Short-term rental profit calculator
Enter what your Airbnb or Vrbo rental earns and what it costs. The calculator shows your profit after every cost and the loan payment, for a year and for a month. It is free, and nothing you type leaves this page.
Profit after loan payments
$5,651a year
Where each dollar of guest payments goes
- Booking-site fees15.5¢$8,486
- Cleaning15¢$8,213
- Other running costs19.7¢$10,800
- Loan payments39.5¢$21,600
- Profit10.3¢$5,651
$54,750 a year in guest payments, from 219 booked nights and about 55 stays.
With these figures, costs are covered at 187 booked nights a year, which is 51% occupancy.
Important. This calculator is simple arithmetic on the figures you enter. Every figure is an estimate for illustration only, and no financial outcome is promised or implied. It is not financial, investment, tax, legal or real estate advice.
See your profit from your real bookings and bills.
The calculator works from the figures you expect. STR IQ Lab works from the records you already have. Upload the reservations file from Airbnb, Vrbo or your booking software and a file from your bank, and it shows your profit after loan payments for every month.
Get started for freeFree for 14 days. You enter a card to begin, and you pay nothing if you cancel before day 15. Then $24.99 USD a month for one home, plus applicable taxes. Or open the live demo, which needs no sign-up.
How the calculator works
Every figure is for one year. The monthly profit is the yearly profit divided by 12.
- Guest payments = nightly rate × booked nights
- Booking-site fees = guest payments × the fee percent
- Cleaning = booked nights ÷ average stay × the cleaning cost for each stay
- Other running costs = the monthly figure × 12
- Loan payments = the monthly payment × 12
- Profit after loan payments = guest payments − fees − cleaning − running costs − loan payments
- Profit from each dollar = profit ÷ guest payments
A worked example
The starting figures describe a home that rents for $250 a night and is booked 219 nights a year, which is 60% occupancy. Guests pay $54,750 over the year. A 15.5% booking-site fee takes $8,486. With an average stay of 4 nights there are about 55 stays, and cleaning at $150 a stay comes to $8,213. Running costs of $900 a month add up to $10,800, and a loan payment of $1,800 a month adds up to $21,600.
The four costs total $49,099. The profit after loan payments is $5,651 a year, or $471 a month. That is 10.3 cents from each dollar guests paid.
Questions about the calculator
How do you calculate profit on a short-term rental?
Start with guest payments for the year: the average nightly rate times the booked nights. Take off the booking site's fee, the cleaning for each stay, the other running costs and the loan payments. What is left is the profit after loan payments. The calculator does that sum and divides it by 12 for the monthly figure.
What is a good profit margin for an Airbnb or Vrbo rental?
There is no single figure. The margin depends on the loan, the market and how the home is run. The calculator shows your own margin as the profit from each dollar of guest payments, so you can compare one year with another, or one home with another.
What fee do booking sites charge?
It depends on the site and on your arrangement with it. The calculator offers three starting figures: 15.5% for Airbnb, 8% for Vrbo and 3% for card processing on a direct booking. Check your own payout statements and enter the percent you are charged. If a property manager takes a share of guest payments, add that percent to the fee.
Where do I put the cleaning fee that guests pay?
If guests pay a cleaning fee on top of the nightly rate and it covers the cleaner's bill, enter 0 for the cleaning cost. If it covers part of the bill, enter the part you pay yourself.
What counts as a running cost?
Any cost you pay whether or not the home is booked: utilities, internet, insurance, property tax, HOA dues, supplies, lawn and pool care, and money set aside for repairs. Add them up as one monthly figure. For a bill that comes once a year, divide it by 12.
How many nights do I need to book to break even?
The calculator shows this under the bar. It adds the running costs and the loan payments for the year, then divides the total by what one booked night brings in after the booking site's fee and that night's share of a cleaning.
Does the calculator include taxes?
Property tax belongs in the running costs. Income tax is left out, and so are the lodging and sales taxes collected from guests. An accountant can tell you how tax applies to your rental.
Is anything I type saved or sent?
No. The sums run in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to STR IQ Lab or to anyone else, and nothing is saved. The fields go back to the starting figures when you reload the page.
Is this financial advice?
No. The calculator is simple arithmetic on the figures you enter. Its results are estimates for illustration, and no outcome is promised. Speak with a qualified professional before you buy, sell, borrow or refinance.