Opendoor Fees: Is the Convenience Worth the Cost?

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By Michael Warford Updated July 31, 2025
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Edited by Katy Baker

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When you sell your home to Opendoor, you can expect to pay about 5% of your home sale price in service fees. However, service fees are only part of the cost of selling to Opendoor.

To start, Opendoor offers tend to be below traditional market value to account for the convenience and speed of a cash sale.

  • Our team's analysis of 409 recent Opendoor listings showed an average difference of 8.79% between Opendoor's purchase price and subsequent resale price — equal to $43,950 in lost profit potential on a $500,000 house, not including service fees or repair costs.

One of the biggest unknown costs when selling to Opendoor is its repair fee, which some customers complain is unreasonable and can lower offers by tens of thousands of dollars .

The bottom line is that you'll likely net a lot less selling to Opendoor than you would with a conventional home sale.

If you want to avoid the traditional listing process, and don't mind sacrificing some potential profit to do it, Opendoor is worth considering.

  • Requesting an offer is free, and you're under no obligation to accept it. Just be sure to compare their offer alongside other top-ranking competitors.

"But before you sign anything, get a second opinion," advise realtors Barry and Rebecca Richards, who have both represented homeowners in transactions with iBuyers. "You're going to get the most money when you have people competing against each other."

An offers marketplace like Clever Offers can save you time getting competitive offers and figuring out your best option — which is why it's our top-rated iBuying competitor. With Clever's free service, you can compare fair cash offers from iBuyers, investors, and more to the sale price you'd get with an agent. Sell in as little as 7 days for the highest possible price — no added fees or obligation.

How much does Opendoor charge to buy your house?

Example costs of selling to Opendoor based on a $500,000 home value

Sell to OpendoorList with Opendoor (Offer Lock)
Service fee$25,000 (5%)None
Listing costs*None$30,000 (6%)
Closing costs~$5,000 (~1%)~$5,000 (~1%)
Repair costsBased on Opendoor's inspectionNegotiated with buyer
Late checkout fees$100–400/day + $2,000 security depositNone
Total estimated costs**$30,000 (6%) + repairs$35,000 (7%) + repairs
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*Listing costs generally encapsulate both your listing agent's commission and a concession to cover the buyer's agent commission. These costs may be negotiated directly with your agent.
**Total costs do not include repair credits or concessions.

Opendoor cash offer fees

When you sell your house to Opendoor, you'll pay a 5% service fee, plus typical closing costs of about 1%. Closing costs include title fees, transfer taxes, and prorated property taxes.

You'll also pay for any repairs that Opendoor thinks are necessary after its home inspection. Repair cost estimates can vary widely from seller to seller. We've talked to Opendoor customers who have paid anywhere from 1 to 3% in repair fees, while this Reddit user claims he was quoted $30,000 for repairs — about 5% of the $640,000 final offer.

If you need to stay in your house past the close date, you pay a daily "late checkout" fee based on your home's market rental value. Opendoor also withholds a $2,000 security deposit from your sale proceeds until you move out.

⚠️ Have Opendoor's final repair estimate in hand before committing

Sellers can really run into issues when they move on a new home thinking that they're going to net a certain amount from Opendoor and then get hit with a huge repair estimate after it's too late, advises realtor Melissa Young.

"I had clients whose son accepted an Opendoor offer that seemed fair at first,” Young explains. “But after inspections, Opendoor lowered the offer significantly. By then, it was too late – he was already under contract on a new construction home set to close in a week. It felt like a bait and switch.”

Offer Lock fees

As an alternative to selling directly to Opendoor, Offer Lock allows you to 'lock in' your cash offer for 30 days while you list your home the traditional way with an Opendoor partner agent. (Typically, Opendoor’s final cash offer expires after 5 days.) If you get a better offer on the open market, your agent will support you through the usual selling process. If not, Opendoor's offer is there for you to fall back on.

Typical realtor fees are 5–6% of the purchase price and typically include a concession to cover the buyer's agent fee. However, Opendoor partner agents are free to set their own commission rates, so you may be able to negotiate a better commission rate.

But keep in mind that you don't need to work with a specific agent to take advantage of Opendoor's offer. So if you're open to working with an agent, you may want to start with a brokerage offering lower rates by default and simply submit your home to Opendoor as a backup option.

Opendoor fees vs. realtor fees

Example of Opendoor fees vs. realtor fees on a $500,000 house

OpendoorTraditional realtorLow commission broker
Sale price$459,600*$500,000$500,000
Fee or commission**$22,980 (5%)$25,000–30,000 (5–6%)$17,500–25,000 (3.5–5%)
Repairs (1–2%)$10,000$5,000$5,000
Closing costs (~1%)$5,000$5,000$5,000
Estimated net proceeds$421,620$460,000–465,000$465,000–472,500
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*Based on an analysis of 409 homes bought and sold by Opendoor from May 2023–June 2025 showing an average 8.79% difference between Opendoor's purchase price and resale price.

**Commission estimates are based on industry averages and account for both a listing agent commission and buyer's agent concession offered to the buyer; actual commission costs are negotiated directly between agents and their clients.

Opendoor's 5% service fee is comparable to the 5–6% realtor commission you’d pay in a traditional home sale. However, sellers typically walk away with a lot less for a few reasons:

  • First, Opendoor typically offers sellers less than market value for their homes. Our team's analysis of 409 recent Opendoor listings found that sellers were paid about 8.79% less than Opendoor eventually resold their homes for — equal to $26,376 on the average transaction. Moreover, approximately 18% of those sellers lost out on potential profits of 15% or more.
  • Second, a good realtor knows how to prep, price, and market your home to get strong offers — often above asking. They can also negotiate repair costs on your behalf, passing some of the cost to the buyer. By contrast, Offerpad charges you for all repairs or improvements needed to get your house 'market ready' and then keeps the upside from the open market listing.
  • Finally, agents negotiate their rates, while Opendoor does not. Given the number of highly-rated low commission real estate options available, you could potentially save thousands on fees while netting significantly more from your home sale. There's no need to work with a specific agent — or any agent at all — to request an offer from Opendoor, so you always have that resource to fall back on if you need to move faster than the market will allow.

» Compare fair cash offers from iBuyers, investors, and more to the sale price you'd get with an agent. Sell in as little as 7 days for the highest cash price.

Opendoor fees vs. Offerpad fees

OpendoorOfferpad
Service fee5%8%*
Repair costsVaryVary
Avg. purchase price$338,560$293,436
Avg. resale price$366,844$324,925
Avg. price difference$26,376 (8.79%)$29,346 (13.89%)
Est. lost profit potential**-$46,631 (13.79%) + repairs-$64,521 (21.89%) + repairs
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*Offerpad no longer discloses its service fees on its website. However, a conversation with Offerpad's HomePro Assistant indicated that the cash offer fee is typically 8% of the sale price and can vary by market.[1]

**Estimates based on an internal analysis of 409 Opendoor homes and 123 Offerpad homes bought and sold between May 2023 and June 2025. Data sourced from House Canary and public property records. Estimated losses do not include repair costs.

Opendoor's main competitor, Offerpad, charges sellers an estimated 8% service fee for its cash offer, compared to Opendoor's 5%. While anecdotal evidence suggests Offerpad's initial offers are sometimes higher, customers also indicate that Offerpad may drop its price dramatically following a home inspection.

We talked to Bradley Carpenter, a seller in Kansas City, who got offers from both companies. He told us, "Offerpad's initial offer was higher, but they dropped it $40,000 after an inspection." Opendoor only came down $7,000 for repairs. Despite Offerpad's higher initial offer, the repair costs made Opendoor the better choice for him.

Our own analysis of more than 530 recent Offerpad and Opendoor transactions showed that Offerpad typically paid less for homes and earned a higher profit margin upon resale than Opendoor. However, Offerpad was also more than twice as likely to sell homes at a loss (20% vs. 9%), indicating greater variability in its pricing.

Offerpad does offer some unique perks, including free local moves within 50 miles and up to 14 days of free occupancy after closing. However, on average, Offerpad appears to cost sellers more in both fees and lost profit potential.

Something to note is that iBuyers like Opendoor and Offerpad have stricter purchase criteria than typical cash buyers. If your home is in less-than-ideal condition, another company that buys houses for cash may be a more suitable option.

Opendoor fees vs. other alternatives

  • Clever Offers: Rather than a single take-it-or-leave-it cash offer, Clever Offers lets you compare multiple offers from local investors, iBuyers, and more. Clever can also pair you with a top local listing agent to explore a short-term MLS listing — giving you broader exposure to cash buyers through the MLS without the commitment of a traditional listing agreement. There are no platform fees for using Clever Offers, but you may pay listing fees if you decide to work with an agent or standard service fees charged by a partnering iBuyer.
  • 'We buy houses' companies: Local 'we buy houses' companies typically offer 60-80% of market value. However, they buy homes in just about any condition and don't charge service fees or closing costs. Your net proceeds may be similar to, or slightly less than selling to Opendoor, but you'll know the final offer upfront without the uncertainty of repair deductions.
  • Low commission brokerages: Low commission brokerages can list your home for as little as 1% of the sale price (not including a buyer's agent concession, should you choose to offer one) while still providing a full-service listing experience. You can still leverage backup cash offers, since these are available through multiple iBuyer companies.
  • 'Buy before you sell' services: Buy before you sell services (also known as bridge loans) offer short-term home equity loans you can use to buy a new home before you sell your current one. After you move, you list your old home with a realtor and settle up with the bridge loan provider at closing. Most charge 2-2.5% on top of the usual closing costs.

How much does Opendoor charge for repairs?

In any home sale, a buyer can ask for repair credits based on a home inspection report. However, it's up to them to justify the ask, and you have full power to renegotiate or even reject the request altogether if you think it's unreasonable. Most buyers would prefer to keep the deal moving forward than lose the house haggling over repairs.

With Opendoor, a "repair deduction" is simply subtracted from the final offer price based on the work Opendoor thinks your house needs, and it's up to you to fight it if you feel it's unfair. Reviews indicate that the charges can be hard to predict.

Some home sellers say that Opendoor's repair deductions are reasonable given the amount of work needed on their house:

"Very easy and fair! Our house had a good amount of TLC needed, and we still feel like we received a very fair price. Compared to other buy-as-is companies that claim they don't charge closing costs or commission fees, opendoor does charge for both and also deducts for what they estimate will be the fix-it-up costs. However, we still received about 60k-80k more than what those other companies were offering! They were super communicative and worked around the clock to answer questions and help quicken the process to aid with the timeline of us putting an offer on a new home." — Cynthia, Reviews.io review

"Our home is 23 years old and does not have any updates to the kitchen or bathrooms, which meant we would not be able to receive top dollar for the house. The amount they took out of the offer for repairs was still less than what we would have had to pay to update everything." — Julie P., Trustpilot review

Other sellers feel cheated by the repair fees, claiming they reduce your net proceeds by tens of thousands of dollars — often without justification.

"Was given a decent offer at first, then was hit with 35k worth of repairs that say the house requires. They weren't transparent about what repairs were needed. They dragged out the whole process. Total bait & switch." — David S., Trustpilot Review

"Extremely manipulative business practices. Unprofessional, no explanation or itemization at all of so called 'costs of repairs. Simply a ridiculous number, with zero explanation of how this amount was reached or what items, repairs were supposedly included. Will never do business with this company again. Waste of taking a day off of my job. Disappointing." — Rayce H., BBB review

💡 More insights from Opendoor customers: An AI-assisted analysis of 4,361 3rd-party Opendoor reviews showed that 14% of reviewers mentioned excessive fees and repair costs. Another 19% of reviewers mentioned disappointing offers, either as a result of a poor initial offer or an offer that was lowered following the inspection.

If your home needs work to get it 'market ready,' you may find it completely worthwhile to pay Opendoor a premium to bypass the hassle. Just keep in mind that you may not know the final repair estimate until you've sunk a few weeks into the process.

In a seller's market, where demand for homes outpaces available listings, you may be well positioned to sell your home as is without having to give any credit for repairs. Redfin data shows that fewer than half of home sellers currently offer concessions to the buyer.[2] 

Does Opendoor charge hidden fees?

Opendoor doesn't charge hidden fees. The company discloses them publicly on its website and also documents its process for determining the offer amount and assessing repairs.

However, reviews indicate repair costs might be significantly higher than anticipated — and Opendoor's final offer could be much lower than its original estimate as a result.

For example, homeowners Jesse Zappia told us via Zoom that Opendoor’s “initial offer was somewhat closer to the 600,000 number. ... And then when they came back and gave me an offer it was $566,000. So it was a significant jump.”

Similar scenarios are also mentioned in several Opendoor customer complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau.

That said, Opendoor remains the largest iBuyer in the U.S. and successfully purchased 14,684 in 2024.[3] Despite some unpredictability in repair charges, the company maintains a fairly high customer rating, averaging 4.26/5 across 4,361 online reviews.

✍️ Editor’s note: There’s no penalty for walking away from an Opendoor offer. If the final offer isn’t what you expected, you can say no and find a listing agent instead.
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Bottom line: Are Opendoor's fees worth paying?

Whether Opendoor's fees are worth paying depends on how much profit you're willing to sacrifice in order to avoid the traditional listing process.

Jesse Zappia, who sold his home to Opendoor in 2022, said this about the trade-off:

"We were in a position where taking ... less money was worth it for us. If you go in with that mindset, it's great. But if we were in a scenario where we weren't as timebound, I think going the traditional route is probably the way we would go, just to get the better profitability out of it."

If you're considering selling to Opendoor but worried about losing equity, you should compare offers from multiple cash buyers against a realtor's estimate of what you'd get selling as is on the open market. A free service like Clever Offers can save you time exploring those options.

In a seller's market, where there's high demand for homes, you might be able to sell as is without making repairs or offering concessions. In other cases, you can use an initial cash offer to negotiate a higher price with a competing buyer.

FAQ about Opendoor fees

How much does Opendoor charge to sell a house?

When you sell to Opendoor, the company charges a 5% service fee. When you list with Opendoor, the company charges a 5% commission rate. Read our in-depth Opendoor review to learn more!

Is Opendoor more expensive than selling with a realtor?

Opendoor's 5% service fee is about the same as standard realtor commission rates. However, you probably won't net as much as you would selling with a realtor. And you can pay a lot less in fees with a discount brokerage. The best low commission realtors match the service and support of a traditional agent, but they charge a fraction of the price.

Can you negotiate fees with Opendoor?

No, Opendoor’s service fee is non-negotiable. You may be able to negotiate with Opendoor on its offer price, but you'll likely need proof that it missed something important —  such as home improvements that aren't noted in public records.

Does Opendoor charge closing costs?

Yes. If you sell to Opendoor, you still have to pay traditional closing costs, which average 1% of the sale price. These costs include title fees, transfer taxes, and prorated property taxes.

Related reading

Article Sources

[2] Redfin – "44% of Home Sellers Are Giving Concessions to Buyers—Just Shy of the Highest Level on Record". Updated April 21, 2025. Accessed July 31, 2025.
[3] Opendoor – "Opendoor Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results". Updated Feb 27, 2025. Accessed July 31, 2025.

Authors & Editorial History

Our experts continually research, evaluate, and monitor real estate companies and industry trends. We update our articles when new information becomes available.

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