Understanding Revenue Share Programs: Build Passive Income
Published January 17, 2025
Revenue share programs can provide substantial passive income for real estate agents. Here's everything you need to know about how they work.
What is Revenue Share?
Revenue share is when a brokerage shares a percentage of the commission income generated by agents you recruit to the company. Instead of keeping 100% of recruit commissions, the brokerage pays you a portion as long as your recruits remain active.
How Revenue Share Programs Work
Multi-Tier Structure
Most programs operate on multiple levels:
- Level 1: Agents you directly recruit
- Level 2: Agents recruited by your Level 1 agents
- Level 3+: Additional levels based on program structure
Typical Percentages
Revenue share percentages vary by brokerage:
- Real Brokerage: 5% on Level 1, decreasing by 1% per level
- eXp Realty: 3.5% on sponsored agents until they cap
- Other brokerages: Vary widely in structure and percentages
Building Revenue Share Income
Start with Quality Recruits
Focus on recruiting productive agents rather than just numbers:
- Experienced agents who will do volume
- Agents who understand the value proposition
- Agents who might also recruit others
Provide Value to Your Recruits
Help your recruits succeed to maximize revenue share:
- Onboarding assistance
- Training and mentorship
- Technology help
- Business development support
Revenue Share Calculations
Use the BrokerageCompass calculator to model revenue share potential based on different recruiting scenarios. The numbers can be substantial for active recruiters.
Example Scenario
If you recruit 6 agents who each do $75,000 in GCI annually at Real Brokerage:
Potential annual revenue share: $22,500 (5% of their $450,000 combined splits to the brokerage)
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