Ideal Agent is an online platform that matches home sellers with dedicated, full-service real estate agents who charge reduced commissions. You fill out a form with some information about your home sale or purchase, and Ideal Agent provides you with a custom proposal from a qualified local agent.
Ideal Agent is known for good customer service, with the majority of reviewers praising their agents for responsiveness and effectiveness at selling homes quickly.
When we compared Ideal Agent to similar services, we found it scored well for service quality and customer satisfaction. However, competitors like Clever Real Estate offer better savings by negotiating lower listing fees with their agent network.
We recommend comparing Ideal Agent to a few alternative low commission real state brokerages to decide if the 2% listing fee and $3,000 minimum provide enough savings for your needs. Read on to determine if Ideal Agent is the right fit for you.
Our Ideal Agent rating
⭐️ Ideal Agent: Overall score | 3.8 |
Service quality | 5.0 |
Savings | 1.5 |
Customer experience | 4.5 |
Agent quality | 4.0 |
Ratings based on 1–5 scale, with 5 being the best. Learn more about our methodology. |
Ideal Agent is known for matching sellers with dedicated, attentive agents who provide full service support. Customer reviews tend to be positive, with reviewers praising their agent's communication and effectiveness at selling their home.
Is Ideal Agent right for you?
Ideal Agent is a good option if you want an agent who will be responsive and guide you through the full process. The 2% listing fee also provides minor savings compared to the industry average.
On the downside, Ideal Agent charges more than other discount real estate brokers and has occasional negative reviews around high-pressure sales tactics.
Where Ideal Agent really comes up short is savings for sellers. We found that competitors like Clever Real Estate offer the same full service and support but charge lower 1.5% listing fees on average. So you could potentially save thousands more with Clever compared to Ideal Agent.
⚡ Looking for top agents near you? Answer these five simple questions to get matched with agents in your area who work for just a 1.5% listing fee. Compare agents from the top discount companies and major brands like Keller Williams and RE/MAX.
Ideal Agent vs. alternatives
When you're looking for a real estate agent, it's useful to compare multiple brokerages to find the best fit. Here are our top alternatives to Ideal Agent.
Listing Fee
Buyer Savings
Active Since
Editor's Take
Pros & cons
Overview
Clever Real Estate is the best option for most sellers looking for an agent. The company matches you with multiple experienced, full-service agents so you can find the right fit, and it offers a low 1.5% listing fee no matter which agent you choose.
Listing Fee
Buyer Savings
Active Since
Editor's take
Pros & cons
Overview
UpNest lets you choose from multiple vetted agents, so there’s a good chance you’ll find a realtor that fits your needs. But it falls short on savings and customer service.
Read the full UpNest review.
Listing Fee
Buyer Savings
Active Since
Editor's Take
Pros & cons
Overview
Redfin is a reputable discount real estate brokerage that offers significant savings, particularly if you buy and sell with the brokerage. But watch out for high minimum fees, which vary by market and can be high in some areas. Redfin's agents also work with a lot of clients, and they don’t always have time to provide as much hands-on service as you may need.
Read the full Redfin review.
Listing Fee
Buyer Savings
Active Since
Editor's take
Pros & cons
At a Glance
1 Percent Lists offers a solid combination of savings and full service. If you're located in one of its service areas, read customer reviews and check Zillow transaction data to ensure you don't end up with an inexperienced real estate agent.
Read the full 1 Percent Lists review.
Full breakdown
Service quality
📊 Our rating: 5/5
|
Ideal Agent meets with clients in person and assigns each seller a dedicated agent supported by a team. We confirmed via phone call that agents offer full service, including a comparative market analysis (CMA), pricing guidance, staging advice, professional photography, an MLS listing, for-sale sign, and lock box.
Agents will also attend your closing in person and help you navigate paperwork, negotiations, and home inspections. If you want additional services like video footage, open house hosting, or coordinating cleaning or repairs, reach out to your agent directly since each agent handles their own marketing materials.
How does Ideal Agent work?
- You can request an agent by filling out an online form on IdealAgent.com. The form asks for details like the type of property you're selling, its estimated value, and your preferred selling timeline.
- You’ll receive a phone call from an Ideal Agent concierge. The concierge will discuss the benefits of working with the company and gather more information about your needs. They'll use this information to match you with a qualified agent from Ideal Agent's network.
- The concierge then connects you to your agent via email. Your agent will follow up with a personalized introduction and schedule a time to talk.
- If you decide to work with the agent, you'll sign a formal listing agreement and start the selling process. During this process, an Ideal Agent representative will check in via phone to see how things are going.
- If you’re unhappy with your match, you can request a new agent. But because of Ideal Agent's small network, your options may be limited. If you choose not to sign a listing agreement with your agent, you're free to walk away.
Savings
📊 Our rating: 1.5/5
|
Ideal Agent charges sellers a 2% listing fee, which is slightly lower than the industry average of 2.83%. However, it's higher than most discount brokers that charge 1–1.5%.
There is also a $3,000 minimum fee. This won't impact most sellers, but it does mean that if you sell a home for less than $150,000, you would pay $3,000 instead of 2% of the sale price.
As a seller with Ideal Agent, you'll still need to offer a buyer's agent commission. The exact amount varies by location, but the national average is 2.66% of the sale price.
Offering a competitive buyer's agent commission incentivizes other agents to show and sell your home to their clients. If you don't offer a commission, many buyers' agents may avoid bringing clients to see your property. This could limit the number of showings and offers you receive.
Ideal Agent doesn't offer any savings to buyers, such as cash back or a home buyer rebate.
» Learn more about average real estate commission rates by state
Why pay more in commission fees for less service? Clever offers you bigger savings without sacrificing the service you expect from a traditional realtor.
With Clever:
✅ You'll only pay 1.5% to list your home
✅ You'll work with a full-service realtor from a top broker
✅ It's free, with zero obligation — you can walk away at any time
Saving on realtor fees doesn't have to mean sacrificing service. Find a top local agent today!
Customer experience
📊 Our rating: 4.5/5
|
Ideal Agent has solid customer reviews overall: 4.6 out of 6,811 total reviews between Trustpilot, Google, and the Better Business Bureau. The most common positive reviews mention a good experience with their agents.
Positive themes: Many customers praise their agents for being responsive, attentive communicators. Most say their homes sold quickly and they would work with Ideal Agent again.
Negative themes: There are a couple negative reviews from customers feeling pressured into bad deals or losing money on their sales. However, Ideal Agent appears to be quite responsive to negative feedback, leaving comments that state their team will follow up with reviewers to resolve issues directly.
Agent quality
📊 Our rating: 4/5
|
Ideal Agent states that they work with top agents from brands like Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, EXP Realty, etc. In the past, the company has claimed to have high standards (especially in terms of sales) for the agents it works with, and says that they reject about 90% of agents who apply.
In addition, the brokerage seems to actively uphold agent performance standards. In response to a recent negative customer review, Ideal Agent wrote that they removed a particular agent due to several instances of negative feedback.[1]
If you use Ideal Agent, we advise looking up your potential agent online to confirm they have positive reviews, local transaction experience in the last 6-12 months, and a strong understanding of your market.
Ideal Agent history and news
Ideal Agent was founded in 2016.[2] In 2022, it cut about 20% of its staff, shifting it from a customer service organization to a sales-centric model.[3] In 2023, Ideal Agent was ranked #91 in Inc. Magazine's list of the 5,000 fastest-growing privately held US companies.[4]
Ideal Agent locations
Ideal Agent is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, but its agent-matching service is available to buyers and sellers nationwide.
Next steps: Should I use Ideal Agent?
Whether Ideal Agent is right for you depends on if you mesh well with the agent you get matched with. Since the service is free to use, there's no downside to signing up and seeing what agents you are paired with.
However, we suggest first trying a service like Clever Real Estate that pre-negotiates a lower listing fee with its agent. If you find an agent you vibe with there, you could save thousands compared to a standard 2-2.5% commission. If you don't connect with any of those agents, you can always circle back and try your luck with Ideal Agent.
If you're weighing your options for buying or selling a house, Clever can help!
Our fully licensed concierge team can answer your questions and provide objective advice on getting the best outcome with your sale or purchase.
When you enter your info below, we'll ask you a few questions about your situation via a short form. Then our concierge team will be in touch shortly to help.
This service is free, and there’s never any obligation to move forward with us.
Frequently asked questions
What are the alternatives to Ideal Agent?
Alternatives to Ideal Agent include Redfin, Clever, and UpNest. Like Ideal Agent, they will match you with a real estate agent, although some offer better listing fees than Ideal Agent does. Learn more about the best low commission real estate brokers.
What are the pros and cons of Ideal Agent?
Ideal Agent has positive customer reviews, and its agents offer full-service and support. It will also save you a bit of money, though typically not as much as the competition. Ideal Agent is also much smaller than the competition and has limited coverage outside of major cities. Learn more about the best 2% commission realtors.
Why do real estate agents work with companies like Ideal Agent?
An agent matching service like Ideal Agent sends agents new clients, which saves the agents time and money on marketing. Though the agents make less on each client, they can close more deals. This volume means the agents can make more money overall.
Who owns Ideal Agent?
Ideal Agent is owned by Steve Johnston, who founded the company in 2016. He was previously the founder of Home Discovery Real Estate Services, a discount real estate brokerage that operated prior to the Great Recession.
Related reading
Methodology
We evaluate each low commission real estate brokerage based on four core criteria and create a weighted score:
- Service quality (30% of final score)
- Savings (25% of final score)
- Customer experience (20% of final score)
- Agent quality (25% of final score)
Service quality
Essential services and support. We evaluate whether the brokerage requires its agents to offer basic services like a CMA, pricing and staging advice, professional photography, MLS listing, for-sale sign, lock box. We also consider whether agents provide hands-on support throughout the sale process (in-person home visits, guidance through due diligence, negotiation support).
Ease of use. We consider how easy it is to find an agent in your area, and we look at customer reviews to determine whether customers have issues with the platform or tools used by the brokerage.
Savings
Pricing model. We compare the company's pricing model (including listing fee, any minimum fees, and buyer's incentives) to its competitors to determine the overall value to customers.
Customer experience
Review analysis. We perform an in-depth analysis of all the available customer reviews to determine trends. We break down the reviews by customer type, sentiment, and filter out spam reviews to determine our rating.
Company responsiveness. Negative reviews are part of doing business; however, we take note of whether a company is actively involved in resolving customer complaints.
Agent quality
Vetting requirements. We compare the company's vetting requirements to its competitors. We also take into consideration the size of the agent network to determine whether customers will have multiple options to choose from.