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Airbnb calculator

Estimate what a short-term rental on Airbnb, Vrbo or another platform could earn in a year. Enter the nightly rate, the occupancy rate and the average stay, the cleaning fee and what cleaning costs you, the booking fees, the monthly running costs and the mortgage. The results show the gross revenue, the net operating income, the cash flow per month and per year, and the occupancy rate that breaks even.

The share of the year's 365 nights that are booked.

Nights per booking. Shorter stays mean more cleanings.

What you pay a cleaner, plus laundry and restocking, for each turnover.

The platform's host fee as a share of what guests pay, plus a co-host's or manager's share if you have one.

Utilities, internet, supplies, insurance, property taxes, HOA dues and repairs.

Your results

Estimate

Cash flow per month: $402.50

A year of short-term rental incomeCash flow of $4,830 a year: guests pay $51,100, less booking fees $7,665, cleaning $6,205, running costs $14,400 and the mortgage $18,000. Net operating income is $22,830. Occupancy 60.00%, break-even occupancy 52.22%.$51kRevenue-$7.7kFees-$6.2kCleaning-$14kRunning$23kNOI-$18kMortgage$4.8kCash flow
Cash flow per year
$4,830.00
Gross revenue per year, with cleaning fees
$51,100.00
Net operating income per year
$22,830.00
Booking fees per year
$7,665.00
Cleaning costs per year
$6,205.00
Booked nights per year
219
Revenue per available night
$120.00
Break-even occupancy
52.22%
  • About 73 stays a year bring in $51,100.00. Booking fees take $7,665.00, cleaning $6,205.00 and running costs $14,400.00.
  • An estimate for planning. Lodging taxes that the platform collects and pays over are left out, and income tax is not included. Many cities and HOAs limit short-term rentals or need a permit or registration. Rules vary by state and city. Check your local law or an attorney.

Results are estimates for planning only. They are not legal, tax or investment advice, and they apply no state or local rules. Check your lease, your local laws and a qualified professional before you rely on a number.

How short-term rental income is calculated

Cash flow = (booked nights x nightly rate + stays x cleaning fee) x (1 - booking fees) - stays x cleaning cost - running costs - mortgage; booked nights = 365 x occupancy; stays = booked nights / average stay

Booked nights are the year's 365 nights times the occupancy rate. Dividing them by the average stay gives the number of stays, and each stay brings a cleaning fee from the guest and a cleaning cost for you. Gross revenue is the nightly rate times the booked nights, plus the cleaning fees.

Booking fees are taken as a share of everything guests pay. Enter the host fee your platform charges you, which you can find on your payout statements, and add a co-host's or manager's share if you have one. Running costs are the monthly bills a furnished rental carries whether or not it is booked: utilities, internet, supplies, insurance, property taxes, HOA dues and repairs.

Gross revenue less booking fees, cleaning and running costs is net operating income. Less the mortgage, it is cash flow. Break-even occupancy is the occupancy rate at which cash flow reaches zero: the running costs and the mortgage divided by what each booked night adds after fees and cleaning. Revenue per available night is the nightly revenue spread over all 365 nights, a figure that lets you compare listings with different rates and occupancy.

The result is an estimate for planning. Lodging and occupancy taxes, which many platforms collect from guests and pay over, are left out, and so is income tax. Short-term rental income is taxable, and the rules for short stays can differ from those for long-term rentals, so ask a tax professional. Many cities and HOAs limit short-term rentals or need a permit or registration. It is general information and is not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state and city. Check your local law or an attorney.

Worked example

A furnished two-bedroom house rents for an average of $200 a night and is booked 60% of the year, with stays of 3 nights on average. Guests pay a $100 cleaning fee and each cleaning costs you $85. Booking fees come to 15%, running costs to $1,200 a month and the mortgage to $1,500 a month.

  1. Booked nights: 365 x 60% = 219. Stays: 219 / 3 = 73.
  2. Gross revenue: 219 x $200 = $43,800 of nightly revenue, plus 73 x $100 = $7,300 of cleaning fees: $51,100.
  3. Booking fees: $51,100 x 15% = $7,665. Cleaning: 73 x $85 = $6,205. Running costs: $1,200 x 12 = $14,400.
  4. Net operating income: $51,100 - $7,665 - $6,205 - $14,400 = $22,830.
  5. Cash flow: $22,830 - $1,500 x 12 = $4,830 a year, or $4,830 / 12 = $402.50 a month.
  6. Break-even occupancy: each booked night adds $200 x 85% = $170, and each stay's $100 cleaning fee less 15% covers its $85 cleaning. ($14,400 + $18,000) / $170 = 190.6 nights, and 190.6 / 365 = 52.22%.

The house brings in $51,100.00 a year, with net operating income of $22,830.00 and cash flow of $4,830.00 a year, or $402.50 a month. It breaks even at 52.22% occupancy, and its revenue per available night is $120.00.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate Airbnb income?

Multiply the nightly rate by the nights booked in a year and add the cleaning fees guests pay. Then subtract the booking fees, your cleaning costs and the monthly running costs to get net operating income, and the mortgage to get cash flow. In the example, $51,100 of revenue leaves $22,830 of net operating income and $4,830 of cash flow a year.

What occupancy rate should I use?

Start from your own booking record if the property is already listed. For a property you are thinking of buying, look at how often similar listings nearby are booked across a whole year, since many areas have busy and quiet seasons. Try a lower occupancy too, to see how the cash flow holds up in a slow year.

What is break-even occupancy?

It is the occupancy rate at which the rental's income just covers its running costs and the mortgage, so cash flow is zero. In the example, each booked night adds $170 after fees, and $32,400 of yearly running costs and mortgage payments need 190.6 booked nights, which is 52.22% of the year.

How does a short-term rental compare with a long-term rental?

A short-term rental can charge more per night, and it also carries costs a long-term rental usually passes to the tenant or avoids, such as utilities, furnishing, supplies, cleaning and booking fees, plus more of your time or a manager's fee. To compare, run the same property through the rental cash flow calculator at a long-term rent and set the two cash flows side by side.

Do I need a permit to run a short-term rental?

Often, yes. Many cities require a permit or registration, collect lodging taxes, cap the nights a home can be rented or allow short-term rentals only in a home you live in, and many HOAs and leases have rules of their own. Check before you list. Rules vary by state and city. Check your local law or an attorney.

Your real income and expenses, from your bank feed

KeyRing pulls transactions from your bank feed and matches each one to a property, with suggestions you confirm, so you can see what a rental actually earned against this estimate. Income and expense records use categories you can edit, and you can export your transactions to Excel. Your first subscription starts with a 14-day free trial.

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