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Short-Term Rental Profit Calculator

Estimate what a short-term rental actually leaves you each month. Enter your average nightly rate and booked nights, add the fees guests pay you, then list the real costs — platform commission, cleaning, supplies, utilities, maintenance, the mortgage or rent, insurance, and taxes. You get revenue, expenses, monthly profit, margin, and an annual view. Useful for cabins, guesthouses, spare rooms, and vacation homes listed on Airbnb/Vrbo-style sites.

Who this calculator helps

  • Checking whether a rental covers its mortgage or rent.
  • Comparing a slow season month against a peak season month.
  • Testing what a nightly rate increase does to profit.
  • Deciding whether to hire a cleaner or clean the property yourself.
  • Sanity-checking a property before you list it.

Optional — total collected for the month.

Optional — pet fees, extra guest fees.

Booking site commission on total revenue.

Estimated monthly profit

467.15

Estimated profit this month · Margin 18%

Gross booking revenue

2,520.00

Guest fees collected

75.00

Estimated platform fees

77.85

Total monthly expenses

2,127.85

Total revenue

2,595.00

Estimated annual profit

5,605.80

Monthly profit × 12

Planning estimate only. Actual rental income varies by season, occupancy, platform fees, local rules, cleaning costs, taxes, and maintenance. Not tax, legal, real estate, or financial advice.

All calculations are estimates based on average platform fees. Real profits may vary depending on category, ads, and shipping.

This calculator is for planning estimates only. It is not tax, legal, real estate, accounting, or financial advice. Local rules, platform fees, taxes, and operating costs can vary.

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter your numbers in each field above — the calculator updates instantly as you type, so there's nothing to submit.
  2. Use your real figures when you have them, or sensible estimates while you're planning. If a field doesn't apply, leave it at zero.
  3. Compare the results, then change one input at a time to see how each lever (price, cost, fees, volume) moves the outcome.

When to use this calculator

  • You already know roughly what you charge and how many nights book.
  • You want profit after fees, not just booking revenue.
  • You are budgeting a rental month by month.
  • You are comparing two properties or two pricing strategies.

Formula

Gross booking revenue = Nightly rate × Booked nights · Total revenue = Gross booking revenue + Cleaning fee charged + Other guest fees · Platform fees = Total revenue × Fee % · Total expenses = Platform fees + Cleaning cost + Supplies + Utilities + Maintenance + Property payment + Insurance + Taxes + Other · Monthly profit = Total revenue − Total expenses · Margin = Profit ÷ Total revenue · Annual profit = Monthly profit × 12

Worked example

$140 a night, 18 booked nights, $75 of cleaning fees collected, 3% platform fee, and $2,050 of monthly costs.

  1. Gross booking revenue: 140 × 18 = $2,520
  2. Total revenue: 2,520 + 75 = $2,595
  3. Platform fees: 2,595 × 0.03 = $77.85
  4. Total expenses: 77.85 + 2,050 = $2,127.85
  5. Monthly profit: 2,595 − 2,127.85 = $467.15

Answer: About $467 profit a month, an 18% margin

More worked examples

Quiet month: $110 a night, 8 booked nights, no extra fees, 3% platform fee, $1,600 of costs.

  1. Total revenue: 110 × 8 = $880
  2. Platform fees: 880 × 0.03 = $26.40
  3. Total expenses: 26.40 + 1,600 = $1,626.40
  4. Monthly profit: 880 − 1,626.40 = −$746.40

Answer: A loss of about $746 — the fixed costs are not covered

Peak month: $195 a night, 26 booked nights, $150 of guest fees, 3% platform fee, $2,300 of costs.

  1. Gross booking revenue: 195 × 26 = $5,070
  2. Total revenue: 5,070 + 150 = $5,220
  3. Platform fees: 5,220 × 0.03 = $156.60
  4. Total expenses: 156.60 + 2,300 = $2,456.60
  5. Monthly profit: 5,220 − 2,456.60 = $2,763.40

Answer: About $2,763 profit, a 53% margin

How it works

The calculator separates money in from money out. Money in is the nightly rate times the nights that actually booked, plus anything guests pay on top — cleaning fees and pet or extra-guest fees. Those guest fees are revenue even though they are earmarked for a cost, which is why the cleaner you pay appears separately on the expense side.

Platform commission is applied to total revenue rather than the nightly total, because most booking sites take their cut of the whole payout including fees. If your platform charges differently, adjust the percentage until the fee figure matches a recent payout statement.

Fixed costs are the reason rental profit swings so hard. The mortgage, insurance, and taxes do not shrink in a quiet month, so a listing that looks comfortable at 22 booked nights can lose money at 8. Run a peak month and a slow month separately and average them rather than modelling one good month and calling it typical.

Margin matters as much as the dollar figure. A thin margin means a single repair, a cancellation, or a fee change can erase the month.

Expert tips

  • Model three months — slow, typical, and peak — and plan around the typical one.
  • Pull the platform fee percentage from an actual payout statement rather than guessing.
  • Put a monthly maintenance figure in even when nothing broke; something always does eventually.
  • Spread annual costs — insurance, taxes, licences — across twelve months so no month looks artificially good.
  • Check the occupancy rate that produced your booked nights, then test a lower one.

How to interpret your results

  • Dollar values are shown per sale, per order, or per item unless a result is explicitly labelled monthly, weekly, or daily.
  • Percentages (margin, ROI, conversion rate) are easier to compare across products and price points than raw dollars — use them when you benchmark.
  • A positive result means you're ahead after the costs and fees you entered. A negative result means the current numbers don't work — change a lever (raise price, cut a cost, lower ad spend) and recalculate.
  • Treat the output as a planning estimate, not a guarantee. Fees, taxes, and conversion rates shift over time — re-run the numbers whenever a key input changes.

Limitations

  • No seasonality, cancellation, or discount modelling — it prices one month at a time.
  • Income tax, self-employment tax, lodging tax, and depreciation are not calculated.
  • Local licensing rules, HOA restrictions, and rental caps are not considered.
  • Furnishing, setup, and one-off renovation costs are not amortised for you.

Common mistakes

  • Treating cleaning fees collected as profit while forgetting the cleaner you pay.
  • Using peak-season nightly rates for every month of the year.
  • Leaving the mortgage, rent, or property payment out of the expense list.
  • Ignoring platform commission on the fees portion of the payout.
  • Assuming every available night books.

Related Guides

Go deeper with plain-English guides on the same topic.

FAQ

How do I estimate short-term rental profit?
Add up everything guests pay you in a month, subtract platform fees and every operating cost including the property payment, and what is left is your estimated profit.
Are cleaning fees profit?
No. A cleaning fee is revenue, but the cleaner you pay is an expense. Enter both so the two cancel out correctly.
What is a good profit margin for a rental?
It varies enormously by market and whether you own or rent the property. Rather than chasing a benchmark, check that your typical month is comfortably positive after fixed costs.
Does this include taxes?
Only the amounts you enter. Income tax, lodging or occupancy tax, and self-employment tax are not calculated — use the Tax Set-Aside Calculator for a rough reserve.
How many booked nights should I use?
Use your real recent average, or work it out with the Occupancy Rate Calculator from booked and available nights.
Can I use this for a spare room rather than a whole property?
Yes. Enter the share of utilities and costs the room accounts for rather than the whole household figure.
Why is my profit negative?
Fixed costs are larger than the revenue those booked nights produced. Either the nightly rate, the occupancy, or the cost base has to change.

Why trust this calculator?

This tool uses standard mathematical formulas and commonly accepted calculation methods, shown openly in the Formula section above so you can verify the math yourself. Results are estimates based on the information you enter and do not account for every individual circumstance. For important financial, tax, legal, medical, or business decisions, please double-check with a qualified professional before acting on the numbers.

Keep going

One calculator rarely tells the full story. Pair this one with a related tool below to pressure-test your numbers from a different angle, or browse Work & Money Calculators for more in the same category.

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