United States · Short-term rental
Rental arbitrage calculator.
Enter what you pay the landlord and what you assume about nightly rate and occupancy. See monthly profit under low, base and high scenarios, the break-even occupancy and what a slow stretch does to a fixed lease.
Your assumptions
The starting figures are illustrative placeholders, not market averages. Replace every one with your own. Nothing is looked up by address and nothing leaves your browser.
Result
How this rental arbitrage calculator works
Rental arbitrage means leasing a unit and renting it out for short stays. The rent is a fixed monthly payment; revenue is not. This calculator takes the costs you actually pay, your own nightly rate and three occupancy levels, and shows what is left each month before income tax. It does not look up an address or a market, so every figure comes from you.
Formulas. Nights booked = 30.4375 × occupancy. Stays = nights booked ÷ average stay. Guest revenue = nights × nightly rate + stays × cleaning fee charged. Platform fee = fee % × guest revenue, because the fee applies to the nightly price and to fees you add. Net = guest revenue − platform fee − management fee − fixed costs (rent, utilities, internet, insurance, permit ÷ 12) − stays × (cleaning cost + supplies). Break-even occupancy solves net = 0 and reports “not reachable” when a night earns nothing after variable costs or when more than 100% would be needed.
Worked example (illustrative inputs, not a benchmark)
Rent $2,000, utilities $200, internet $60, insurance $50; nightly rate $150, 3-night average stay, $75 cleaning fee charged, $80 cleaning cost and $10 supplies per stay, 15.5% platform fee, 60% occupancy. That is 18.3 nights and 6.1 stays: guest revenue $3,196, platform fee $495, per-stay costs $548 and fixed costs $2,310, for a net of -$157 a month. Break-even occupancy is 64.4%, so these particular inputs sit just below the line. At 50% occupancy the net is -$516 a month and at 40% it is -$875. Change a single input and the answer moves, which is the point.
The fixed-rent downside
A long-term tenant’s bad month costs a landlord vacancy; your bad month costs you the whole rent. The result panel therefore shows the same unit at 10 and 20 points lower occupancy and counts how many months of fixed costs a year of that would consume. If you have a reserve, the startup and payback calculator turns that into months of runway.
Rental arbitrage compared with owning
An owner’s housing cost is a mortgage with equity behind it. A lessee’s is rent with none, and the lease can end. The Airbnb profit calculator suits a host who owns or finances the unit; Airbnb vs long-term rental compares the same unit let two ways; Airbnb minimum nightly rate finds a floor price. This page models the lessee case with the lease, permit and absorbed-tax details.
Sources
Airbnb Help Center, "Airbnb service fees" (article 1857); IRS Topic no. 414, Rental income and expenses. Retrieved 2026-10.
What this does not cover
- Whether your lease allows subletting or short stays, which only your lease, your landlord and local law can settle.
- Market data: there is no address lookup, no comparable listings and no occupancy or rate forecast.
- Platform ranking, seasonality, guest reviews or demand shifts, which you would need to put into your occupancy assumptions yourself.
- Income tax: the model stops at profit before income tax. See the tax explainer for how the IRS describes reporting.
- Taxes other than the lodging tax toggle, platform guest-side fees, damage or deposit claims, and the cost of your own time.
Frequently asked questions
Is rental arbitrage profitable?
It depends entirely on your rent, nightly rate, occupancy and costs, and the rent is owed even in an empty month. Enter your own numbers: the calculator shows profit, the break-even occupancy and what happens at lower occupancy. Test the low scenario first.
How do I calculate rental arbitrage profit?
Guest revenue (nights times rate plus cleaning fees) minus the platform fee, any management fee, cleaning and supplies per stay, and fixed costs such as rent, utilities, internet, insurance and permit fees divided by 12.
Does the Airbnb fee apply to the cleaning fee?
Airbnb's service-fee article says fees are a percentage of the nightly price and any fees the host charges, excluding taxes. The model applies your fee percentage to nightly revenue and to the cleaning fee you charge. Check the fee on your own payout statement.
Is 15.5% my platform fee?
It is a starting input. Airbnb's help article states that most hosts on the single-fee structure pay 15.5% and most on the split-fee structure pay 3%, with some paying more. The fee box is editable, so enter the figure on your own account.
What occupancy should I enter?
Use your own booking history if you have it, or a deliberately cautious figure for a new listing. The tool does not assume a market average; the low, base and high boxes are scenarios you choose.
Does this include income tax?
No. It stops at profit before income tax. The tax explainer links to the IRS pages on how short-term rental income is generally reported.
Disclaimer
This is an educational model that runs on assumptions you enter. Results vary, nothing here is a prediction or a promise of income, and it is not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm every figure with the official source, your lease and a qualified professional. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.