If you’re comparing Easy Realty vs. Star Bay Realty for an Orlando real estate team, don’t stop at the transaction fee.
Star Bay Realty advertises an attractive proposition: 100% commission, no monthly brokerage fee and a $250 transaction fee. For an individual agent doing regular business, that’s worthy of consideration.
But running a real estate team is different from running a one-person business.
Every cost that applies to an individual agent can potentially be multiplied across 5, 10, 20 or more affiliated agents. Startup fees, annual minimums, association memberships, MLS expenses and other per-agent obligations can become team-level overhead.
That’s where the comparison between Easy Realty and Star Bay Realty becomes more interesting.
The question for an Orlando team leader isn’t simply:
Which brokerage has the lowest transaction fee?
It’s:
Which brokerage provides the better economic and operating environment for the entire team as we grow?
Let’s run the numbers.
Easy Realty vs. Star Bay Realty: Quick Comparison
| Feature | Easy Realty | Star Bay Realty |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 100% | 100% |
| Standard sales brokerage/transaction fee | $495 when sale closes | $250 per transaction |
| Monthly brokerage fee | $0 | $0 |
| Cost to join | $0 | $250 initiation fee |
| Annual minimum brokerage charge | $0 | $250 if minimum annual transaction requirement isn’t met |
| Minimum production | None | 1 transaction per year to avoid annual charge |
| Separate E&O fee | No separate Easy Realty E&O fee | E&O advertised as included |
| MLS participation | Optional | Compare applicable board/MLS structure |
| NAR membership required by Easy Realty | No | Verify requirements applicable to chosen association/MLS |
| Florida Realtors required by Easy Realty | No | Verify requirements applicable to chosen association/MLS |
| Local REALTOR® association required by Easy Realty | No | Verify requirements applicable to chosen association/MLS |
| Fee merely for adding an Easy Realty team member | $0 | Initiation cost applies to affiliated agents under published plan |
| Minimum team production | None | Individual annual transaction requirement matters across team |
| Team brokerage support | Yes | Yes |
| EasyBot AI support | Yes | No equivalent EasyBot system identified in its published offering |
| Easy Realty Agent Hub | Yes | Uses its own member portal/resources |
| Team technology choice | Team can use its own systems | Brokerage tools available |
Immediately, we can see that Star Bay wins the headline transaction-fee comparison.
$250 is less than $495.
We’re not going to pretend otherwise.
But that’s just one line in the table.
For a team leader, the more important question is what happens when the model is multiplied across an entire organization.
Star Bay Realty’s $250 Initiation Fee Changes the Team Calculation
A $250 initiation fee for one agent may not be particularly consequential.
Multiply it across a team.
| New Affiliated Agents | Star Bay $250 Initiation Cost | Easy Realty Cost to Join |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250 | $0 |
| 5 | $1,250 | $0 |
| 10 | $2,500 | $0 |
| 20 | $5,000 | $0 |
| 30 | $7,500 | $0 |
| 50 | $12,500 | $0 |
This is where a brokerage structure designed for individuals can produce very different economics when viewed through the eyes of a team leader.
At Easy Realty, adding another affiliated agent does not create a joining fee for that team member.
That matters enormously for a team focused on recruiting.
A team leader shouldn’t necessarily have to ask:
“Can this person justify the cost of adding them?”
The better question is:
“Can this person help us build the business?”
The Annual Minimum Matters Even More for Teams
Star Bay’s published model also establishes an annual production threshold associated with avoiding its annual charge.
Again, for one producing agent, that may be irrelevant. Complete a transaction and the issue disappears.
Teams work differently.
Not every team member necessarily closes every year.
A team may include:
- New agents
- Developing agents
- Part-time agents
- Referral-producing agents
- Agents taking temporary breaks
- Agents transitioning into production
- Agents serving narrow geographic markets
- Agents focused on prospecting
- Agents whose production fluctuates from year to year
Under Easy Realty’s model, there is no minimum production requirement.
That means a team leader can recruit someone because of the potential that agent brings to the organization without creating an Easy Realty minimum-production obligation.
What Happens With 20 Agents?
Let’s take a hypothetical 20-agent Orlando team.
At Star Bay, published initiation pricing creates:
20 agents × $250 = $5,000
in initiation fees.
At Easy Realty:
20 agents × $0 = $0
That’s a $5,000 difference before those team members close their first transaction.
Now consider production.
Suppose some members of that 20-agent team don’t close during a particular year.
Under Star Bay’s published structure, the annual minimum charge becomes relevant for those agents.
At Easy Realty, there is no minimum production requirement and no annual Easy Realty brokerage fee simply because an agent didn’t close.
That makes the economics particularly different for teams recruiting aggressively.
Team Growth Changes the Brokerage Question
An individual agent often evaluates a brokerage like this:
How much will I pay on my next closing?
A team leader should evaluate a brokerage differently:
What happens financially every time I recruit another agent?
That’s a much more revealing question.
Consider costs that can scale with headcount:
- Brokerage initiation charges
- Monthly agent charges
- Annual minimums
- MLS subscriptions
- Association memberships
- Technology subscriptions
- Training costs
- E&O charges
- Administrative fees
- Team-member transaction charges
The best brokerage for one agent isn’t automatically the best brokerage for a 20-agent team.
That’s why we created a complete statewide guide to Florida Real Estate Brokerage for Teams.
And for the broader Florida brokerage market, see our new mega-comparison: Best 100% Commission Real Estate Brokerage in Florida: 2026 Comparison.
That article compares brokerage economics beyond the headline transaction fee, including recurring costs, MLS flexibility, association structures, support and the cost of doing zero transactions.
Orlando Teams Need to Look Beyond Brokerage Fees
A Greater Orlando real estate team isn’t simply a collection of agents doing separate transactions.
The team is a business.
It may be recruiting across:
- Orlando
- Winter Park
- Lake Nona
- Windermere
- Winter Garden
- Kissimmee
- Celebration
- St. Cloud
- Sanford
- Lake Mary
- Oviedo
- Clermont
- Apopka
- Ocoee
- Maitland
- Surrounding Central Florida markets
Growth can mean adding agents rapidly.
That’s why the brokerage needs to work not only for the team leader today, but for the organization the team leader is trying to build.
We’ve explored that broader question in Best Real Estate Brokerage for Teams in Orlando.
The distinction here is that we’re now putting Easy Realty and Star Bay Realty directly against one another.
Star Bay Realty Has a Real Transaction-Fee Advantage
Let’s give Star Bay credit where it’s deserved.
Its advertised $250 transaction fee is $245 lower than Easy Realty’s standard $495 sales brokerage fee.
For a producing individual agent completing ten applicable transactions, using only those advertised transaction charges:
| Transactions | Easy Realty | Star Bay Realty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $495 | $250 |
| 5 | $2,475 | $1,250 |
| 10 | $4,950 | $2,500 |
| 20 | $9,900 | $5,000 |
If the only question were:
Which brokerage has the lower advertised transaction charge?
Star Bay wins.
But that’s not our question.
We’re asking:
Which brokerage model makes more sense for an Orlando real estate team?
That’s substantially broader.
Brokerage Fees and Team Overhead Are Different Things
Think about a 20-agent team in which only five agents are currently high producers.
A transaction charge is generated by production.
A per-agent obligation is generated by headcount.
Those costs behave very differently.
Team leaders generally want costs associated with revenue.
A cost that only occurs because a transaction closes is easier to absorb because the expense accompanies income.
A cost caused simply by adding another agent can penalize growth before that agent becomes productive.
Easy Realty deliberately minimizes that second category.
Cost of Adding Agents
| Team Growth | Easy Realty Joining Cost | Star Bay Published Initiation Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Add 1 agent | $0 | $250 |
| Add 3 agents | $0 | $750 |
| Add 5 agents | $0 | $1,250 |
| Add 10 agents | $0 | $2,500 |
| Add 20 agents | $0 | $5,000 |
For a team leader planning aggressive recruitment, that difference deserves consideration.
What About E&O?
Star Bay’s current Orlando commission-plan page advertises E&O insurance as included.
Easy Realty similarly does not charge agents a separate Easy Realty E&O fee.
So based on the published information currently available, we do not consider E&O a headline price difference between these two brokerage models.
That’s the fair comparison.
What team leaders should evaluate, however, is the actual insurance structure available through each brokerage, including applicable deductibles, limitations and agent responsibility if a claim occurs.
Those details matter more than simply seeing “E&O included” on a recruiting page.
The $50 Commission-Handling Fee
Star Bay’s published FAQ identifies another charge that isn’t necessarily incurred on every transaction.
If the title company sends the agent’s commission to Star Bay rather than paying the agent directly in accordance with Star Bay’s preferred commission-disbursement process, Star Bay states that an additional $50 fee applies.
That is avoidable if the transaction is handled according to the stated process.
We would therefore not add $50 to every Star Bay transaction in our comparison.
But team leaders evaluating operational processes should know that it exists.
That’s precisely why good brokerage comparisons look beyond the headline number.
MLS and REALTOR® Membership Can Be the Much Bigger Economic Difference
This is where the comparison potentially becomes far more significant than $250 versus $495.
Easy Realty is MLS optional.
Easy Realty does not require an agent merely joining the brokerage to become a member of:
- NAR
- Florida Realtors
- A local REALTOR® association
- An MLS
That doesn’t mean Easy Realty agents cannot use an MLS.
Many do.
It means the choice depends upon the agent’s business.
For some agents, MLS access may be essential.
For others, it may not be.
For a large team, that flexibility can create substantial economic differences because association and MLS costs are typically evaluated per individual agent rather than per team.
Learn more in Florida Real Estate Brokerage Where MLS Is Optional.
For agents considering whether the expense makes economic sense at lower production, read Is MLS Membership Worth It for One or Two Deals a Year?.
Why MLS Optionality Can Matter to a Team
A team may contain several different types of agents.
One member might be a full-time buyer’s agent who needs MLS access every day.
Another might primarily work leads generated centrally by the team.
Another may be new.
Another may focus largely on sphere business.
Another may handle only a few transactions annually.
Another may primarily generate referrals.
Another may concentrate on a specific niche.
Why automatically force every one of those agents into exactly the same operating-cost structure?
Easy Realty’s philosophy is that infrastructure should match the agent’s actual business.
If MLS access makes sense, use it.
If it doesn’t, don’t automatically buy it merely because everybody else at the brokerage does.
Read What Does MLS Optional Mean? for the complete explanation.
REALTOR® Membership and a Florida Real Estate License Are Different Things
This distinction also matters in a team comparison.
Holding a Florida real estate license and being a REALTOR® are not the same thing.
REALTOR® is a membership designation.
A Florida real estate license is the state credential authorizing licensed real estate activity subject to Florida law and brokerage supervision.
Easy Realty operates a model in which REALTOR® association membership is not a universal condition imposed upon every affiliated agent.
If this distinction is new to you, start with There Is No Such Thing as a “Licensed Realtor”.
Then read Can You Sell Real Estate Without Joining NAR?.
For team leaders, this isn’t merely an industry-philosophy question.
It can become a cost-per-agent question.
The Thompson Broker Difference
Easy Realty’s operating model is also connected to what we call the Thompson Broker model.
The basic idea is that real estate licensing, REALTOR® membership and MLS participation don’t have to be treated as one inseparable package.
Easy Realty lets agents make more of those decisions based on their individual businesses.
For an Orlando team, that can create flexibility when recruiting agents with very different production levels and infrastructure needs.
Read What Is Florida’s Thompson Broker Model? for the full history and explanation.
Team Technology Should Belong to the Team
This is another area where team leaders need to think differently from solo agents.
A mature team may already have:
- CRM
- Lead routing
- Transaction management
- Marketing automation
- Websites
- Phone systems
- Email systems
- Lead-generation platforms
- Training
- Internal workflows
- Team branding
The last thing some sophisticated teams need is another mandatory brokerage technology layer.
Easy Realty’s philosophy is:
Technology is personal. Support is universal.
A team can choose systems appropriate to its business while still receiving brokerage infrastructure and support.
That’s especially important as teams scale.
Every Easy Realty Team Member Gets Brokerage Support
Reducing overhead shouldn’t mean abandoning agents.
Easy Realty has invested heavily in making brokerage support easier to access.
That includes:
- EasyBot
- Agent Hub
- Knowledge Hub
- Document Hub
- Policy Hub
- Education Hub
- Support resources
- Human assistance when needed
Team members shouldn’t have to route every brokerage question through the team leader.
That can become an enormous hidden cost for the team leader.
If ten agents each ask the team leader routine brokerage questions every week, the team leader becomes the support desk.
Easy Realty is designed to help prevent that.
Explore The Easy Realty Agent Hub: The Home of Fanatical Support for a detailed tour.
Then read Easy Realty: The Home of Fanatical Agent Support for the broader philosophy.
100% Commission Doesn’t Have to Mean 0% Support
This distinction is especially important because both Easy Realty and Star Bay operate around a 100% commission proposition.
Many agents assume low-overhead brokerage models mean:
You’re on your own.
That isn’t the model Easy Realty is trying to build.
The goal is:
Best Support. Best Economics.
Our new article https://join.easy.realty/100-percent-commission-real-estate-brokerage-support/ explains why we don’t believe agents should have to choose between retaining their commission and receiving responsive brokerage support.
For a team leader, that creates another economic advantage.
The brokerage helps support the agents instead of making the team leader responsible for answering everything.
Which Model Is Better for a Five-Agent Orlando Team?
At five agents, the initiation-cost difference remains relatively modest.
Star Bay’s published $250-per-agent initiation pricing produces:
$1,250
for five agents.
Easy Realty’s joining cost for those five agents:
$0.
If all five are strong producers, Star Bay’s lower transaction fee can become economically significant.
This is where a team leader should compare the entire operating environment rather than cherry-pick whichever fee makes one brokerage look best.
Which Model Is Better for a 10-Agent Team?
At ten agents, the startup difference becomes:
Star Bay: $2,500
Easy Realty: $0
The team leader should now evaluate:
- Number of productive agents
- Number of developing agents
- Annual transaction count
- Association requirements
- MLS expenses
- Support burden
- Technology duplication
- Recruitment plans
The transaction-fee advantage still belongs to Star Bay.
But the headcount-cost advantage belongs to Easy Realty.
Which matters more depends upon the team.
Which Model Is Better for a 20-Agent Team?
At twenty agents, the structural difference becomes difficult to ignore.
The published Star Bay initiation cost becomes:
$5,000
Easy Realty remains:
$0
Now magnify every other per-agent requirement across 20 people.
This is why large teams should never make brokerage decisions based solely on a transaction fee.
Scale changes the arithmetic.
And What Happens at 50 Agents?
At 50 affiliated agents:
$250 × 50 = $12,500
in published Star Bay initiation charges.
At Easy Realty:
$0 in joining fees.
That’s before examining any other per-agent obligations.
This is the fundamental Easy Realty team proposition:
Growing your team should grow your business, not automatically grow your brokerage overhead.
5 vs. 10 vs. 20 vs. 50 Agents
| Team Size | Easy Realty Joining Cost | Star Bay Published Initiation Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | $0 | $1,250 |
| 10 | $0 | $2,500 |
| 20 | $0 | $5,000 |
| 50 | $0 | $12,500 |
The bigger the team becomes, the more important per-agent economics become.
But Star Bay May Still Be the Better Fit for Some Teams
Absolutely.
If a team:
- Has consistently productive agents
- Values the Star Bay operating environment
- Wants access to its particular brokerage resources
- Is comfortable with its membership structure
- Is less sensitive to initial per-agent costs
- Places greater weight on the lower transaction fee
then Star Bay’s model could be attractive.
That’s exactly why we’re showing its advantages instead of pretending they don’t exist.
The purpose of this comparison isn’t to argue that Star Bay is a bad brokerage.
The purpose is to ask a different question:
Which brokerage structure makes more sense for the team you’re trying to build?
That’s ultimately a business decision.
Why Easy Realty Is Particularly Strong for Growing Teams
Easy Realty becomes especially interesting when the team leader’s goal is recruitment and scale.
Consider the structural advantages:
No cost to add another affiliated agent
There is no Easy Realty joining fee merely because your team recruited another person.
No minimum production
A new recruit doesn’t need to immediately justify their existence with production.
No monthly Easy Realty brokerage fee
An agent can develop without creating monthly Easy Realty brokerage overhead.
No annual Easy Realty brokerage fee
The team isn’t carrying another annual Easy Realty affiliation charge per member.
MLS participation is optional
Infrastructure can be matched to the agent’s actual role and business.
No Easy Realty requirement to join NAR
Agents aren’t automatically placed into the traditional membership structure simply by affiliating.
Team technology remains flexible
A team can preserve the systems it already uses.
Brokerage support is available to team members
The team leader doesn’t have to become the first point of contact for every routine question.
Taken together, those characteristics make Easy Realty particularly interesting for teams trying to scale.
Team Leaders Should Calculate Cost per Recruit
Here’s a metric that almost no brokerage recruiting presentation discusses:
What does adding one more agent cost my organization before that person produces anything?
That’s the number team leaders should understand.
If the answer is:
$0
you can recruit much more aggressively.
If every new person creates another collection of mandatory costs, recruiting becomes a capital-allocation decision.
Neither structure is automatically wrong.
But they’re very different.
Team Leaders Should Also Calculate Cost of Failure
Not every recruit becomes a producer.
That’s simply real estate.
Some agents join and thrive.
Some take longer.
Some close occasionally.
Some leave the industry.
Some discover that real estate isn’t for them.
A team with high fixed costs per recruit pays for those misses.
A team with low fixed costs can afford to give more people an opportunity.
That’s one of the less obvious advantages of removing per-agent brokerage overhead.
What About Brand Control?
Modern real estate teams increasingly build value in their team brand.
The brokerage still matters.
Compliance still matters.
Licensing still matters.
Broker supervision still matters.
But consumers may primarily interact with the team.
That’s why team leaders should ask whether the brokerage enables them to build a distinct, compliant team identity instead of forcing every marketing decision into a brokerage-first model.
We’ve explored this idea in Team Brand First, Brokerage Second: How Modern Teams Win.
Questions Orlando Team Leaders Should Ask Star Bay, Easy Realty or Any Brokerage
Before moving a team, ask every brokerage the same questions.
Economics
- What does it cost to join?
- Is the joining fee per agent?
- Is there a monthly charge?
- Is there an annual charge?
- Is there minimum production?
- What is the transaction fee?
- Is the fee per transaction or per side?
- Are leases treated differently?
- Are commercial transactions treated differently?
- Are high-value properties treated differently?
Team costs
- Is there a team-leader fee?
- Is there a per-agent team fee?
- What happens when I add ten agents?
- What if half the team closes nothing?
- Does every agent buy the same technology?
- Does every agent need the same memberships?
MLS and associations
- Must every agent join an MLS?
- Is REALTOR® association membership required?
- Which MLS is available?
- Which local association is involved?
- What additional annual costs result?
Support
- How does an agent get help?
- Can team members contact brokerage support directly?
- Are answers available outside normal office hours?
- Is there an organized knowledge base?
- Can agents access current policies and forms themselves?
- What happens when human broker involvement is needed?
Technology
- Can the team use its existing CRM?
- Can the team use its existing website?
- Can the team use its existing marketing stack?
- Are mandatory technology charges imposed per agent?
Those answers tell you far more than:
“We’re 100% commission.”
Easy Realty vs. Star Bay Realty: Who Wins?
There isn’t one winner in every category.
Lowest advertised transaction fee
Star Bay Realty.
No joining fee
Easy Realty.
No minimum production
Easy Realty.
No monthly brokerage fee
Both models advertise $0 monthly under the plans discussed here.
E&O advertised as included/no separate agent charge
Both compare favorably based on current published information.
MLS optionality
Easy Realty.
No REALTOR® membership requirement from the brokerage
Easy Realty.
Scaling team headcount without joining fees
Easy Realty.
AI-powered brokerage support
Easy Realty.
Existing team technology flexibility
Easy Realty is deliberately designed around technology choice.
Lower transaction charge for high-volume producers
Star Bay Realty’s published plan has the advantage.
That’s a much more useful comparison than saying one brokerage is universally “better.”
The Real Decision for Orlando Team Leaders
If you’re choosing between Easy Realty and Star Bay Realty, ask yourself:
Am I optimizing for the lowest possible transaction fee for productive individual agents?
or:
Am I optimizing the entire brokerage structure for building and scaling a team?
Those aren’t necessarily the same goal.
A team with five highly productive agents may calculate differently from a team leader attempting to recruit 50 agents.
And that’s precisely why team economics need to be evaluated at the team level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Easy Realty or Star Bay Realty cheaper?
It depends on what you’re measuring. Star Bay currently advertises a lower transaction fee. Easy Realty charges no joining fee and has no minimum production requirement. Team leaders should calculate total annual costs across the entire team.
How much does Star Bay Realty charge to join?
Star Bay currently publishes a $250 initiation fee under the plan discussed in this comparison.
Does Easy Realty charge agents to join?
No. There is no Easy Realty fee to join.
What is Star Bay Realty’s transaction fee?
Star Bay’s current published Orlando commission plan advertises a $250 transaction fee.
What is Easy Realty’s standard brokerage fee?
Easy Realty’s standard brokerage fee is $495 when a sales transaction closes.
Does Star Bay charge monthly fees?
The Star Bay plan examined in this comparison advertises no monthly brokerage fee.
Does Easy Realty charge monthly brokerage fees?
No. There is no monthly Easy Realty brokerage fee simply for remaining affiliated.
Does Star Bay have minimum production?
Star Bay’s published materials state a minimum of one transaction per year to avoid its annual charge.
Does Easy Realty have minimum production?
No. Easy Realty has no minimum production requirement.
Does Star Bay include E&O?
Star Bay’s current Orlando commission-plan materials advertise E&O insurance as included.
Does Easy Realty separately charge agents for E&O?
No. There is no separate Easy Realty E&O fee.
Which brokerage is better for a growing Orlando real estate team?
That depends upon the team’s priorities. Star Bay’s lower transaction charge may appeal to consistently productive teams, while Easy Realty’s zero joining cost, no minimum production, MLS optionality, technology flexibility and brokerage support model can be particularly attractive to teams focused on recruiting and scaling headcount.
Does Easy Realty require agents to join an MLS?
No. MLS participation is optional.
Does Easy Realty require NAR membership?
No. Easy Realty does not require agents to become members of NAR merely to affiliate with the brokerage.
Can Easy Realty support large teams?
Easy Realty’s model is designed to avoid adding monthly or annual Easy Realty brokerage fees simply because team headcount grows, while brokerage support remains available to affiliated team members.
The Bottom Line
Star Bay Realty has a compelling headline:
100% commission. $250 transaction fee. No monthly brokerage fee.
That’s a legitimate offer.
Easy Realty’s argument is different.
We’re asking team leaders to look beyond the next closing and think about the business they’re building.
What does it cost to add another agent?
What happens if a new agent doesn’t immediately produce?
Does every recruit need the same MLS?
Does every recruit need the same association memberships?
Does every recruit create another fixed cost?
Can team members get brokerage support directly?
Can the team use its own technology?
Can the team preserve its identity?
And what happens when the team grows from:
5 agents to 10?
10 to 20?
20 to 50?
That’s where Easy Realty’s model becomes particularly interesting.
100% commission.
$0 to join.
No monthly Easy Realty brokerage fee.
No annual Easy Realty brokerage fee.
No minimum production.
No separate Easy Realty E&O fee.
MLS optional.
No NAR membership requirement imposed by Easy Realty.
Technology choice.
EasyBot.
Agent Hub.
Human brokerage support.
For an individual high producer, the lowest transaction charge may be the deciding factor.
For an Orlando team leader building something much bigger, the cost of scaling the organization may matter more.
That’s why we believe Easy Realty deserves a very close look from growing Orlando real estate teams.
Start with our broader guide to Best Real Estate Brokerage for Teams in Orlando.
Then compare the statewide marketplace in Best 100% Commission Real Estate Brokerage in Florida: 2026 Comparison.
And if the numbers make sense for the team you’re building, learn more about joining Easy Realty.
