Opendoor service fees | Hidden fees | Closing costs | Opendoor vs. realtor fees | FAQs
Opendoor is an online service that buys houses for cash and charges a service fee of 5% of the sale price. This is known as iBuying, and it takes the hassle out of selling by giving the home seller a quick, predictable sale.
Opendoor's fee is currently fixed at 5% of a home's sale price, although historically it’s been as high as 14%.
In some cases, selling with Opendoor can be cheaper than a traditional sale with a listing agent. However, there are several factors beyond the service fee that will still affect the overall cost, including:
Repair costs: Deductions that Opendoor makes from the offer based on their assessment.
Seller closing costs: Closing costs that you, the seller, still have to cover, like prorated property taxes, title fees, and transfer taxes.
Final sale price: What Opendoor is willing to pay you for your home. Often, a motivated buyer on the open market would be willing to pay more.
To get the most cash when you sell your home, use Clever. You'll get matched with a top local agent who can present you with an offer from Opendoor and other companies that buy houses near you.
Your agent will determine a competitive listing price so you'll know if the offer you're getting is fair, and help you choose the best solution for your situation.
How much are Opendoor's fees?
Opendoor has currently capped its service fee at 5% of the sale price. Offerpad, one of Opendoor's main competitors, also charges 5%, but they generally make lower offers than Opendoor. |
The service fee isn’t the only cost that you have to consider when you sell to Opendoor. The total cost to sell your home to Opendoor ranges from 7-10%
💰Service fee | 5% |
📁Closing costs | 1-3% |
🛠Repair costs | 1-2% |
👍Seller concessions | n/a |
Total | 7-10% |
Opendoor splits all closing costs 50/50 with the seller, so your portion could range from 1-3%, as it would in a traditional sale.
Also not included in the service fee are any costs that Opendoor may need to deduct for repairs.
It’s difficult to know how much Opendoor will deduct for repairs since every property is different. If they charge home repair costs similar to those incurred by typical sellers, then they may be as high as 2% of your home's value.[1]
» READ: Our full review of Opendoor.
Does Opendoor have any hidden fees?
Opendoor prides itself on transparent pricing, so there are no hidden fees that sellers will encounter during their transaction.
However, repair costs might end up being significantly higher than you anticipated — resulting in a final offer that’s much lower than your original estimate.
Some Opendoor customers complain that there was a dramatic difference between their Opendoor estimate and the final offer that they received as a result of inflated repair costs.
While this might be true, it’s also possible that omitting or not being aware of maintenance issues in your home could be the problem.
Be as thorough and accurate as possible when you complete the estimate form online, so your Opendoor inspector doesn’t reveal something that could dramatically impact their offer.
In some situations, Opendoor may actually recommend that you list your home on their website and sell with one of their agents if the repair costs end up being so great that the transaction isn’t mutually beneficial — meaning that there isn’t enough margin for Opendoor to cover their carrying costs and still make a profit.
✍️ Editor’s note There’s no penalty for walking away from an Opendoor offer, so if the final offer isn’t what you were expecting, you can say no and find an agent who will list your house for you instead. |
Does Opendoor pay closing costs?
No — if you sell to Opendoor, you’ll still have to pay 50% of the closing costs.
In a typical real estate transaction, seller closing costs range from 1-3% of the sale price and include things like:
Title fees
Transfer taxes
Prorated property taxes
Opendoor’s pricing page assumes that closing costs for the seller will only be 1%, but in reality, it’s often more, so make sure you’re aware of this when you submit your request for an estimate.
Opendoor vs. realtor fees
Selling to Opendoor costs 5.5-10% between service fees, repair costs, and closing costs. By comparison, selling with a realtor costs anywhere from 8-13%.
While closing costs and repair costs are similar, Opendoor’s maximum service fee of 5% is slightly cheaper than the typical 6% realtor commission.
However, a realtor might be able to sell your home for more than Opendoor is willing to pay. Opendoor even assumes this on their pricing page by noting that you could get almost 3% more by selling with a realtor.
One important difference with Opendoor’s repair costs is they are a deduction from your offer, not a cash charge. This could be good news for sellers who aren’t able to contribute more cash when they’re trying to sell their house.
📝 A note about seller concessions Opendoor proudly claims that when you sell with them you won't have to pay any seller concessions— additional costs that the buyer negotiates for the seller to cover, often including things like repair credits and a home warranty. While this is technically true, it could also be disputed. Since repair credits are a common element of seller concessions, and since Opendoor does deduct money from their offer for repair credits, we could argue that they do in fact request seller concessions without calling them such. |
Opendoor cost comparison
Here’s an example of how selling with Opendoor would compare to selling with a real estate agent.
For the sake of this scenario, let’s assume that the seller still owes $200,000 on their mortgage, and that all costs (except service fee/commission) are equal.
As you can see, this scenario nets the seller $3,000 more when they sell with Opendoor, if all things are equal.
But all things are rarely equal.
A couple of important variables to consider are:
The sale price: Opendoor might not be willing to pay as much as a motivated private buyer in a competitive market. If, in the previous example, Opendoor was only willing to pay $280,000 instead of $300,000, the seller would only net $57,600, making it more worthwhile to list with an agent.
Predictability: If you list with an agent, you could still sell quickly, but the process won’t be as predictable as it will be with Opendoor. As of October 2022, houses spent a median of 51 days on the market. However, there’s traditionally a 30-45 day closing period, so selling on the open market really averages 79 days from start to finish. With Opendoor, you can close on your own timeline (within 14—60 days).
Ultimately, the value of using Opendoor depends on your situation and goals as a seller.
Opendoor is best for sellers who want a quick, predictable sale with minimal hassle. While the price that Opendoor pays might be less than what a motivated private buyer would pay, the convenience of having someone else handle repairs might be worth it.
Working with a realtor may cost slightly more upfront as you’ll have to pay for repairs yourself and pay the cost of realtor commissions, but in the end, it could net you slightly more money. This is the best option if you’re in a competitive
market, have time and money to prepare your house for a sale, and don’t mind having to open your house up for showings.
You can even work with an agent to find and compare cash offers before you make your decision.
FAQs about Opendoor fees
How much does Opendoor charge to sell a house?
Opendoor’s service fee is 5% of the sale price. Historically, Opendoor’s fees have been as high as 14%, but the company has currently capped their fees to compete with other iBuyers. Read our in-depth Opendoor review to learn more!
Is Opendoor more expensive than selling with a realtor?
Opendoor's 5% service fee is about the same as standard realtor commission rates, but you may get less for your home than selling to an ordinary buyer. If getting top dollar for your home is a priority, consider selling with a discount brokerage. The best low commission realtors match the service and support of a traditional agent but charge a fraction of the price.
Does Opendoor have any hidden fees?
No, Opendoor does not have any hidden fees. But, you should be aware that you'll still have to cover closing costs (1-3%) when you sell. Opendoor will likely also deduct repair costs from your initial offer, which could amount to 1-2% of the sale price.
Related reading
Zillow. "Selling a Home Costs $20,851, Most of It Taxes and Commissions." Updated April 9, 2019.