Airbnb investment calculator: will this home make money on Airbnb?
Updated October 9, 2026 · 6 min read · By STRROI Research
Type a home into most Airbnb calculators and you get one number: what it could earn in a year. That is the easy half. Whether the home actually makes money as an Airbnb depends on what is left after cleaning, management, fees, insurance, taxes, repairs and the mortgage. Here is what a real Airbnb investment calculator includes, with a worked example on a $450,000, 3-bedroom house.
Revenue calculators vs. investment calculators
An Airbnb revenue calculator multiplies a nightly rate by an occupancy rate. An Airbnb investment calculator keeps going: it subtracts every operating cost, then your mortgage, and shows what actually lands in your bank account. The gap between the two is usually large.
| Line | Per year |
|---|---|
| Gross Airbnb revenue ($280 a night at 52% occupancy) | $53,144 |
| Management (20% of revenue) | -$10,629 |
| Airbnb host fee (3%) | -$1,594 |
| Cleaning, after guest cleaning fees | -$1,328 |
| Supplies (3%) | -$1,594 |
| Utilities and internet | -$3,600 |
| STR insurance | -$2,025 |
| Property tax | -$4,500 |
| Repair and replacement reserves (10%) | -$5,314 |
| Net operating income | $22,560 |
| Mortgage (20% down, 7.5%, 30 years) | -$30,206 |
| Cash flow | -$7,646 (-$637 a month) |
A revenue calculator would show this house earning $53,144 a year. The investment view shows it losing $637 a month at today's financing. Same house, opposite answer.
The inputs that decide the answer
- Nightly rate and occupancy from real comps. Use nearby Airbnb listings with the same bedroom count, averaged over twelve months. A rate from one busy month is the most common way calculators overstate income.
- Every expense as its own line. Management, the Airbnb host fee, cleaning for each turnover (about 59 a year here, at 3.2-night average stays), supplies, utilities, STR insurance, property tax, and reserves for repairs and replacements. The Airbnb expenses guide covers each one.
- Your real financing. Investment loans usually need 20% to 25% down and cost more than a home loan. Count closing costs and furniture in the cash you put in.
- Local rules. Permits, caps and HOA bans on short stays can wipe out the revenue line entirely. Check them before you trust any calculator.
How to read the results
| Metric | Example | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|
| Cap rate | 5.0% | Above your mortgage rate (7.5%), or the deal leans on appreciation |
| Monthly cash flow | -$637 | Positive at realistic occupancy, not just in peak season |
| Cash-on-cash return | -7.4% | Compare it to what your down payment could earn elsewhere |
| Break-even occupancy | 59% | Comfortably below the occupancy comparable listings achieve |
| DSCR | 0.75 | Most DSCR lenders want 1.0 to 1.25 or higher |
For benchmarks on the first one, see what a good cap rate is for an Airbnb.
Small input changes, big swings
Calculators feel precise, but the answer moves fast with the two inputs you are least sure about. The same house, re-run:
| Change | Monthly cash flow |
|---|---|
| As estimated | -$637 |
| Occupancy 42% instead of 52% | -$1,162 |
| Occupancy 62% instead of 52% | -$115 |
| Nightly rate $252 instead of $280 | -$921 |
That is why the revenue inputs should come from comparable listings rather than a guess, and why a good deal still works when you shave both.
Run the numbers on your own deal
Plug in a price, nightly rate and occupancy. The free STR ROI calculator uses the same itemized model as this guide.
Run it on every home for sale, not one at a time
A calculator answers the question for a house you already picked. The harder question is which house to pick. STRROI runs this same investment calculation on every home for sale in a ZIP code, with nightly rates and occupancy pulled from Airbnb comps near each one, and ranks them with a 1 to 10 buy rating so the few that work rise to the top.
A free account includes one live market search a month: every listing in that ZIP gets a rating, and the top few show their cap rate and cash flow. Paid plans start at $14 a month billed yearly and open the full analysis on every listing.
See every listing in a market, rated
STRROI underwrites every home for sale in a ZIP code as a short-term rental and ranks them 1 to 10. Try it on a sample market, no sign-up needed.
Questions
Is there a free Airbnb investment calculator?
Yes. The free STR ROI calculator uses the same itemized model as this guide: enter a price, nightly rate and occupancy to get cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return and break-even occupancy. To have the rate and occupancy filled in from real Airbnb comps, run a free market search on STRROI.
How accurate are Airbnb calculators?
Only as accurate as the nightly rate and occupancy you give them. Use twelve-month averages from comparable listings with the same bedroom count, itemize expenses instead of using a flat percentage, and stress test the result. Treat any single number as an estimate, not a promise.
What occupancy rate should I use in an Airbnb calculator?
Use availability-adjusted occupancy (nights booked divided by nights available) from nearby comparable listings over the last twelve months. Then check break-even occupancy: if the deal needs more than comps actually achieve, pass.
What is the difference between an Airbnb revenue calculator and an investment calculator?
A revenue calculator estimates gross bookings. An investment calculator subtracts operating costs and the mortgage to show cash flow, cap rate and cash-on-cash return, which is what decides whether to buy.
See every listing in a market, rated
STRROI underwrites every home for sale in a ZIP code as a short-term rental and ranks them 1 to 10. Try it on a sample market, no sign-up needed.