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Airbnb Fee Calculator — What Airbnb Really Costs You
Calculate your annual Airbnb service fees, your true short-term rental net income, and how it compares to renting the same property long-term.
Your Airbnb Listing
US market average is 50-65%
What you actually pay your cleaner
Utilities, supplies, insurance bump, subscriptions
Same Property, Long-Term
Maintenance reserve, insurance, management
Annual Airbnb Service Fees You Pay
$1,268
STR Net Income / Year
$28,107
Long-Term Net / Year
$24,000
At 65% occupancy, your short-term rental nets about $4,107 more per year than a 12-month lease — before counting your time managing 79 turnovers. Your breakeven occupancy is roughly 57% — below that, the lease wins.
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Thinking about going long-term?
A 12-month lease means no turnovers, no guest messages, no Airbnb fees — and Tenby automates the rest: rent collection, lease compliance, maintenance, and your Schedule E. It costs less per month than one night's Airbnb service fee.
See How Tenby Works →How Airbnb Service Fees Work in 2026
Airbnb charges hosts under two fee structures. The split fee — the most common — charges hosts about 3% of each payout while guests pay a service fee of roughly 14% on top of the booking price. The host-only fee charges hosts 14-16% with nothing added to the guest's price; it's mandatory for hotels and hosts connected via property management software. Both structures apply the fee to your entire payout, including cleaning fees.
The visible fee is only part of the picture. Short-term rentals carry costs a lease never sees: cleaning costs beyond what your cleaning fee covers, utilities, consumables, furnishing wear, elevated insurance, lodging taxes, permits, and hours of your time per turnover. That's why a listing that grosses double the local market rent can still net less than a 12-month lease once occupancy dips.
When does long-term win?
As a rule of thumb: below roughly 55-65% occupancy, most STRs net less than a lease on the same property. Regulatory risk compounds this — cities keep tightening STR permits and caps, while 12-month leases remain fully legal everywhere. If your market rent covers your mortgage with margin, the lease is the lower-risk, lower-effort income stream.
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