Most hosts set a nightly rate by looking at similar listings nearby. That tells you what guests will pay, but it can't tell you whether that rate covers your mortgage, your bills, your cleaner and the platform's cut. Two identical listings can charge the same $175 a night and get very different results, because their costs and stay lengths are different.
Your break-even point answers a simpler question: how much do you need to charge, and how many nights do you need to book, before a month stops losing money? This article explains the math, works one example from start to finish, and covers the mistakes that make break-even look better than it is.
Want to skip the arithmetic? The free Airbnb break-even calculator does every step below in your browser. It works the same for Vrbo, Booking.com and direct bookings.
Fixed costs vs. per-stay costs
Break-even math only works if you split your costs into two groups.
- Fixed monthly costs stay the same whether you book 5 nights or 25: the mortgage or rent, plus utilities, internet, insurance, software (pricing tools, channel managers, smart locks) and HOA dues.
- Per-stay costs happen once per booking: the turnover clean and the restock of consumables like coffee, toiletries, paper goods and laundry supplies.
The split matters because per-stay costs depend on how long guests stay. A $100 turnover spread over a 3-night stay costs you $33.33 a night. Spread over a 1-night stay, it costs the full $100. That's why minimum-stay rules move your break-even so much.
Don't forget the platform fee
The platform's service fee comes off your payout, so it shrinks every dollar of revenue. Check what you actually pay, because it depends on your fee structure. According to Airbnb's help article on service fees, hosts on the split-fee structure mostly pay 3%, while hosts on the single-fee structure (where the whole fee comes out of the host payout) mostly pay 15.5%. The same article says Airbnb is moving all home hosts to the single-fee structure, so the free calculator now defaults to 15.5%. If you're still on the older split fee, enter 3%. Vrbo, Booking.com and direct bookings each work differently, so use the percentage from your own payout statements.
The two break-even formulas
Break-even nightly rate at a chosen occupancy. Pick an occupancy, say 60% of 30 available nights (18 booked nights). Then:
- Stays = booked nights ÷ average stay length
- Per-stay costs = stays × (cleaning + supplies)
- Break-even rate = (fixed costs + per-stay costs) ÷ (booked nights × (1 − platform fee %))
Break-even nights at the rate you charge. First work out what each booked night really leaves you:
- Contribution per night = nightly rate × (1 − platform fee %) − (cleaning + supplies) ÷ average stay
- Break-even nights = fixed costs ÷ contribution per night
- Break-even occupancy = break-even nights ÷ nights available
If the contribution per night is zero or negative, you can't break even at that rate. Every booking loses money, so more bookings only lose more. And if the break-even nights come out higher than the nights you have available, you can't break even that month either.
Worked example (the older 3% split-fee example)
These are example numbers, not market data. Replace them with your own. This example uses the older 3% split host fee. The calculator now defaults to 15.5%, the single host-only fee most Airbnb hosts pay; the 15.5% results for the same listing are in the next section.
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Mortgage | $1,800 a month |
| Other fixed costs (utilities, internet, insurance, software, HOA) | $450 a month |
| Cleaning per stay | $85 |
| Supplies per stay | $15 |
| Average stay | 3 nights |
| Platform fee | 3% |
| Nightly rate | $175 |
| Nights available | 30 |
| Target occupancy | 60% |
Step 1: Fixed costs. $1,800 + $450 = $2,250 a month.
Step 2: Nights and stays at 60%. 60% of 30 nights = 18 booked nights. 18 ÷ 3 = 6 stays, so cleaning and supplies cost 6 × $100 = $600.
Step 3: Break-even rate. ($2,250 + $600) ÷ (18 × 0.97) = $2,850 ÷ 17.46 = $163.23 a night. At 60% occupancy, anything below that loses money.
Step 4: Break-even nights at $175. Each booked night keeps $175 × 0.97 = $169.75 after the fee, minus $100 ÷ 3 = $33.33 of cleaning and supplies, for $136.42. $2,250 ÷ $136.42 = 16.5 nights a month. Round up to 17 booked nights, or 55% occupancy.
Step 5: Profit at $175 and 60%. Revenue is 18 × $175 = $3,150. Subtract the $94.50 platform fee, $600 of cleaning and supplies, and $2,250 of fixed costs: $205.50 of estimated monthly profit.
The calculator also shows a grid of monthly profit at different occupancy levels (rows) and nightly rates (columns). For this example (rounded to the dollar):
| Occupancy | $150 | $175 | $200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | −$904 | −$613 | −$322 |
| 50% | −$568 | −$204 | $160 |
| 60% | −$231 | $206 | $642 |
| 70% | $106 | $615 | $1,124 |
| 80% | $442 | $1,024 | $1,606 |
The same listing can lose $904 or make $1,606 in a month depending on rate and occupancy. That's why it helps to know your break-even before you drop prices to fill a gap.
How much one input can move the answer
Keep everything from the example the same and change one thing at a time:
- Platform fee of 15.5% instead of 3% (the calculator's default): the break-even rate at 60% rises to $187.38, break-even nights at $175 rise to 19.6 (65.5% occupancy), and the month goes from $205.50 profit to a $188.25 loss.
- 2-night average stays instead of 3: the break-even rate at 60% rises to $180.41, because you pay for 9 turnovers instead of 6.
- 5-night average stays: the break-even rate falls to $149.48.
- 26 available nights instead of 30 (owner stays or maintenance): the break-even nights stay at 16.5, but that's now 63.4% of your available nights, and the break-even rate at 60% rises to $183.06.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out per-stay costs. Revenue minus the mortgage isn't profit. Cleaning and supplies come out of every booking.
- Using the wrong platform fee. A 3% assumption on a 15.5% fee structure hides nearly $400 a month of fees in the example above ($488.25 instead of $94.50).
- Counting taxes you collect as revenue. Occupancy and lodging taxes belong to the tax authority. Leave them out of your nightly rate in this math.
- Double-counting the cleaning fee. If you charge guests a cleaning fee, either add it to your average nightly rate or subtract it from your cleaning cost, but not both.
- Planning on peak-season numbers. A great July doesn't help if February runs at 30%. Run your slow months separately.
- Assuming every night can be booked. Owner stays, maintenance and blocked gaps between bookings all reduce your available nights.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good occupancy rate for an Airbnb? There isn't one number that fits every market. The useful number is your own break-even occupancy. Anything above it is profit, and anything below it is a loss. In the 3% example, that's 55% at $175 a night; at a 15.5% fee it's 65.5%.
Should I lower my rate to get more bookings? Sometimes. Check the profit grid first. Lowering from $175 to $150 at 60% occupancy turns a $206 profit into a $231 loss in the 3% example. At $150 you'd need about 70% occupancy just to make a profit, and even then you'd make less than at $175 and 60% ($106 vs. $206).
Is this tax or financial advice? No. These are planning estimates. Short-term rental tax rules vary by location, so check with a tax professional.
Track it every month in a spreadsheet
The calculator answers the question once. If you want the same math running on your real bookings, the Short-Term Rental Host Business System is a Microsoft Excel workbook with a Pricing & Break-Even Calculator tab. It sits alongside a bookings log, an occupancy, ADR and RevPAR dashboard, a cleaning and turnover schedule, an expense and mileage tracker, and a goal planner, for 1 to 10 listings. It's a one-time $34, with no subscription.
Planning estimates only, not tax or financial advice. Ready Set Go Systems is not affiliated with or endorsed by Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com.