How do you calculate the breakeven on a broker fee?

Breakeven month equals the broker fee divided by the monthly rent difference between the fee apartment and the no-fee apartment. If the fee apartment is not cheaper each month, there is no breakeven and the fee never pays for itself on cost alone.

How much is a broker fee in NYC?

When a renter hires their own broker, the fee is typically quoted as one month of rent (about 8.33 percent of annual rent) or as 12 to 15 percent of annual rent. On a $3,000 apartment that is roughly $3,000 at one month, or $4,320 at 12 percent of annual rent.

Do renters still pay broker fees in NYC after the FARE Act?

Sometimes. Under the FARE Act (NYC Local Law 119 of 2024, effective June 11, 2025), whoever hires the broker pays the broker. If the landlord hires the broker to market an apartment, the landlord pays. If a renter chooses to hire their own broker to represent them in the search, that renter still owes the fee.

Are no-fee apartments actually cheaper in NYC?

Not automatically. A landlord who pays the broker may recover that cost through higher rent, which is a recurring cost rather than a one-time one. Comparing the total paid over the time you actually expect to stay, rather than comparing the upfront cash alone, is the only way to know which option is cheaper.

How long does the average NYC renter stay in an apartment?

Many NYC renters move well before the five-year mark, which is why a fee that only breaks even after four or five years rarely pays off in practice. Weigh the breakeven month against how long you honestly expect to stay, not against the longest horizon on the table.

Should I include the security deposit when comparing fee and no-fee apartments?

Not in the cost comparison. Security deposits are refundable and New York law caps them at one month of rent for most residential rentals, so they affect the cash you need at signing but not the long-run cost of either option. Budget for the deposit separately.

Is a Broker Fee Worth It? NYC Fee vs No-Fee Calculator

Quick guide

A broker fee is not automatically a waste of money, and a no-fee apartment is not automatically the cheaper one. A fee is a one-time cost. Rent is a recurring one. Which apartment costs you less depends entirely on how long you stay.

This page does that arithmetic. Enter the two rents and the fee, and it returns the month the fee pays for itself, the cash you need at signing, and the total paid across one to five years of tenancy. No position on whether you should pay: just the full picture, so the number decides.

The calculator

Fee or no fee, run the numbers.

Enter both rents and the fee as quoted. Everything below updates as you type, including the breakeven month, which is the number that actually settles the question.

Fee apartment rent

Monthly rent of the apartment that comes with a broker fee.

No-fee apartment rent

Monthly rent of the comparable apartment with no broker fee.

Broker fee

The one-time fee, as quoted. Ask for it in writing before you agree to anything.

Annual rent increase

Applied to both apartments once per lease year. If the fee apartment starts cheaper, a higher increase widens the gap in its favor.

The verdict

The fee pays for itself in 1 year 10 months

Paying $4,320 to save $200 a month means the fee apartment is the cheaper option from month 22 onward. Stay longer than that and you come out ahead.

Cash needed at signing: $7,320; vs $3,200 no-fee. First month plus the fee, before any security deposit.
Monthly saving: $200; What the fee apartment saves you each month in year one.
Breakeven: Month 22; Stay past 1 year 10 months and the fee apartment costs less overall.

Total paid, by how long you stay

Total housing cost for the fee apartment versus the no-fee apartment across one to five years of tenancy, including the one-time broker fee.
If you stay	Fee apartment	No-fee apartment	Difference
1 year	$40,320	$38,400	$1,920 more
2 yearsTypical	$77,400	$77,952	$552 saved
3 years	$115,592	$118,691	$3,098 saved
4 years	$154,931	$160,651	$5,721 saved
5 years	$195,449	$203,871	$8,422 saved

Totals count rent plus the one-time broker fee only. Security deposits are excluded because they are refundable and capped at one month either way. “Difference” reads from the fee apartment's side: green means the fee apartment has come out ahead by that point. At the two-year mark, the fee apartment is ahead by $552.

The math

One division problem, and one honest question.

The arithmetic is simple enough to do on a napkin. The hard part is being honest about the second input.

The formula

Breakeven month = broker fee ÷ monthly rent difference

A fee apartment saving you $200 a month against a $4,320 fee breaks even at month 22. Before that month, you have paid more than you would have in the no-fee unit. After it, you are ahead, and the gap keeps widening for as long as you stay.

If the fee apartment is not cheaper each month, there is no breakeven. The fee never pays for itself, and the only reasons left to pay it are the ones rent does not capture.

The honest question

How long will you actually stay? A breakeven at month 22 is a good deal for someone settling in and a bad one for someone who suspects they will move within the year.

Compare the breakeven month against your real plans, not the five-year row.
A job that might relocate you, a relationship in flux, or a first year in the city all argue for the shorter horizon.
If you are unsure, treat the two-year figure as your working number.

Worked examples

Three cases, three different answers.

The same fee can be a bargain or a mistake depending on the rent gap behind it. These are computed with the same formula the calculator uses.

The fee is worth it

Fee apartment: $3,000/mo
No-fee apartment: $3,300/mo
Broker fee: $4,320
Breakeven: 1 year 3 months

A $300 monthly gap clears a 12 percent fee well inside the first lease renewal. Anyone planning to stay two years or more saves real money here.

Close enough to think about

Fee apartment: $3,000/mo
No-fee apartment: $3,200/mo
Broker fee: $4,320
Breakeven: 1 year 10 months

Breakeven lands just past the two-year mark. Worth it if you are settling in, a loss if the first lease is your only one.

The fee never pays off

Fee apartment: $3,150/mo
No-fee apartment: $3,200/mo
Broker fee: $4,320
Breakeven: Never

A $50 monthly gap cannot recover a four-figure fee within five years. On cost alone the no-fee apartment wins.

All three assume rent holds flat year to year, so the breakeven months above are the conservative case. Build in an annual increase and a cheaper starting rent compounds in the fee apartment's favor.

Beyond the math

What a breakeven month cannot tell you.

Cost is one input among several. These are the things that legitimately justify paying a fee even when the arithmetic is unflattering, and the things that legitimately argue against it even when the arithmetic looks fine.

Reasons to pay anyway

The apartment is genuinely better, and no comparable no-fee unit exists in the area you need.
A broker representing you can surface units before they are widely listed, which matters in a tight market.
You are searching from out of town, on a compressed timeline, or need someone to handle viewings and paperwork.
The broker is negotiating terms on your behalf, not just opening a door.

Reasons to walk

You expect to move within a year and the breakeven sits well beyond that.
The fee would drain the cash you need for the deposit, movers, and a deliverable buffer.
The same unit, or an equivalent one, is listed elsewhere without a fee.
Nobody can tell you plainly who hired the broker and what the fee buys.

One rule holds regardless of which way the math points: get the fee in writing before you pay it, along with a plain answer to who hired the broker. Since the FARE Act, that answer determines whether the fee is yours to pay at all. The FARE Act guide covers those rules in full.

Next steps

Find the comparison apartment first.

The calculator only works if the no-fee rent you enter is real. Pull a genuine comparable in the same neighborhood, bed count, and condition before deciding anything.

Compare against a unit you would actually sign for, not the cheapest listing in the borough.
Check neighborhood rent data so you know whether the fee apartment is genuinely below market.
Set an alert so new no-fee and direct listings reach you before they are gone.
Ask the fee apartment whether the rent is negotiable. A concession can beat a breakeven.

Related guides

Sources

FAQs

Common questions

What renters ask before deciding whether a broker fee is worth paying.

Sources: NYC DCWP, NY AG tenants' rights guide

It can be. A broker fee is worth paying when the apartment it gets you is cheaper each month than the no-fee alternative and you stay long enough to recover the fee. Divide the fee by the monthly rent difference to get the breakeven month: a $4,320 fee on an apartment renting $200 a month below a comparable no-fee unit pays for itself in 22 months. Stay longer than that and you save money; move sooner and you lose it.