Key takeaway

If you close enough Maryland deals to cap and work fine without a physical office, Real usually costs less overall. Its cap is a single national number, while Keller Williams caps are set locally by each market center. At the state's $428,768 median sale price for all homes, reaching Real's published cap takes roughly seven to eight sides at an illustrative commission rate. If you want in-person training and a local office, a KW market center is the alternative, ask for its cap sheet before running the math.

Who this guide is for

You are a licensed Maryland agent deciding whether to stay at or move to Keller Williams or join Real, and you want to compare what each would cost you at your own deal volume and price point.

How Real and Keller Williams differ structurally

The structural difference between these two brokerages shapes everything else in the comparison. Real is cloud-based with no physical offices, operating on one national split and cap. Keller Williams operates as a franchise, with independently owned market centers that each set their own cap and fees within corporate rules.

That distinction matters more than most agents expect before they run the math.

How Real is structured

Real is publicly traded under the ticker REAX, which means agents can earn company stock. According to the company's SEC filings, it issues restricted stock units to agents monthly under its incentive programs, which vest over up to three years.

Because it operates entirely in the cloud, you don't pay for physical office space. The tradeoff is real: no desk, no walk-in broker, no local training room. You build your own local network.

How Keller Williams is structured

Two Keller Williams offices in the same state can have different caps because each market center sets its own. According to KW's accounting documentation, each market center independently sets its own cap for the company dollar collected from associates.

Your exact numbers depend entirely on which Maryland office you join. National averages you find online rarely match your local office, so you can't accurately compare KW to anything until you have your specific market center's current cap sheet in hand.

Commission splits and annual caps

Real Brokerage offers an 85/15 commission split to all agents, with a $12,000 annual cap for individual agents and team leaders. Once you hit that cap, you keep 100% of your commission for the rest of your anniversary year. Team members have a lower $6,000 cap. With a 15% company share and that cap, you cap after generating $80,000 in gross commission.

Real's split and cap

That cap applies universally across the country. You can review Real's split, cap, and fees in detail to see how team structures affect these numbers.

Capping doesn't make transactions free. Real still charges per-transaction fees after you cap, and those add up for high-volume agents.

Keller Williams split, royalty, and market center cap

Keller Williams uses a standard 70/30 split between the agent and the market center for the company dollar. A separate royalty fee is deducted from the agent's share, and an annual cap is set on both the company dollar and the royalty amounts.

KW's official materials confirm these caps exist but don't publish a single national dollar figure for either threshold. The royalty and the market center cap are separate milestones, so when someone at a KW office tells you you've "capped," it's worth asking which one they mean.

Fees beyond the cap

Real charges a $900 annual brokerage fee, paid from the first three transactions of the anniversary year, plus a $50 compliance and broker review fee per transaction (which covers E&O) and a $285 post-cap transaction fee per sale.

Keller Williams agents typically pay monthly technology and market center fees, though these vary by location. Ask your market center for every monthly fee and whether they're charged in months you don't close. Fixed costs hit hard in a slow quarter.

How many Maryland closings it takes to cap

The fastest way to compare these brokerages is to calculate how many sides you need to close to reach the gross commission threshold. The math below uses an illustrative commission on one side, not a set Maryland market rate, just a number to show the calculation. Rerun it with your own average sale price and commission rate. You can check agent commissions and rates to see how this varies by transaction.

If you mostly sell condos

At the $282,198 condo median sale price, one illustrative side is about $7,055, which means roughly 11.3 sides to cap. That's nearly twice as many sides as a single-family agent needs to hit the same threshold.

Condos recently sat a median 60 days on the market, so those sides also close later in the year. A lot of condo-heavy agents never cap at all. For them, the pre-cap split and monthly fees decide the comparison, not the cap number.

If you mostly sell townhouses

At the $366,209 townhouse median sale price, one illustrative side is about $9,155, requiring roughly 8.7 sides to reach the annual cap.

Townhouses were the only Maryland property type with prices down year over year in the latest 30-day window, dropping 1%. Because per-side income is slightly lower than a year ago, nearly nine sides is a full year's business for many part-time agents. That means the split you pay before capping matters more than the cap itself.

If you mostly sell single-family homes

At Maryland's single-family median sale price of $503,569, one illustrative side yields about $12,590. Roughly 6.4 sides caps you at Real, so about six or seven closings gets you there.

Higher price points make a fixed cap arrive early in the year. That said, if your market center's cap is also reachable in a handful of single-family deals, the gap between the two brokerages narrows, and KW's in-person support might tip the scales.

Comparing revenue share and profit share

Both brokerages offer programs to earn income by attracting other agents, but the funding sources are different. Real pays from company revenue on recruited agents' deals. KW pays from market center profit. That changes the predictability of your passive income: a productive agent in a struggling office yields different returns depending on which model you're under.

How Real's revenue share works

Real's revenue share is paid from the company's share of each recruited agent's deal, not from office profit. It's calculated as a percentage of the 15% commission split an agent pays to Real before capping, with a Tier 1 sponsor earning up to 5% of a sponsored agent's gross commission income.

Real also grants stock awards to agents who cap, issuing 150 restricted stock units to those who reach the annual cap. You can read more about Real revenue share and Real stock for agents to see the full vesting rules. Revenue share only pays if you recruit productive agents, so it's a non-factor if you don't plan to recruit.

How Keller Williams profit share works

Under the profit share model, market center owners share roughly 50% of their office's monthly profit with associates. The market center has to be profitable that month for a payment to be made.

When an agent joins, they name a sponsor, and part of their commission split funds this pool. Ask your market center for its profit-share payout history for the last few years. If your local office has a weak year or carries high expenses, profit share can shrink even when your recruits are closing deals.

Training, technology, and support

Your daily work environment depends on how you generate business and where you prefer to learn. These two brokerages take opposite approaches to agent support and software, so it's less about which is better and more about which matches how you work.

In-office training at a Keller Williams market center

Agent training is delivered through Keller Williams University, which offers foundational and advanced courses alongside rotating classes at local market centers. KW Command serves as the company's proprietary all-in-one technology platform for lead generation, database management, and marketing.

This setup works well for agents who prefer face-to-face instruction and structured office environments. The catch is that training quality depends on your market center's leadership, and you pay desk and tech fees whether or not you attend.

Real's remote support and app

Real uses a proprietary platform called reZEN that lets agents track referrals, revenue, and action items in one place. Remote broker support and virtual training replace the traditional office setup.

If you already work from your car and laptop, this fits. If you want someone to physically shadow you at a listing appointment, you'll need to find that through a team or mentor, so check how team commission splits work before joining one.

Which brokerage fits your business

Deciding between the two means looking honestly at your own transaction history and how you want to work day to day. Four questions worth sitting with:

1. How many sides do you close a year, and are most of them single-family homes, townhouses, or condos?

2. Do you want a desk, in-person classes, and a local leader you can walk in and see?

3. Do you plan to recruit other agents?

4. Are you on a team, or thinking of joining one?

Start with Real if you want a single, predictable cap you can reach early in the year on higher-priced Maryland sales. Start with your nearest Keller Williams market center if you want in-person classes, a desk, and a local leader you can walk in and see. Start with Real's revenue share program if you want recruiting income tied to agents' deals rather than an office's profit.

If you need help running the numbers on your specific production, reach out and I can help you compare.

How to switch from Keller Williams to Real

Moving your license involves transferring it through the Maryland Real Estate Commission. Confirm the license transfer steps and timing with the state before you initiate anything.

Before you leave, confirm with your current broker and your independent contractor agreement what happens to your pending deals and active listings. You can review the steps for switching brokerages and telling your broker you are leaving to make sure you don't leave money or listings behind.

Once your license clears, you'll go through the Real onboarding process to set up your reZEN account and transfer any allowable active inventory. Check Real's current fee schedule on its official site before running the cap math, since splits, caps, and post-cap fees can change.

Frequently asked questions

Does Real Brokerage provide leads?

Real Brokerage gives agents flexibility to choose a CRM like Lofty or use ReadyConnect Concierge, which provides pre-screened real estate leads at no upfront cost. At Keller Williams, lead programs typically depend on the individual market center or team. Whether brokers give agents listings or leads, most agents at either brokerage generate their own business.

How much would a real estate agent make on a $300,000 house?

At an illustrative commission rate, a $300,000 sale generates $7,500 in gross commission. Before capping, a Real agent on an 85/15 split would take home $6,375 before any fees or taxes. A Keller Williams agent on a standard 70/30 company dollar split would take home $5,250, minus the separate corporate royalty fee.

Join the Team

Thinking about joining Real? Connect with Chris Speicher to learn more today.