Updated June 2026 · Reviewed by Adams, Cameron & Co.
The real cost of a brokerage is rarely just the split. Desk fees, per-transaction fees, technology or platform fees, MLS and local board dues, E&O insurance, and any marketing you fund yourself all come out before you see your true take-home. Two brokerages advertising the same split can produce very different net income once every one of those charges is added up.
- The commission split is the headline number. Desk fees, transaction fees, and tech fees are the real story underneath it.
- MLS and local board dues and E&O insurance are often the same regardless of brokerage, but confirm whether either is subsidized anywhere you're considering.
- Marketing you fund yourself, a website, social content, listing materials, is a real monthly cost even though no line item calls it a 'fee.'
- Two brokerages with an identical advertised split can produce very different take-home once every add-on charge is counted.
- Ask any brokerage for a full, written list of every recurring and per-transaction charge before you compare splits.
Ask most agents what their brokerage charges and they'll answer with a split percentage. That number is real, but it's rarely the whole picture. A full accounting of what a brokerage actually costs includes a set of charges that don't show up in a recruiting conversation unless you ask directly. Here is what to look for, one line item at a time.
Desk fees
A desk fee is a flat monthly charge for the right to hang your license at the brokerage, regardless of how much or how little you close that month. Desk fees are common at 100% commission and discount models, and less common, though not unheard of, at traditional split brokerages. A monthly desk fee in the low hundreds of dollars adds up to a real annual figure whether you close two deals or twenty, which is exactly why it favors high-volume agents and works against agents having a slow year.
Per-transaction fees
Separate from any desk fee, many brokerages charge a flat fee on every closed transaction, sometimes called a transaction fee or broker review fee. This covers file review, compliance, and administrative processing. It's a fixed dollar amount rather than a percentage, so it has a bigger relative impact on a smaller commission than on a large one. An agent closing a high volume of lower-priced transactions should weigh per-transaction fees especially carefully, since they can quietly eat a larger share of smaller deals.
Technology and platform fees
Some brokerages charge separately for access to a transaction management platform, a CRM, or a listing syndication tool, on top of the split or desk fee. Others bundle all of that into the split with no separate charge. Ask specifically whether any technology you'd be required to use, not just tools you might choose to use, carries its own monthly or annual fee.
MLS dues and local board fees
MLS access and local Realtor board membership carry their own dues, generally set by the board or association rather than the brokerage. These costs are usually similar no matter which brokerage you're with in the same market, but it's still worth confirming whether any brokerage you're considering subsidizes or reimburses any part of them, since some do as part of a broader support package.
Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance
E&O insurance protects you and the brokerage against claims arising from your work as an agent. Most brokerages require it and many carry a master policy that agents pay into, either as a flat annual fee or a small per-transaction charge. Ask exactly how E&O is billed at any brokerage you're comparing, since the method (annual flat fee versus per-transaction) changes how it affects a slower year versus a high-volume one.
The marketing you fund yourself
This is the cost that never appears on a fee schedule but shows up every month on your own credit card statement. If a brokerage doesn't provide a professional agent website, social media content, or listing marketing materials, you're paying for all of it yourself, and that cost is just as real as any named fee. Add up what you currently spend monthly on a CRM, a social media tool, a website, and any paid marketing, and treat that total as part of your true cost of doing business at a brokerage that doesn't include it.
Adding it all up honestly
The only reliable way to compare two brokerages is to build the full list: split, desk fee, transaction fee, technology fee, MLS and board dues, E&O insurance, and self-funded marketing, then run your actual production through all of it. A brokerage with a slightly lower advertised split but with technology, marketing, and support already included can easily produce a higher real take-home than one with a flashier split number and a long list of add-on charges. Use the brokerage fee comparison calculator to run your own numbers across a traditional split, a cap model, and a desk-fee model side by side.
What's actually included at Adams, Cameron & Co.
Adams, Cameron & Co., the largest brokerage in Volusia and Flagler counties since 1963, includes AC Social for social media marketing, FRED for transaction management, DeltaNet CRM, and professionally built agent websites at no additional cost to the agent. For an agent currently paying for any combination of those tools elsewhere, that's real money that belongs in the true cost comparison, not just the split.
Exact fees, dues, and insurance costs vary by brokerage, board, and carrier, and change over time. Confirm current figures directly with any brokerage, your local board, and your insurance provider. Educational only, not financial advice.
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