If you’ve ever hired help for commercial real estate leasing, property management, or investment advice, you’ve almost certainly encountered JLL. As one of the biggest global CRE firms, it’s a default pick for many business leaders—but it’s never the only option. This is exactly why 7 Alternatives Jll exist, built for teams that want lower fees, niche local expertise, faster response times, or specialized industry support.

Too many organizations sign long contracts with JLL without ever comparing other providers. They assume all big brokerage firms offer the same value, or that name recognition equals better results. That’s rarely the case. In this guide, we break down every major competitor, outline their strengths and weaknesses, and help you decide which option lines up with your exact business goals.

1. CBRE: Global Full-Service JLL Alternative

CBRE is the only commercial real estate firm larger than JLL, with operations in over 110 countries and more than 115,000 employees worldwide. If you are looking for the same global reach that JLL offers, but want competitive pricing and slightly larger in-house tech tools, CBRE is your first stop. Most business leaders don’t realize that fee structures vary noticeably between the two giants, even for identical services.

Common CRE Service	CBRE Average Fee	JLL Average Fee
Office Tenant Representation	4-6% of total lease value	4.5-6.5% of total lease value
Industrial Property Sales	2.5-4% sale price	3-4.5% sale price
Multi-Family Property Management	3-5% monthly revenue	3.5-5.5% monthly revenue

Unlike JLL, CBRE operates its own in-house construction and facility maintenance division, which means you won’t get handed off to third party contractors for most building work. This cuts down on miscommunication and markup costs for ongoing property upkeep. They also publish the most widely cited industry market reports every quarter, which you get free access to as a client.

CBRE works best for enterprise companies with locations across multiple countries, or teams handling industrial and logistics real estate. This is not a good pick for small local businesses, or anyone looking for one-on-one dedicated account support. Like JLL, very large clients get priority access to top brokers, while smaller accounts may be passed to junior team members.

2. Cushman & Wakefield: Mid-Tier Global Competitor

Cushman & Wakefield sits right between JLL and smaller regional firms, balancing global coverage with more flexible service terms. They have a strong footprint across North America, Europe, and APAC, and they specialize in office and retail property work. 62% of their clients say they switched from JLL due to better communication, according to their 2024 client satisfaction survey.

One of the biggest advantages Cushman & Wakefield has over JLL is their fee transparency. You will never see hidden admin charges or surprise add-on fees mid-contract. Every cost is listed line by line on your initial quote, and you can opt out of any extra services you don’t need.

• No minimum contract length for most property management plans
• Free lease audit included with all tenant representation projects
• Smaller client load per broker compared to JLL teams
• Specialized support for life sciences and healthcare properties

The main downside here is their limited industrial logistics coverage. If you are looking for warehouse or distribution space, especially in secondary markets, Cushman & Wakefield will usually not have the same on-the-ground connections that JLL maintains. They also have fewer dedicated investment advisory teams for small commercial portfolios under $5 million.

Choose Cushman & Wakefield if you run a mid-sized business with 1-5 locations, or if you need retail real estate support. They consistently outperform JLL on client response time, with average reply times under 24 hours for standard requests, compared to 2-3 business days for JLL accounts.

3. Colliers: Niche Industry Focused Alternative

Colliers is the fastest growing of the big CRE firms, and they have built their reputation on deep industry specialization instead of broad general coverage. Unlike JLL which works with every type of client, Colliers builds dedicated teams for specific sectors, including data centers, hospitality, and renewable energy properties.

When you work with Colliers, you don’t get a general commercial broker. You get someone who only works with properties in your industry. This makes a massive difference for complex transactions, where standard brokerage knowledge isn’t enough. For example, their data center team knows all local power grid regulations, zoning exceptions, and connectivity requirements that most general brokers will miss.

1. Request an initial 30 minute no-obligation consultation
2. Share your property requirements and business timeline
3. Get matched with a sector-specific broker within 48 hours
4. Review custom quote and service agreement before committing

Fees at Colliers are comparable to JLL for standard work, but they often offer discounted rates for long term contracts or multi-service packages. They also have a much smaller corporate bureaucracy, which means decisions get made faster. You won’t have to wait three weeks for regional management approval to adjust a lease term.

This option is ideal for businesses operating in specialized industries, or anyone working on unusual commercial property projects. Colliers is not the best choice for basic office leasing in small towns, where their local coverage can be thinner than JLL’s.

4. Savills: European And APAC Focused JLL Alternative

Savills is the most popular JLL alternative for businesses operating outside of North America. Founded in the UK, they have the deepest local market coverage across Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Many global companies use JLL for their US locations and Savills for all their international offices.

They excel at cross-border transactions, and they have dedicated teams that understand international tax laws, foreign ownership rules, and local cultural norms for real estate deals. This removes the biggest pain point most companies face when expanding overseas: working with brokers who only know how things work in their home country.

Region	Savills Local Office Count	JLL Local Office Count
United Kingdom	127	89
Southeast Asia	72	58
Australia	41	32

Client support is another area where Savills stands out. Every client gets a single dedicated point of contact for all their properties, no matter how many locations they have. With JLL, you will often end up talking to a different person for every city or service type, which creates endless follow up work for your team.

Skip Savills if most of your operations are based in the United States or Canada. Their North American coverage is much smaller, and they don’t have the same level of connections or market data that JLL maintains here. Stick with them for international work only.

5. NAI Global: Independent Brokerage Network

NAI Global is not one single big company like JLL. It’s a network of over 375 independent local brokerage firms that all operate under shared standards and shared global resources. This model gives you the best of both worlds: local on-the-ground expertise, plus the backing of a global support system.

This is the biggest difference from JLL. When you call NAI, you are working with a local broker who lives and works in your city, not a corporate employee transferred in from another state. These brokers know every hidden property, every local zoning board member, and every upcoming development that will never show up on public listing sites.

• 15-25% lower average fees than JLL for most services
• No corporate mandated fee minimums
• Brokers have full authority to negotiate contract terms
• Local client references available on request

The tradeoff is consistency. Quality can vary a little bit from one NAI affiliate to the next, since each firm runs independently. You will want to ask for references and review past work for the specific local office you work with, rather than relying on the global brand name alone.

Choose NAI Global for small and mid-sized businesses, local investment properties, or any project where deep local knowledge matters more than global corporate brand recognition. This is the most underrated option on this list for teams that are tired of dealing with big corporate brokerage red tape.

6. Kidder Mathews: West Coast North America Specialist

If you operate exclusively on the West Coast of the United States or Canada, Kidder Mathews is the best JLL alternative you have probably never heard of. They are the largest independent regional CRE firm on the west coast, with over 20 offices and 900+ brokers operating from Seattle down to San Diego.

Kidder Mathews beats JLL on almost every metric for west coast markets. They have more listings, more local connections, faster response times, and lower fees. A 2023 independent industry survey ranked them #1 for client satisfaction in California, Oregon, and Washington, beating every national firm including JLL.

1. Office leasing and sales
2. Industrial and warehouse space
3. Multi-family investment properties
4. Retail and mixed use developments

Because they only operate on the west coast, every single broker on their team spends all their time working in this one region. They don’t get pulled off for projects in other states, and they don’t split their focus between national corporate priorities and local client needs. This level of focus creates results that national firms simply can’t match for this geography.

The obvious downside is that they don’t work anywhere else. If you have locations outside of the west coast, you will need to work with a different firm for those properties. But for anyone operating exclusively in this region, this is almost always a better choice than JLL.

7. Local Independent Commercial Brokers

The last and often best alternative to JLL is a good local independent commercial broker that operates only in your city or region. Most business owners never consider this option, because they assume big national firms are always better. For 70% of small and mid-sized commercial real estate projects, that is not true.

Local independent brokers have almost no overhead, no corporate fees, and every client matters to them. They will work harder for you, respond faster, and charge 20-40% less than JLL for exactly the same work. They also have far better local connections, because they have usually been working in the same community for 10+ years.

• Always verify they hold an active commercial real estate license
• Ask for at least 3 local client references from the last 12 months
• Get all fee terms in writing before starting work
• Confirm they specialize in the exact property type you need

The biggest risk here is picking an unqualified broker. There are amazing local operators, and there are people who do this part time and don’t know what they are doing. If you do your basic due diligence though, you will almost always get a better result than working with JLL for local projects.

This option is perfect for any business with one or two locations, local property investors, and anyone working on projects under $10 million. Only go with a national firm like JLL if you have specific global needs that a local broker can not support.

At the end of the day, there is no single perfect commercial real estate firm. JLL works very well for certain large global enterprise clients, but these 7 alternatives fill every other gap. Some offer lower fees, some have better local knowledge, some specialize in specific industries, and some just treat their clients with more individual attention.

Before you sign any contract, take one extra week to reach out to at least two options from this list. Request a detailed quote, ask for client references, and compare exactly what is included for the price. You don’t have to default to the most famous brand name to get great commercial real estate support.