Short-term vs long-term rental calculator
Compare annual income, costs, net operating income, monthly net, and cash-on-cash return for a short-term rental and a long-term rental using only numbers you enter.
Inputs stay on this device
Both columns use only the numbers on this page. The tool does not look up rents, nightly rates, occupancy, or vacancy. Example numbers in the form are examples to replace. The platform fee starts at 15.5%, the host-only fee. Most hosts still on the split fee pay 3%. Source: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857, checked on 26 October 2026. The guest fee is not an input, because it does not change the host amounts here. This page does not call Airbnb, and it does not give tax, legal, or pricing advice.
Long-term monthly net is $466.62 higher. The short-term cash flow matches the long-term cash flow at 62.66% occupancy. A higher occupancy raises the short-term net. Cash-on-cash return is not available until cash invested is greater than zero.
Comparison
Long-term monthly net is $466.62 higher.
The short-term cash flow matches the long-term cash flow at 62.66% occupancy. A higher occupancy raises the short-term net.
Net operating income excludes the mortgage payment. Monthly net is the cash flow after that payment, divided by 12. Cash-on-cash return uses the same cash flow and stays blank when cash invested is zero. This is not taxable income.
| Result | Short-term | Long-term |
|---|---|---|
| Annual gross income | $31,937.50 | $24,000.00 |
| Annual costsOperating costs, excluding the mortgage payment | $18,096.98 | $4,560.00 |
| Net operating income | $13,840.52 | $19,440.00 |
| Mortgage / year | $18,000.00 | $18,000.00 |
| Monthly net | -$346.62 | $120.00Higher |
| Cash-on-cash return | Not available | Not available |
What goes into each column
Short-term gross income is nightly charges plus cleaning fees. The platform fee and the short-term management percent are each taken from that gross income. They are not stacked. Long-term gross income is monthly rent times 12, after vacancy, and management is a percent of that collected rent. Property tax and HOA sit in the fixed operating costs of both columns.
| Amount | Short-term | Long-term |
|---|---|---|
| Booked nights / year | 182.5 | Not used |
| Stays / year | 60.83 | Not used |
| Platform fees / year | $4,950.31 | Not used |
| Management / year | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Cleaning costs / year | $4,866.67 | Not used |
| Fixed operating costs / year | $8,280.00 | $4,560.00 |
Annual revenue in the ROI calculator is nightly rate times booked nights, before a separate cleaning fee. This comparison counts a cleaning fee you enter as income and a cleaning cost you enter as an expense. The Airbnb fee calculator applies cent rounding to one stay. The break-even calculator estimates how long an upfront amount takes to recover, and the nightly price calculator solves a nightly rate from costs you enter. How to estimate Airbnb ROI and break-even walks through those tools with an illustrative example. How to Calculate Short-Term Rental ROI covers cash invested and a lower, base, and higher case.
What the result means
Core formula
break-even occupancy = (long-term NOI + short-term fixed operating costs) ÷ income kept per full year of occupancy - Short-term gross income is the nightly rate times 365 times the occupancy rate, plus the cleaning fee times the number of stays. Stays are booked nights divided by the average stay length.
- The platform fee and the short-term management percent are each a percent of that gross income. They are not stacked. The cleaning cost is the per-turnover cost times the number of stays.
- Long-term gross income is monthly rent times 12 times the share left after vacancy. The management percent applies to that collected rent.
- Net operating income subtracts operating costs, including property tax and HOA, and leaves out the mortgage payment. Monthly net subtracts the mortgage payment and divides by 12. Cash-on-cash return divides that annual cash flow by cash invested, and it is unavailable when cash invested is zero.
- Break-even occupancy is the short-term occupancy where the two cash flows match. Fixed short-term costs and the long-term net operating income are divided by the net gained from a full year of occupancy. An occupancy outside 0 to 100 percent is not shown as a target. The page says whether the short-term net stays above or below the long-term net across that range.
Planning estimate. These figures are not financial, tax, legal, or market advice. Test a conservative scenario and verify important assumptions yourself.
Before you use the result
Does this use market rents or typical occupancy?
No. Both columns use only the amounts and percentages you enter on this page. The tool does not look up rents, nightly rates, occupancy, or vacancy. Example numbers in the form are examples to replace.
What is net operating income here?
Net operating income is annual gross income minus the annual operating costs you entered. The mortgage payment is not one of those costs. Monthly net subtracts that payment, then divides by 12. Cash-on-cash return divides the same after-mortgage cash flow by cash invested. It is not taxable income. Income tax, depreciation, and appreciation are not calculated.
How is the break-even occupancy calculated?
It is the short-term occupancy at which the short-term cash flow equals the long-term cash flow. The mortgage payment is the same in both columns, so it does not change that occupancy. If the two cash flows never meet between 0% and 100% occupancy, the page says so instead of showing an occupancy outside that range.
What does the platform fee apply to?
The platform fee is the percent you enter, applied to short-term gross income: nightly charges plus cleaning fees charged to guests. The management percent uses that same gross income and is not taken out of what remains after the platform fee. The guest fee is not an input, because it does not change these host amounts. The starting percent is 15.5%, the host-only fee, from https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857, checked on 26 October 2026. Most hosts on the split fee pay 3%. Replace the percent with the one in your account. This page does not call Airbnb.
Why is cash-on-cash return missing?
Cash invested is zero. Enter the cash you count as invested, in the same currency as the other amounts, to see cash-on-cash return. Leave it at zero to skip that result.
Why is the short-term column missing?
Average nights per stay is zero while a cleaning fee or a cleaning cost is above zero. Enter the average stay length so those per-stay amounts can be counted. If both per-stay amounts are zero, the stay length can stay at zero and those terms stay at zero.
Can I use another currency?
Yes. Choose USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, or DOP, then enter every amount in that currency. The selector changes labels and formatting only. It does not convert exchange rates.
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