What is the difference between the split fee and the host-only fee?

Airbnb's service-fee help page describes two stay structures (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857). The split fee is divided between the host and the guest. The single fee is deducted entirely from the host payout. This site calls the single fee the host-only fee. Where a host has moved to the single fee, Airbnb says no guest service fee is charged (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/125).

Which service-fee percentages does Airbnb publish?

On the service-fee help page checked on 26 October 2026, most hosts pay 3% under the split fee, and listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 4%. Some hosts pay more. Guests pay a service fee from 14.1% to 16.5% of the booking subtotal, and the page says that fee may be higher or lower depending on the booking. Under the single fee, most hosts pay 15.5%, remaining hosts typically pay 14% to 16%, and listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 16% (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857). The calculator starts at 3%, 14.1%, and 15.5%. The guest field starts at the low end of the stated range because the page does not publish one typical guest rate.

Can a host switch back from the single fee to the split fee?

Airbnb says that once you have switched to the single fee, you cannot switch back. After the switch, the single fee applies only to new bookings. Bookings made before the switch are unaffected, even if the stay happens after the switch (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857).

Does the calculator match the payout in an Airbnb account?

The Airbnb fee calculator estimates one stay from the amounts and percentages you enter. It does not connect to Airbnb. On desktop, Airbnb says to open Today, then Menu, then Earnings, choose Upcoming or Paid, open the transaction, and read the Airbnb service fee under Earnings (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857). The guest service fee is in the price breakdown before booking. This is a planning estimate. It is not tax or legal advice, and it is not Airbnb's calculation for a reservation.

Airbnb host service fees explained

Airbnb charges a service fee when a booking is confirmed. For stays, its help center describes two structures: a split fee and a single fee.

Under the split fee, the fee is split between you and the guest. Most hosts pay 3%, listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 4%, and some hosts pay more. The host percentage is deducted from the payout. Guests pay a separate service fee of 14.1% to 16.5% of the booking subtotal. Airbnb says that guest fee varies and may be higher or lower depending on the booking.

Under the single fee, the entire percentage is deducted from your payout. Most hosts pay 15.5%, remaining hosts typically pay 14% to 16%, and listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 16%. This site’s calculator calls the single fee the host-only fee. Where a host has moved to the single fee, Airbnb says no guest service fee is charged.

Those figures are from Airbnb’s service-fee help page and its page on what guests pay, checked on 26 October 2026. The Airbnb fee calculator estimates Guest pays, Airbnb keeps, and Host payout for one stay you describe. Every percentage is editable. It starts at 3%, 14.1%, and 15.5%. The guest field uses the low end of the stated range because the help page does not publish one typical guest rate. The main result starts on the host-only fee because the same page says home hosts are moving to the single fee. The comparison still shows both structures.

Airbnb says it is transitioning home hosts to the single fee and phasing out the split fee. Once you have switched, you cannot switch back. The single fee applies only to new bookings after the switch. Bookings made before the switch are unaffected, even when the stay takes place later. Airbnb also says it can change service fees at any time, in line with its Terms of Service.

This is a planning estimate. It is not tax or legal advice, and it is not Airbnb’s calculation for a reservation. A nightly rate built from costs, a margin, and the host fee is in How to set an Airbnb nightly price from your costs. The figures there are a made-up example. Annual operating profit, and the time to recover launch cash, are estimated separately in How to estimate Airbnb ROI and break-even.

What the percentage applies to

Airbnb says a service fee is a percentage of the nightly price and any fees the host charges, excluding the guest service fee and taxes. The guest range uses the same base. The help page calls it the booking subtotal: the nightly price and any additional fees charged by the host, excluding the guest service fee and taxes (service fees).

A cleaning fee is one of those host-charged fees. It is a flat amount per booking (additional fees). How to set an Airbnb cleaning fee builds that amount from turnover cost and shows how changing it moves the guest total and the payout. The cleaning fee calculator is the cost step. An extra guest fee or a pet fee is another host-charged fee. Put that kind of amount in Other host fees for the stay you are estimating.

The Airbnb fee calculator uses this estimate:

booking subtotal = nightly rate × nights + cleaning fee + other host fees
host service fee = booking subtotal × host percentage
guest service fee = booking subtotal × guest percentage
guest pays = booking subtotal + guest service fee + taxes passed through
host payout = booking subtotal − host service fee
Airbnb keeps = host service fee + guest service fee

For the host-only column, the guest percentage is zero and the host percentage is the single-fee percentage you enter. Taxes you type are added to Guest pays only. They stay out of the subtotal, out of both service fees, and out of the host payout in this estimate. The calculator rounds each money result half up, away from zero, to the nearest hundredth. Per-night amounts divide the stay figures by the number of nights and round again, so multiplying them back can miss the stay total by a small amount.

One stay under both structures

These rows are the calculator’s results for a nightly rate of 150, 2 nights, a cleaning fee of 80, other host fees of 0, and taxes passed through of 0. The percentages are the starting values: split host 3%, split guest 14.1%, host-only 15.5%. The booking subtotal is 380.00. Amounts stay in the currency you select. The calculator does not convert them.

Split fee

Host service fee 11.40
Guest service fee 53.58
Guest pays 433.58
Airbnb keeps 64.98
Host payout 368.60

Host-only fee

Host service fee 58.90
Guest service fee 0.00
Guest pays 380.00
Airbnb keeps 58.90
Host payout 321.10

In this example the guest pays 433.58 under the split fee and 380.00 under the host-only fee. The host payout is 368.60 under the split fee and 321.10 under the host-only fee. The same cleaning fee of 80 is inside the 380.00 subtotal either way. How to set an Airbnb cleaning fee compares this stay with a cleaning fee of 0.

Enter the percentages from your Airbnb account before you use the rows for a listing. Listings in Brazil and Mexico are the 4% split host fee and the 16% single fee on the help page. Some split-fee hosts pay more than 3%. Remaining single-fee hosts typically pay 14% to 16%. The guest percentage may sit somewhere else in the 14.1% to 16.5% range, or outside it, because Airbnb says the fee may be higher or lower depending on the booking.

Who uses the single fee

The service-fee page says the single fee is mandatory for most hosts. That includes traditional hospitality listings, such as hotels and serviced apartments, hosts who use property management software, and hosts in countries subject to this fee structure. The page says the split fee is being phased out for home hosts and will be unavailable after that migration finishes.

When the guest percentage can differ

Two statements on the service-fee page matter when you type the guest percentage.

The guest fee ranges from 14.1% to 16.5% of the booking subtotal, varies with a number of factors, and may be higher or lower depending on the booking.

When the guest pays in a different currency from the listing currency, Airbnb says it adjusts the fee and includes an additional amount. For those cross-currency bookings, the guest service fee is up to 16.5% of the booking subtotal.

The calculator does not add a cross-currency amount on its own. Type the guest percentage you see for that booking. It also does not add VAT on top of the percentage you enter. Airbnb says VAT may apply to these fees, and that the service fee shown to hosts and guests is VAT-inclusive where applicable. If your account shows a VAT-inclusive percentage, enter that percentage. This guide does not say whether VAT applies to a particular listing.

Where to read the fee on a reservation

Airbnb’s service-fee page gives these desktop steps for the host service fee:

Click Today, then Menu, then Earnings.
Go to Upcoming or Paid.
Filter listings, payout methods, and date range, or search by confirmation code or payout amount.
Click to open a transaction.
Under Earnings, find the Airbnb service fee.

The guest service fee is in the price breakdown before the reservation is booked. After a stay is confirmed, Airbnb says the guest can go to Trips, select the stay, and under Payment info choose Get receipt for the total price breakdown (guest fees).

The tool Airbnb offers for the switch

Airbnb’s price-adjustment help page describes a tool for home hosts who do not use property management software. It can make a one-time adjustment to the prices of active and inactive listings, including additional fees such as the cleaning fee. The page says the adjustment ratio considers applicable taxes, such as VAT, GST, or other local taxes. It recommends that transitioning hosts use the tool to adjust prices for the single fee before the deadline.

Before the transition, the tool can update the service-fee structure. Airbnb says that once a host uses this tool, the split fee cannot be restored, and that hosts should be ready to move to the single fee before they adjust prices with it. Reservations booked before the adjustment keep their earlier pricing. After the calendar updates, Airbnb says actual bookings, earnings, and payouts vary based on guest behavior and taxes.

This guide does not reproduce the adjustment ratio. Read that help page before you use the tool. To try percentages from your own account, use the Airbnb fee calculator.

Stays, services, and experiences

The same service-fee page also lists fees for services and experiences. It says service reservations are typically charged 15%, with a minimum fee of $6 USD or the local-currency equivalent, which may vary with the daily exchange rate. Experience reservations are typically charged 20%. This guide and the calculator cover a stay. They leave service and experience reservations on that page.

Help center pages checked on 26 October 2026

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857 for the split fee, the single fee, the published percentages, VAT, and where a host reads the fee.
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/125 for the guest total and for no guest service fee under the single fee.
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2385 for the cleaning fee as a host-charged fee inside the service-fee base.
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/4095 for the one-time price adjustment during the move to the single fee.