In the real estate world today, there are two primary real estate brokerages that operate from a fully online, cloud-based model: eXp Realty and REAL Broker. While eXp and REAL both offer similar platforms and revenue share programs, they do have key differences. Let’s see how eXp Realty vs REAL Brokerage differ and how you can decide which one is the better brokerage for you.
We’ll take a look at:
- The history of eXp versus REAL.
- The business model of eXp versus REAL.
- How you earn money at eXp versus REAL.
- How stock ownership works at eXp versus REAL.
- What training and support you’ll get at eXp versus REAL.
History and Makeup of eXp Realty vs REAL Brokerage
eXp Realty started in 2009 under the leadership of Glenn Sanford. It’s one of the fastest-growing brokerages in the world, with over 89,000 agents as of this writing. REAL Brokerage was founded in 2014 by Tamir Poleg and Gal Weiss. It’s also growing quickly, and now operates in 50 states, Washington D.C., and 4 Canadian provinces, boasting more than 12,000 agents as of this writing.
Both eXp and REAL are single brokerages working from a cloud platform. eXp Realty is owned by eXp World Holdings (EXPI) and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange. In addition to eXp, eXp World Holdings also owns Virbela, the Success brand, Express Offers, and Showcase IDX. REAL is publicly traded on TSXV as REAX and OTCOX as REAXF.
While neither brokerage offers agents brick-and-mortar offices, eXp does have a partnership with Regus, allowing agents to use any Regus office location around the world as a home office if they prefer.
Business Model of eXp Realty vs REAL Brokerage
The business model at eXp Realty and REAL Broker is actually pretty similar. Let’s take a closer look.
eXp operates on a cloud-based model. Agents join a virtual workspace called eXp World where they engage with other agents using avatars. They are also able to find 60+ hours of live weekly training on this platform.
eXp agents collaborate with agents from all around the world through eXp World and Facebook’s Workplace, a private social media community. They manage transactions through Skyslope, view their business goals and statistics from eXp Enterprise, and use the CRM kvCORE to manage lead generation and customer relationships.
The fees at eXp Realty are pretty simple. Agents pay $149 to join the brokerage. From then on, they operate under an 80/20 commission split until they cap at $16,000 and earn 100% commission the rest of the year. Following the cap, they’ll pay $250 per transaction until capping at $5,000, after which they pay $75 per transaction.
Every month, eXp agents pay $85 for technology and CRM access. They also have to pay a $40 risk management fee and a $25 broker review fee per transaction, though the risk management fee caps at $500 per year.
At REAL, agents work on a fully cloud-based app. They also use Skyslope to manage transactions and Workplace to connect with fellow agents. For an additional $40 each month, they can access Chime CRM to manage customer relationships and lead generation.
REAL charges a $249 startup fee and an annual brokerage fee of $750 taken from your first three transactions. The commission split at REAL is 85/15 with a cap of $12,000. After capping, agents pay a $285 transaction fee that drops to $129 when the agent reaches Elite status or a $125 lease transaction fee. Finally, agents pay a $30 fee per transaction to cover broker review, E&O Insurance, and processing.
As a bonus, both brokerages offer agents 3 personal transactions with no commission split each year.
Overall, the fees are pretty similar. After capping, eXp agents will pay about $315 per transaction, plus their $85 per month for technology. REAL agents will pay about $305 with the transaction fee and CRM fee.
Revenue Share Program at eXp Realty vs REAL Brokerage
Both eXp Realty and REAL Brokerage run a highly effective revenue share program. Let’s take a look at how it breaks down in each brokerage.
eXp Revenue Share
At eXp, the revenue share program involves seven tiers. When one agent sponsors another into the company, the sponsoring agent will earn a percentage of the revenue the sponsored agent makes.
In the first tier, the agent will make about 3.5% of the revenue share of their agent’s transactions (until they cap). The next tier is created when the sponsored agent sponsors an agent themselves. They obviously earn from the revenue share of their new agent. However, their sponsor will also earn a percentage of the newest agent’s revenue as well.
In tier 2, the initial agent earns 4% from the sponsored agent. From there, the percentages reduce until an agent reaches tiers 6 and 7. In tier 7, the initial sponsoring agent can receive 5% from qualifying agents.
At eXp, it is important to note that the higher percentages can only be earned if the agents being sponsored are qualified. This means that they have to be closing transactions–at least two (or at least $5,000 in gross commission income) in 6 months. To make it all the way to tier 7, initial sponsoring agents need to have at least 30 qualifying agents in their network.
REAL Revenue Share
The revenue share program at REAL is laid out a bit differently and more simply. It includes only 5 tiers, with each tier earning a smaller percentage. In the first tier, agents will earn 5%, in the second 4%, and so on.
Agents at REAL must also be qualifying in order to be a part of the revenue share program. At tier 5, agents must have at least 25 qualifying agents.
Consequently, we see that either revenue share program can be beneficial. REAL’s program is more straightforward, but with fewer tiers, there are fewer opportunities for revenue. Agents at eXp prefer the wider range of options for multiplication, while agents at REAL prefer the higher initial earnings (in the first tier, agents at REAL can earn about $4,000 a year, while agents at eXp can earn about $2,800 a year).
At eXp, agents will still earn a small percentage of revenue even if the agents downline are not qualifying. At REAL, agents can’t earn any further revenue share until they meet the qualifying agent count needed. So, while it is more complicated, eXp’s program is more expansive and allows for further options to earn.
Other Earning Opportunities
In addition to revenue share and stocks, eXp has a few further options for earning. You can see the details here, but it is partnered with several affiliate companies that offer agents discounts, referral fees, and percentages of company earnings through the eXp partnership.
Stock Earnings at eXp Realty vs REAL Brokerage
In addition to the revenue share program, both eXp Realty and REAL Broker allow agents to purchase stock in the company. Each brokerage has slightly different options for agents to earn stock.
eXp Stock Plan
At eXp Realty, there are five options to earn stock from EXPI World Holdings.
- When you make your first sale, you earn $200 worth of stock in the company.
- When an agent you sponsor makes their first sale, you’ll earn $400 worth of stock.
- After you cap, you earn $400 more in stock.
- When you reach ICON status by meeting specific cultural and production goals, you’ll earn a total of $16,000 in stock.
- You can join the Equity Share Program at eXp and use 5% of your commission share to purchase stock at a 10% discount.
Right now, EXPI is valued at a market cap of $1.95B, while REAX is valued at a market cap of $252.7M.
REAL Stock Plan
At REAL Broker, there are four ways to gain stock.
- Agents can use 5% of their commission to purchase stock. After capping, they can use 10% of their commission to purchase stock. One year after the transactions, REAL will grant agents 15% (before capping) or 30% (after capping) worth of additional shares.
- Upon capping, agents will be awarded 150 company shares.
- Agents earn 75 shares when they attract an agent.
- Agents can reach ELITE status and earn up to $24,000 worth of stock.
ELITE and ICON Earnings
Let’s take a quick look at the ELITE program versus eXp’s ICON program. In the ELITE program at REAL, agents have to cap, pay an additional $6,000 in transaction fees, and meet specific cultural goals by offering training and mentorships. When they reach all these goals, they can earn $24,000–$16,000 for meeting production goals and $8,000 for meeting cultural goals.
In the ICON program at eXp, agents must cap, pay an additional $5,000 in transaction fees, meet cultural requirements by offering training, mentorships, or other services to the company, and attend the eXp Shareholder Summit and EXPCON to earn $16,000 in stock. They will earn $8,000 for production goals, $4,000 for training, and $4,000 for attending events.
Training, Support, and Technology at eXp vs. REAL
As fully online brokerages, both eXp Realty and REAL Broker must offer significant support for their virtual agents. As with everything else, there are some slight differences between the two.
eXp Training, Technology, and Support
Agents at eXp are immediately entered into eXp World, a virtual office space. It’s there, using their own personal avatar, that agents can engage with one another, get questions answered, and attend training sessions (60+ hours live each day, plus archived training).
In addition, agents at eXp use:
- eXp Enterprise to track stock and revenue earnings, business statistics, and more.
- Skyslope to manage transactions virtually.
- Workplace (by Facebook) to interact in a social community with agents worldwide.
- kvCORE to manage customer relationships, marketing, and lead generation.
- eXp 360 tours to offer home tours to buyers.
- Introlend to help clients get loans easily.
- Utility Connect to help clients find utilities in their area.
- Regus office locations to set up a brick-and-mortar office, if desired.
The eXp office currently employs hundreds of support staff members to provide ongoing support to agents.
REAL Training, Technology, and Support
At REAL, agents can attend training with other agents from around the United States and use a discount to access courses in The CE Shop. In addition, they will be provided access to:
- Workplace (by Facebook) for online collaboration with agents from around the world.
- A CloudCMA for data analysis.
- Chime CRM to manage customer relationships, lead generation, and marketing.
- Skyslope to manage transactions virtually.
- REAL App to handle business statistics and track stock and revenue earnings.
- A library of recorded training sessions to view.
REAL does offer chat and live support in the app.
Teams and Company Culture at eXp Realty vs REAL Brokerage
eXp Realty and REAL Broker are cloud-based, which means they have to work harder than some other brokerages to build a strong community.
Teams
Both brokerages offer a team structure. The structures are very similar in both for the standard team. Team members will only have to reach a half cap ($8,000 for eXp or $6,000 for REAL). In addition, all agents have to pay a 25% commission to the team leader at each transaction.
eXp offers different team options, including a self-organized (referral-based) team, a domestic partnership, and a Mega ICON team. REAL currently provides only a standard team structure.
Company Culture
eXp Realty is very proud of the company culture. It has organized an advisory council to ensure all agent voices are heard, launched ONE eXp as an initiative to educate on and support agent diversity, and developed an eXp Life Magazine. In addition, eXp hosts two live events each year: the EXPCON and the eXp Shareholder Summit.
REAL Broker is also dedicated to building agent success. It offers tons of support from within their app and Workplace, though it has no specific agent boards as yet.
Both brokerages offer local events and fellowship opportunities, though REAL currently has no brokerage-wide in-person events. REAL right now relies on individual agents putting on unofficial events to help the brokerage grow.
eXp Realty is home to over 89,000 agents and is growing quickly. REAL is much newer, and currently only employs about 12,000 agents. eXp reached a revenue of $1.2B in Q3 2023, while REAL reached $214.6M. Both brokerages are growing quickly.
eXp Realty or REAL Broker?
Both eXp Realty and REAL Broker are successful cloud-based companies, and both have a lot going for them.
Overall, eXp Realty is the bigger company. It also offers more opportunities for earning money than REAL Broker does. REAL Broker has fewer fees, but eXp Realty offers more technology.
I’ll jump in here and say I think eXp Realty is the better option. While REAL has a lot going for it, eXp does have a much broader range of resources and earning opportunities for agents. In addition, eXp’s revenue share program encourages sponsorship, which can be a huge benefit when signing up.
If you want to join the brokerage that will give you the most support and greatest revenue opportunities in an online environment, choose eXp Realty.
However, as long as this article is, it may not have covered all your concerns. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me so I can answer your questions and help you get started with the next steps in your career.