Keller Williams vs RE/MAX: A Guide for Sellers and Buyers

Keller Williams and RE/MAX are two of the biggest real estate brands in the country — but the agent matters more than the brand. Commission rates, service quality, and results vary agent by agent, and a strong Keller Williams agent will beat a mediocre RE/MAX agent every time (and vice versa).

This guide serves both agents and consumers. If you're selling or buying a home, the first half compares what you'll pay, the services you'll get, and each brand's track record. If you're an agent deciding where to hang your license, the agents section compares splits, caps, fees, and training.

Both brands sell the same core promise — a full-service local agent — so this comparison focuses on where they genuinely differ: fees, agent economics, and scale.

Keller Williams vs RE/MAX at a glance

Here's how the two brands compare on the numbers that matter most to sellers and agents alike.

What sellers pay: commission rates at Keller Williams vs RE/MAX

Sellers pay about the same at Keller Williams and RE/MAX. The average real estate commission nationally is 5.46% of the sale price — 2.76% for the listing agent and 2.70% for the buyer's agent — which works out to about $20,299 on a typical sale. Those figures come from Clever's survey of 434 agents, last updated August 2026.

Commission is negotiated agent by agent, so two Keller Williams agents in the same office can quote you different fees — and a RE/MAX agent across the street might beat them both.

The NAR settlement changed how the buyer's side works in 2024. Since the practice changes took effect on August 17, 2024, buyers negotiate their agent's fee directly and agree to it in writing before touring a home.[4] Sellers still typically cover that fee, negotiated in the offer rather than advertised in the listing — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to treat seller-paid buyer's-agent compensation as customary, and outside their limits on seller concessions.[5]

In practice, most sellers still offer some buyer-agent compensation to keep their buyer pool wide. The difference post-settlement is that it's a negotiating lever, not a default — you decide what to offer, and you can adjust it offer by offer.

You can negotiate a lower commission with agents at either brand, though agents at large traditional brokerages don't always have much leeway. For context, every 0.5% you negotiate off a $400,000 sale keeps $2,000 in your pocket. Run your own numbers with our real estate commission calculator.

If you want a lower rate without the back-and-forth, Clever Real Estate negotiates a 1.5% listing fee with top local agents from Keller Williams, RE/MAX, and other major brokerages — same full service, lower rate.

» SAVE: Find top Keller Williams and RE/MAX agents at a 1.5% listing fee

RE/MAX vs Keller Williams: how their services compare for sellers and buyers

Agents at both brokerages are full service: they price your home, list it on the MLS, market it, run showings, negotiate offers, and manage closing. The real differences sit in each brand's ancillary programs — mortgage, insurance, and cash-offer platforms — and technology.

For sellers, a full-service listing agent at either brand handles:

• A comparative market analysis (CMA) — an estimate of your home's value based on recent sales of similar nearby homes — and a pricing strategy
• Prep guidance, staging, and professional photography
• The MLS listing and marketing across real estate sites and social media
• Showings, offer review, and negotiation through closing

For buyers, agents at both brands find and tour homes, draft and submit offers, negotiate with the seller, and coordinate the paperwork and closing.

Customer service runs through local offices at both brands, so response times and quality vary by franchise, not by logo.

Track record and reviews: what sellers say about Keller Williams and RE/MAX

Both brands deliver at scale. Keller Williams agents closed about $370.7 billion in U.S. sales volume in 2025, and RE/MAX agents about $234.3 billion — the largest and third-largest franchise totals in the country, behind Coldwell Banker's $249.5 billion, per the 2026 Real Estate Almanac.[6]

RE/MAX agents close more deals per head: 11.9 transaction sides per agent in 2025, about 47% more than the next-closest brand's 8.1 — though that figure is company-published, from RE/MAX's own 2026 industry report, and the comparison brand isn't named.[7]

Both brands also stack up industry awards — Keller Williams topped the 2026 Franchise 20 by sales volume, and RE/MAX is an Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Hall of Fame inductee. Awards signal staying power, but they tell you less than a local agent's last 12 months of sales.

Reviews from sellers are broad ranges, not verdicts. On ConsumerAffairs, Keller Williams sits under 2 out of 5 across 82 reviews.[8] RE/MAX sits at 2.3 out of 5 across 383.[9] Sample sizes that small and that different mostly measure individual offices and agents — not the company.

So read reviews for the specific agent instead, on Google Business profiles, Zillow, and Realtor.com. Look for comments on communication, pricing accuracy, and negotiation. Speed is one useful tell: the typical U.S. home spends a median of 66 days on the market before going under contract, so an agent who consistently beats that in your market is doing something right.[10]

Both companies settled the commission lawsuits tied to the NAR case — Keller Williams for $70 million and RE/MAX for $55 million, both granted final court approval on May 9, 2024.[11] Keller Williams has also faced Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) telemarketing suits, including a $40 million class-action settlement finalized in 2023.[12] Further TCPA suits have been filed since. None of this should scare you off either brand, but it's context the glossy brochures leave out.

Is Keller Williams a good real estate company?

Yes, by most objective measures. Keller Williams has the largest U.S. agent count of any franchise (136,511 in 2025), top-three sales volume, and one of the industry's deepest training programs.[13] But a good company doesn't guarantee a good agent — vet the individual, not the brand.

Keller Williams vs RE/MAX for agents: splits, caps, and fees

This section is for agents comparing the two brokerages — if you're selling or buying, skip ahead to the decision aid below.

Is Keller Williams good for new agents?

Keller Williams is generally a strong choice for new agents. Every agent starts on the same 70/30 split with their market center, with a 6% franchise royalty carved out of that share and capped at $3,000 per associate per year — and once you hit your market center's cap, you keep 100% of your commission for the rest of your anniversary year.

Training is the bigger draw. KSCORE covers pre-licensing, KW Prep onboards new agents, and KW University handles ongoing education — a pipeline most brokerages can't match.

The counterweights are fee load and variability. Transaction and market-center fees add up before you cap, and neither KW nor its market centers publish those amounts — your day-to-day economics depend entirely on your local office. The full fee schedule, cap math, and take-home examples live in our Keller Williams commission split guide.

Is RE/MAX better for experienced agents?

Often, yes — RE/MAX's models reward producers. The classic 95/5 plan pays you 95% of every commission in exchange for a monthly desk fee that Inman puts at roughly $300 to $2,500: great math if you close a lot of deals, painful in a slow quarter. RAPP plans (roughly 60/40–80/20 with an office-set cap) lower the fixed costs for agents who'd rather not carry that risk.

The productivity numbers back the self-selection story — RE/MAX agents averaged 11.9 transaction sides in 2025, per the company-published report cited above.[14] The model attracts agents who already produce. Plan details, fee ranges, and worked examples are in our RE/MAX commission split guide.

If you're brand new, be honest with yourself about volume. On a 95/5 plan, the desk fees arrive whether you close or not — which is why many new RE/MAX agents start on a RAPP tier and move to a higher split as production grows.

One more difference worth naming: predictability. KW's model is the same in every market center — only the cap amount changes — so you can model your take-home before you join. RE/MAX take-home depends on which plan you pick and your local franchise's fee sheet, so the same production level can net very different numbers at two offices.

Whichever brand you're leaning toward, ask the recruiter the questions the pitch deck skips:

• What's this market center's or office's exact cap, and when does it reset?
• What are the full fees before and after the cap — royalty, transaction, desk, monthly?
• What happens to my fees in a quarter where I close nothing?
• Can I see a real take-home breakdown for an agent at my production level?

Lead flow is on you at either brand. Agents at both brokerages supplement their pipeline through Clever's partner network, which connects motivated sellers and buyers with top local agents.

Which should I choose?

Choose Keller Williams if:

• You're a seller or buyer who values team depth. KW's 136,511 U.S. agents (2025) and heavy training investment mean plenty of well-supported agents in most markets.[15]
• You're a new agent. The capped 70/30 split and structured training pipeline (KSCORE, KW Prep, KW University) are built for your first years in the business.

Choose RE/MAX if:

• You're a seller and the strongest local listing agent flies the balloon. RE/MAX pairs high brand recognition with the industry's highest per-agent production (11.9 sides in 2025, company-reported).
• You're an established producer. A 95/5 or high-split RAPP plan nets you more once you can comfortably cover the fixed fees.

At both brands, interview the agent, not the brand. Our guide on how to find a real estate agent walks through the vetting questions. And if you're weighing other brands, our Coldwell Banker vs Keller Williams comparison applies the same framework.

Is Keller Williams buying RE/MAX? What actually happened

No — Keller Williams isn't buying RE/MAX, and never was. The rumor that spread across TikTok and Instagram in late 2025 never became a deal. What actually happened is different: RE/MAX Holdings agreed in April 2026 to be acquired by The Real Brokerage in a transaction valued at about $880 million.[16] Shareholders of both companies approved it on August 14, 2026, and the deal closed on August 24, 2026.[17] RE/MAX Holdings was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and the combined company — Real RE/MAX Group, roughly 180,000 agents — now trades on the Nasdaq as REAX under chairman and CEO Tamir Poleg.

If you're mid-transaction with a RE/MAX agent, the ownership change doesn't touch your listing agreement. Your contract is with the local brokerage, and it stays in force regardless of who owns the parent company.

If you're a RE/MAX agent, your contract is with your franchisee — not the holding company. Both companies say the RE/MAX brand, the independent broker-owner model and agent compensation plans carry on unchanged; Real's CEO put it as “nothing about your business changed when you woke up this morning.” Watch for plan and fee announcements anyway, and revisit the split comparison above if the models move.

Bottom line: Keller Williams vs RE/MAX

Both are credible, established brokerages with full-service agents, national reach, and deep resources. Your outcome depends on the individual agent you hire — and your best option may simply come down to which brand has the stronger agents in your market.

Interview at least two or three agents, ideally from different brokerages, and compare their pricing strategy, marketing plan, and fees before you sign anything.

Find the best agent and rate near you

Clever Real Estate matches you with top local agents from Keller Williams, RE/MAX, and other major brokerages at a 1.5% listing fee — below the national average listing commission of 2.76%. Same full service, lower rate.

• Answer 5 simple questions about your sale
• Get matched with 2–3 top local agents in minutes
• Choose the best fit — or walk away at any time, no strings attached

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Frequently asked questions