A pay-at-closing program sends you a buyer or seller at no upfront cost. If the deal closes, a referral fee comes out of your commission and is paid broker to broker. Reported fees run from about 15% to 40%. You put no cash at risk, but you give up a large part of each commission, so read the terms and work out what the fee costs you after your split.
How pay-at-closing programs work
- A buyer or seller asks the program for an agent, and the program matches them with you.
- You pay nothing upfront. If the client never closes, you owe no fee.
- You do the work as you would for any client.
- At closing, the referral fee comes out of your gross commission. It’s paid broker to broker: your brokerage pays the program, and you get your split of what’s left.
Because the money moves between brokerages, talk to your broker before you sign up.
Programs and their reported fees
| Program | Reported referral fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Zillow (Flex, now marketed as Zillow Preferred) | About 15% to 40% of your commission | Zillow’s pricing page lists 40% on seller connections and says fees vary by market, price and date. Reported to be by invitation. |
| Realtor.com ReadyConnect | About 28% to 40% | |
| HomeLight | About 33% of your gross commission | HomeLight’s terms say only that the fee is a percentage of your gross commission. |
| Redfin partner program | About 33% to 40% | |
| UpNest | About 15% to 35% | |
| Agent-to-agent referral | Often around 25% | A habit, not a rule. Every referral fee is negotiable. |
Most of these companies don’t publish a percentage. The figures are what agents and trade coverage reported as of October 2026, and your agreement has the real number. Programs change their terms, so read the current one. OfferBacked isn’t affiliated with any company named here.
What the fee costs after your split
The fee comes off the top, before your brokerage split. So part of it comes out of your broker’s share, not yours. Here’s an example. (The 2.5% rate is only an example; commissions are negotiable.)
- Sale price: $420,000 at 2.5% is a $10,500 commission.
- Referral fee: 35% of $10,500 is $3,675. That leaves $6,825.
- Your split: at 70%, you keep $4,777.50, about $4,778.
- Without the fee: 70% of $10,500 is $7,350.
- What the fee cost you: $7,350 minus $4,777.50 is $2,572.50, about $2,573.
Your brokerage absorbed the other 30% of the fee. Two cautions: confirm that your brokerage applies the split after the referral fee, and note that once you’ve reached your cap and keep the whole commission, the full $3,675 comes out of your pocket.
Try it: Commission split calculatorSee your take-home from a deal after the referral fee, brokerage split, cap, royalty, fees and a tax set-aside.Pay at closing compared with paid ads
- For: no cash at risk, no monthly bill in a slow season, and a cost you know in advance as a share of the commission.
- Against: the fee grows with the sale price, you can’t buy more volume when you want it, the program sets the rules, and the fee can cost more per closing than ads that convert well.
Put numbers on that last point. In the example, the fee cost you about $2,573. WordStream’s 2026 benchmarks put the median Facebook lead for real estate at $13.74, call it $14. Online leads typically close at roughly 0.4% to 3% (industry estimates, not a single study). At 1%, a $14 lead costs $1,400 per closing, less than the fee. At 0.4%, it costs $3,500, more than the fee. And ad money is spent whether or not anyone closes. More sources are priced in what real estate leads cost in 2026.
Try it: Referral fee vs. paid adsCompare a pay-at-closing referral fee with paid ads, per closing.Terms to read before you join
- Repeat and referred business: do you owe the fee on the client’s next deal, or on friends and relatives they send you?
- How long the fee follows the client: a set period, or with no end date? What if the client buys and also sells?
- Performance standards: how fast you must respond, how often you must update the program, and what happens if you fall short.
- Lender introductions: does the program expect you to introduce the client to a particular lender? RESPA Section 8 bars giving or receiving a fee or other thing of value for referring settlement service business, such as a mortgage. Whether a program’s terms raise that question is one for your broker or an attorney. See co-marketing with lenders: what RESPA allows.
This is general information, not legal advice. State rules and broker policy vary.
Agent-to-agent referrals
You can also send and receive referrals directly. When a client moves out of your area, you refer them to an agent there, and that agent’s brokerage pays yours a fee at closing. Fees of around 25% are often reported. That’s a habit, not a rule, and each referral fee is negotiable between the two brokerages.
On the $10,500 commission above, 25% is $2,625. After a 70% split, it costs the receiving agent $1,837.50. Put every referral in a written agreement between the two brokerages.
Zillow’s programs are covered in Zillow Premier Agent cost: how the pricing works.
Common questions
What referral fee do pay-at-closing lead programs charge agents?
Reported fees run from about 15% to 40% of the agent’s commission. Examples: HomeLight about 33%, Redfin’s partner program about 33% to 40%, Realtor.com ReadyConnect about 28% to 40%, and Zillow’s program 15% to 40%. Most companies don’t publish the figure, so read your agreement.
Is a referral fee taken before or after my brokerage split?
The fee comes off the gross commission. When your brokerage applies the split to what’s left, it shares the cost: on a $10,500 commission with a 35% fee and a 70% split, the fee costs you about $2,573, not $3,675. Confirm the order with your broker.
How much is an agent-to-agent referral fee?
Fees of around 25% are often reported. That’s a habit, not a rule: each referral fee is negotiable, and it is paid broker to broker under a written agreement.
Updated October 2026. General information for real estate professionals, not legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, platform rules and program terms change, so confirm them at the source.