Free STR ROI Calculator
Cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and break-even occupancy for any short-term rental, with a full itemized expense model. No signup.
Property & Financing
Revenue
Use the annual average, not peak season. Beach markets that run 85% in summer often average 50-60% across the year.
Operating Costs
Annual Breakdown
Stop guessing the revenue inputs
This calculator is only as good as the nightly rate and occupancy you type in. STRROI fills them automatically from real Airbnb comps around each live MLS listing, and it scores every property on the market for you.
Analyze real listings freeHow this STR ROI calculator works
Gross revenue is your average nightly rate × 365 nights × annual occupancy. From that, the model subtracts an itemized expense stack rather than a flat percentage: property management (20% of gross unless you self-manage), cleaning costs per turnover (net of the cleaning fees guests pay), booking platform fees (~3%), supplies (~3%), maintenance and CapEx reserves, property tax, insurance, utilities, and HOA dues. What remains is net operating income (NOI).
Cap rate is NOI ÷ purchase price: the unleveraged yield of the property itself, independent of how you finance it. Cash-on-cash return subtracts your mortgage payments from NOI and divides by the actual cash you put in (down payment + closing costs), which is the number that tells you what your money is earning. Break-even occupancy is the occupancy rate at which revenue exactly covers every cost including the mortgage. The lower it is relative to market occupancy, the more margin of safety the deal has.
The weakest link in any STR calculation is the revenue inputs. If your nightly rate or occupancy assumptions are off by 15%, every downstream number is fiction. Pull comps from listings that match your property's bedroom count and type, and use annual averages, not the peak-season numbers that make every deal look brilliant.
STR ROI questions, answered
How do you calculate STR ROI?
STR ROI is measured two ways. Cash-on-cash return divides annual cash flow (gross rental revenue minus all operating expenses and mortgage payments) by the total cash you invested (down payment + closing costs). Cap rate divides net operating income by the purchase price, ignoring financing. This calculator computes both, using an itemized expense model: management fees, cleaning per turnover, platform fees, supplies, maintenance and CapEx reserves, property tax, insurance, and utilities.
What is a good STR ROI?
Most STR investors target an 8-12% cash-on-cash return and a 6%+ cap rate, though this varies by market. Below 8% CoC, many investors consider whether the effort of running an STR justifies the premium over a passive long-term rental. Break-even occupancy is an equally important number: if you need 70%+ occupancy just to cover costs, the deal has little margin for a soft season.
What occupancy rate should I use for an STR?
Use the annual average for comparable full-time listings in your market, not peak season. A beach market that runs 85% occupancy in summer often averages 50-60% across the year. Use availability-adjusted occupancy (booked nights divided by available nights) from comp data rather than raw calendar occupancy, which is dragged down by part-time listings.
What expenses should an STR ROI calculation include?
A realistic STR model includes: mortgage principal and interest, property management (15-25% of gross if not self-managed), cleaning costs net of guest cleaning fees, booking platform fees (~3%), supplies and consumables (~3%), maintenance and CapEx reserves (5-10% combined), property taxes, STR-specific insurance, utilities, and HOA dues. Skipping reserves and supplies is the most common way first-time investors overestimate returns.
Is this STR ROI calculator really free?
Yes. No signup, no email, no limits. It runs the same itemized underwriting engine that powers the paid STRROI platform. The paid product adds what a calculator cannot: live MLS listings scored automatically, with nightly rates and occupancy pulled from real Airbnb comps around each property instead of typed-in guesses.
See real numbers by market
Live cap rates, occupancy, and nightly rates from active listings. A better starting point than guessed inputs.