Free calculator
Airbnb Break Even Calculator
How many booked nights a month does your rental need to pay for itself? Type five numbers and see the break-even nights, the share of the month that is, and what each booked night pays after the platform fee. Free, no sign-up.
- Nightly rate after the platform fee$0
- Cleaning fee kept, per night$0
- Each booked night pays$0
- Exact nights to cover fixed costs0.0
- Rate to break even at half the month booked$0
How it works
Each booked night pays the nightly rate less the platform fee, plus the cleaning fee you keep spread over the average stay. With a $185 rate and a 15.5% fee, the night pays $156.33; $20 kept per 3-night stay adds $6.67.
Break-even nights are your fixed costs per month divided by what each booked night pays, rounded up to a whole night. The share of the month uses an average month of 365 / 12 = 30.4 days.
The rate to break even at half the month booked works backwards: fixed costs over 15.2 nights, less the cleaning fee kept per night, divided by (1 minus the platform fee).
Variable costs per stay, such as supplies and the cleaner, belong in the cleaning fee you keep: type what is left after them. Taxes, repairs and your time are not in this number.
A worked example
Take a fictional cabin with $2,400 of fixed costs a month, a $185 nightly rate (the base rate in the example of our Airbnb and VRBO pricing workbook), Airbnb's 15.5% single host fee, 3-night average stays and $20 kept from each cleaning fee. Each booked night pays $156.33 + $6.67 = $162.99. $2,400 / $162.99 = 14.7, so the cabin breaks even at 15 booked nights a month, 49% of an average month. To break even with half the month booked, the nightly rate would need to be $178.87.
Price every month so you clear that line
The Pricing Calculator for Airbnb and VRBO Hosts works in Excel and Google Sheets: a nightly rate for each of your 12 months from your own history, a floor no month goes under, stay discounts checked against that floor, event pricing, and the rate that keeps your payout whole under the 15.5% host fee. $2.99, instant download.
Questions
How do I calculate break-even occupancy for an Airbnb?
Divide your fixed costs per month by what one booked night pays after the platform fee, then divide those nights by the 30.4 days in an average month. $2,400 of costs at $162.99 a night is 15 nights, about 49% occupancy.
What counts as a fixed cost?
Anything you pay whether the place is booked or not: mortgage or rent, utilities, internet, insurance, software and any loan payment on furniture.
Does the platform fee come off the cleaning fee too?
This page takes the fee off the nightly rate. If your platform also takes a share of the cleaning fee, count that in the cleaning fee you keep.
What host fee does Airbnb charge?
Airbnb's single host service fee is 15.5% for most hosts and 16% for listings in Brazil and Mexico (Airbnb Help Center, article 1857, checked Oct 9, 2026). Hosts still on the split fee pay less and guests pay the rest. Type the fee your own payouts show.
Is break-even the same as profit?
No. Break-even covers the fixed costs you type. Income tax, repairs, furnishing and your own time come on top, so treat break-even as a floor, not a target.