Airbnb Calculator: Estimate short-term rental income and profitability. The Airbnb Calculator estimates short-term rental income and profitability including occupancy rates, nightly rates, expenses, and net returns.
Estimate your short-term rental income potential. Compare Airbnb returns with traditional long-term rentals to make informed investment decisions.
Typical: 50-70% for most markets, 70-85% for high-demand areas
STR Considerations
Enter your nightly rate, weekend premium, cleaning fee, and average stay length.
Adjust expected occupancy rate based on your market and seasonality.
Enter operating costs and compare projected income with long-term rental options.
Short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO can generate significantly higher returns than traditional long-term rentals, but they also come with unique challenges and higher operating costs. Our free Airbnb calculator helps you estimate realistic income, account for all expenses, and compare short-term rental returns against long-term alternatives before investing.
The math behind Airbnb profitability is more complex than traditional rentals. While gross revenue might be 2-3x higher, you'll face turnover costs after each guest, higher utility bills, platform fees, furnishing expenses, and potentially property management costs. Successful STR investors understand their break-even occupancy rate, meaning the minimum bookings needed to cover all costs, and price strategically to exceed it.
The best STR investments combine strong market demand, favorable local regulations, and properties well-suited for short stays. Consider proximity to attractions, airports, or business centers. Unique properties like lakefront cabins or downtown lofts often outperform generic units. Use this calculator to model different scenarios and understand whether short-term rental makes sense for your specific property and market.
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Key facts
Annual short-term rental revenue = average daily rate × occupancy × 365. Profit = revenue − platform fees − cleaning − supplies − utilities − management − taxes − insurance − mortgage. Compare with the long-term rent for the same home.
About $13,900 more gross revenue from short-term rental, before the extra costs of cleaning, furnishing, utilities, platform fees and vacancy risk that the calculator subtracts.
Gross revenue is often higher, but the costs are too: furnishing, utilities, cleaning, supplies, platform fees around 3% for hosts, higher insurance, management of 15% to 25% if outsourced, and local occupancy taxes. Compare net profit, and check that local rules allow short-term rentals at all before buying.
Use the occupancy of comparable listings in the same neighborhood and season, not a national average, and stress-test at 10 to 15 points lower. Occupancy depends on the market’s seasonality, the listing’s reviews and pricing, and new supply. The calculator lets you enter a range and see profit at each level.
Last reviewed September 8, 2026 by the EstatePass editorial team. Formulas and program limits are checked against the published rules; figures on this page are arithmetic, not market statistics.
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