A headline rate is not a price. Two agents can quote numbers that look a percentage point apart and end up charging within a few pounds of each other, because the quoted figure is only one of four things that decide what you pay. This page is about the other three, and about the one question that matters more than the rate.
Whether the number includes VAT
The standard rate of VAT is 20 percent, and an agency fee carries it. A rate quoted exclusive of VAT is a fifth cheaper on paper than the same rate quoted inclusive, and quotes in the wild come both ways without always saying which. This is the single most common reason two quotes are not comparable. Ask the question directly, write both quotes in the same form, and only then look at which is lower.
Whether the fee is payable if the house does not sell
This is the question that outranks the rate, and it separates the two business models more than any percentage does. A fee payable only on completion costs nothing if the sale never happens. A fee payable on introduction of a buyer, or up front, can be owed on a sale that falls through. The Estate Agents Act 1979 requires the agent to set out, before you enter the contract, the circumstances in which you become liable to pay, so the answer is in writing before you commit and there is no excuse for not reading it.
What the fee actually buys, and the tie in
Photography, floor plans, portal listings and accompanied viewings may be included or charged separately, and a cheap headline rate with everything itemised beneath it is not cheap. Then there is the length of the contract and the notice period, because a low rate on a long tie in with sole selling rights is a worse deal than a higher rate you can leave. If you might change agent, understand that instructing a second while the first contract runs can leave you owing fees to both.
Questions people ask about cheapest estate agent fees
Is the cheapest quote usually the cheapest outcome?
Only if the fee structures match. Compare on the same VAT basis, the same inclusions and the same trigger for liability, and the ranking often changes.
Are fixed fee agents cheaper than commission?
Below a crossover sale price, yes, and above it, no. The crossover is arithmetic you can do in the free sheet with both quotes in front of you.
Can I negotiate the rate?
It is a contract term like any other, and the moment to raise it is before you sign. Afterwards you are negotiating against a document you have already agreed.