Commercial real estate brokerages compared
Six firms ranked on facts from their own FY2025 filings, plus national, boutique and city hubs. Revenue is total reported revenue and includes reimbursed costs where the firm reports it that way.
Last updated: 2026-10-20
Scored on 65 of 100 points. Three criteria pending.
Explore the hub
National and global firms
The six big listed firms, sorted by how they make money, not just how big they are.
Open →Boutique and regional firms
Independent, broker-owned and regional firms, grouped by ownership model. Profiled, not yet scored.
Open →City hubs
All 30 metro hubs are live, from New York to Cincinnati.
Open →Charlotte
Eleven firms with a verified Charlotte office, and what each local office actually focuses on.
Open →Top commercial brokers
Individual broker profiles with tiered, dated evidence. Grouped by city and specialty, not ranked.
Open →Firm profiles
One page per firm: who it fits, what the filings reveal, and score math.
Open →Head-to-head
CBRE vs JLL, Cushman & Wakefield vs Colliers, Newmark vs Marcus & Millichap.
Open →Facts
| Firm | HQ | Ownership | Revenue | Headcount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBRE Group | Dallas, Texas | Public (NYSE: CBRE) | $40.55 billion (FY2025) | More than 155,000, incl. Turner & Townsend (Dec 31, 2025) | CBRE Group 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) |
| JLL | Chicago, Illinois | Public (NYSE: JLL) | $26.12 billion (FY2025) | More than 113,000 (Dec 31, 2025) | JLL FY2025 results release (Feb 18, 2026) |
| Colliers | Toronto, Ontario | Public (Nasdaq and TSX: CIGI) | $5.56 billion (FY2025) | 24,000 professionals | Colliers FY2025 results release (Feb 13, 2026) |
| Cushman & Wakefield | Chicago, Illinois | Public (NYSE: CWK) | $10.29 billion (FY2025) | About 53,000 (Dec 31, 2025) | Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) |
| Newmark Group | New York, New York | Public (Nasdaq: NMRK) | $3.29 billion (FY2025) | Over 8,800 employees in about 140 offices in 120 cities (Dec 31, 2025) | Newmark Group 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) |
| Marcus & Millichap | Calabasas, California | Public (NYSE: MMI) | $755.2 million (FY2025) | 854 employees plus 1,808 investment sales and financing professionals, mostly independent contractors (Dec 31, 2025) | Marcus & Millichap 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) |
How they make money
Revenue rank says little about what a firm does day to day. This is the share of each firm’s FY2025 revenue by business type, from its own filings.
| Firm | Operating model | Leasing share | Capital markets share | Management / services share | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBRE Group | Outsourcing-led giant | 11.1% | 6.6% | 76.2% | Facilities, project and property management lines |
| JLL | Outsourcing-led giant | 11.5% | 9.3% | 76.6% | Real Estate Management Services segment |
| Cushman & Wakefield | Leasing-led giant | 21% | 8% | 66% | Service-line shares of revenue as stated in the 10-K (incl. reimbursables) |
| Colliers | Diversified: real estate, engineering and investment management | not split | not split | n/a | CRE 59.2%, Engineering 31.2%, Investment Management 9.6% |
| Newmark Group | Capital-markets-led | 30.4% | 31.8% | 37.8% | Management services, servicing fees and other |
| Marcus & Millichap | Private-client investment sales | n/a | 97.5% | n/a | Brokerage commissions 83.8% plus financing fees 13.8% |
The shares are our arithmetic on the revenue lines each firm reports for FY2025 (see sources). Firms define their lines differently. Cushman & Wakefield’s figures are the shares its 10-K states. For CBRE, capital markets is advisory sales plus mortgage origination. For Marcus & Millichap, it is brokerage commissions plus financing fees.
Scores
Client experience, responsiveness and verified reviews stay pending. We have no client survey or review averages we read ourselves. Scores use the remaining 65 points.
| Firm | Scope (25) | Fees (20) | Coverage (15) | Scale (5) | Points | Score /10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBRE Group | 10 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 51.0 / 65 | 7.8 |
| JLL | 10 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 49.0 / 65 | 7.5 |
| Colliers | 9 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 44.0 / 65 | 6.8 |
| Cushman & Wakefield | 8 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 42.0 / 65 | 6.5 |
| Newmark Group | 8 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 38.0 / 65 | 5.8 |
| Marcus & Millichap | 6 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 33.5 / 65 | 5.2 |
Math: points = score × weight ÷ 10 per criterion, summed, then ÷ 65 × 10. Every firm scores 3 on fees because none publishes a fee schedule. See methodology.
Firm notes
CBRE Group
Services: Leasing, capital markets, property and facilities management, project management, investment management
Coverage: More than 100 countries
Fees: CBRE publishes no fee schedule.
Full profile →JLL
Services: Leasing, capital markets, real estate management services, project management, investment management through LaSalle
Coverage: Over 80 countries
Fees: JLL publishes no fee schedule.
Full profile →Colliers
Services: Commercial real estate, engineering, investment management ($108 billion AUM)
Coverage: Global; country count not stated in the sources we read
Fees: Colliers publishes no fee schedule.
Full profile →Cushman & Wakefield
Services: Services, leasing, capital markets, valuation; manages about 6.5 billion sq ft
Coverage: Over 350 offices in nearly 60 countries
Fees: Cushman & Wakefield publishes no fee schedule.
Full profile →Newmark Group
Services: Leasing, investment sales, commercial mortgage origination, servicing ($211.2 billion portfolio), valuation, property management
Coverage: Mainly U.S. (87% of revenue); about 175 offices with business partners across four continents
Fees: Newmark publishes no fee schedule.
Full profile →Marcus & Millichap
Services: Investment sales, financing, research and advisory; 8,818 transactions, about $50.8 billion volume in 2025
Coverage: Over 80 offices in the U.S. and Canada; leads the $1M to $10M private client market per its 10-K
Fees: No fee schedule, but the 10-K reports a 1.82% average commission rate for 2025.
Full profile →Top commercial brokers
13 individual broker profiles in Charlotte, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Phoenix, each checked against SIOR or CCIM directories, state license records, CoStar award lists and deals named in firm or press releases. Grouped by city and specialty, not ranked. See the brokers.
Questions
Which commercial real estate brokerage is the largest?
By 2025 revenue, CBRE Group: $40.55 billion according to its FY2025 10-K, which calls it the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. JLL is next of the six we track, at $26.12 billion.
Do CBRE, JLL or the others publish their commission rates?
None of the six publishes a fee schedule, so every firm scores 3 of 10 on fee transparency. Marcus & Millichap is the only one whose 10-K reports a realized figure: a 1.82% average commission rate in 2025, on an average deal of $5.77 million.
How much of CBRE’s revenue actually comes from brokerage?
Advisory leasing was 11.1% of CBRE’s FY2025 revenue, and advisory sales were 5.2%. Facilities management alone was 50.9%, per the 10-K.
Which firm focuses on smaller investment properties?
Marcus & Millichap. Its 10-K says about 64% of its 2025 brokerage commissions came from the $1 million to $10 million private client market.
Why are client experience and reviews pending?
Those criteria need client surveys or review averages we have read ourselves, and we don’t have them yet. We score on the remaining 65 of 100 points and show the math.
Last verified 2026-10-20. Figures were re-read from the linked sources that day.
View changelog
- First six-firm comparison published, built on FY2025 filings and results releases.
- Broker profiles section added at /brokers, replacing the “coming next” note.
- Hub split into national, boutique, city and profile pages. Added firm profiles and three head-to-head comparisons.
- Corrected the Cushman & Wakefield HQ note. The corporate HQ is in Chicago, but since the Nov 27, 2025 redomiciliation the 10-K lists principal executive offices in Hamilton, Bermuda.
- Added Newmark headcount from its 10-K: over 8,800 employees. Scores are unchanged.
HQ cities are corporate headquarters as stated in each firm’s filing or release. Where the legal principal executive office differs, the firm profile says so. Figures checked 2026-10-20.
Sources
- CBRE Group 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20
- JLL FY2025 results release (Feb 18, 2026) · accessed 2026-10-20
- Colliers FY2025 results release (Feb 13, 2026) · accessed 2026-10-20
- Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20
- Newmark Group 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20
- Marcus & Millichap 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20