for local prices

The calculator assumes $10,000 of commission per side. Many Northern Virginia and Maryland sales pay more than that. Change the side field to match your own average.

That matters if a plan charges per transaction. A larger average side means fewer transactions for the same income, so per-side fees cost you less.

My view: in this market, ask two or three local offices for their schedules in the same week. Then compare them line by line.

What should you ask a Coldwell Banker office before you join?

Short answer: ask for the full written schedule, then ask about the fee. These questions cover what the recruiting pitch often skips.

• What is my split, and does it step up? At what GCI, and does it reset each year?
• Is there a cap on the office's share? What counts toward it?
• Do I pay a franchise or royalty fee? What percent, and is it before or after the split?
• Does that fee change if the office's own royalty falls during the year?
• What do I pay every month, and what does it include?
• What do I pay per transaction, including any document review fee?
• How is E&O billed? Is there a cap?
• How are company leads, relocation and referral deals split?
• What happens to my pending deals and listings if I leave?

Get the answers in writing before you sign. If you are moving from another brokerage, plan the move first with how to switch brokerages without losing your clients.

My view: a good office will answer every one of these without hesitation. Slow or vague answers on fees tell you something about the office.

What I could not verify

These are the gaps I hit while checking sources. Be careful with any page that fills them with a confident number.

• Coldwell Banker Realty's split schedule. The company-owned brokerage does not publish one.
• The tiered royalty thresholds. The annual report gives the 5.5 and 3 percent rates, not the income levels between them.
• The marketing fund rate. No percentage or dollar figure was published.
• Whether the two office schedules are current. Tomlinson's was revised in October 2023. Choice's page shows no date or location.
• How the Seacoast lawsuit ended. I found the 2023 filing reports, not a result.
• Any 2026 change to splits or royalties under Compass. None was announced in what I read.
• Which brand Compass trimmed agents at. Compass did not name it.
• Published terms for any Virginia, Maryland or DC office. None found.
• A Coldwell Banker filing for 2025. Anywhere's last annual report covers 2024.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the standard Coldwell Banker commission split?

There is no standard split. Each franchise office sets its own plan. The published plans I found start at 70 or 80 percent and reach 90 or 100 percent.

Do Coldwell Banker agents pay a franchise fee?

At some offices, yes. Two published schedules charge 6 and 6.5 percent of each commission. Ask whether the fee comes off before or after the split.

What royalty does Coldwell Banker charge its franchisees?

Its tiered model starts at 5.5 percent of the office's gross commission income and can fall to a 3 percent minimum during the year.

Does Coldwell Banker cap its commission split?

Some offices do. CB Choice Properties moves agents to 100 percent once the office receives $15,000 in a year. Other offices publish no cap.

Does Coldwell Banker charge desk fees?

It depends on the office. One published schedule charges a $110 monthly administrative fee, which includes E&O. Another says it has no desk fees.

Is Coldwell Banker owned by Compass now?

Yes. Compass completed its purchase of Anywhere Real Estate, Coldwell Banker's parent, on 9 January 2026. The brand continues under its own name.

Is Coldwell Banker Realty a franchise?

No. Coldwell Banker Realty is the company-owned brokerage. It does not publish its split, so terms are in each agent's contract.

Can you negotiate your split at Coldwell Banker?

Often, yes, because each office owner sets the plan. Bring your closed volume and the written terms of any competing offer.

Is Coldwell Banker good for new agents?

It depends on the office. A 70/30 start costs more in year one, so weigh it against the training, leads and mentoring you get.