STR Breakeven Nightly Rate Calculator

Find the minimum nightly rate you need to cover all your property costs at various occupancy levels.

Monthly Fixed Costs

$
$
$
$
$
$

Per-Booking Variable Costs

$
%
Airbnb ~3%, VRBO ~5%, Direct 0%
%
Enter 0 if self-managing
65%

Results

Breakeven Nightly Rate
at occupancy
Total Monthly Costs
Booked Nights/Mo
at target occupancy
Breakeven at Different Occupancy Levels

What Is a Breakeven Nightly Rate?

Your breakeven nightly rate is the minimum price per night you must charge to cover all of your property's costs at a given occupancy level. Pricing below this number means you are losing money on the property. Pricing above it generates profit.

This calculator accounts for both your fixed monthly costs (mortgage, insurance, property tax, utilities) and your variable per-booking costs (cleaning fees, platform fees, management fees), which are often overlooked by new hosts.

Breakeven Rate = Monthly Costs ÷ (Booked Nights × (1 − Fee%)) + (Cleaning Fee ÷ Avg Stay Length)

Why Variable Costs Matter

Many first-time hosts focus only on fixed costs when pricing their rental. But platform fees (typically 3–5% for hosts on Airbnb or VRBO) and cleaning fees create per-booking costs that vary with your reservation volume. If your cleaning fee does not cover your actual cleaning cost, that shortfall is an additional expense that raises your effective breakeven rate.

Once you know your breakeven rate, use the Platform Fee Comparison Calculator to see how much more you keep booking direct versus through Airbnb or VRBO.