What this Airbnb calculator measures
A short-term rental is a lodging business inside a house. The mortgage is only one bill. Cleaning, utilities, supplies, and the cost of furnishing the place sit next to it. This Airbnb calculator, which is the same short-term rental calculator, shows whether the monthly income you type covers that stack, and how the yearly cash flow compares with the cash you put in.
The free inputs are purchase price and monthly Airbnb income. The loan, the operating bills, and the startup list stay on the defaults so you can see the formula. Monthly cash flow is income minus the monthly expenses. Yearly cash flow is that figure times twelve. Cash-on-cash is yearly cash flow divided by cash invested, and cash invested includes the down payment, closing costs, and the startup total.
There is no seasonality model. If your market earns the year in three summer months, a flat monthly income will flatter the slow months and understate the busy ones. Type a conservative average, not the best month. A city that caps nights or requires a permit is outside the arithmetic. The calculator will still produce a cash-flow number for a use you may not be allowed to run.
Formula
The loan is an amortizing loan. The default down payment is 25% and the rate is 7% for 30 years. Closing costs are 1.5% of the purchase price. Cash invested adds the down payment, closing costs, and the startup total. The startup total is the two-bedroom preset list plus a 10% contingency. That list is furnishing and setup, not a rehab of the building.
Monthly income on the free page is the Airbnb figure you type. Long-term rent and other income stay at zero. Monthly expenses add principal and interest, taxes, insurance, maintenance, cleaning, electric and gas, water, sewer, internet, and trash. Management stays at zero unless you set a percent or a flat fee in the paid calculator. PMI stays off the sample.
Monthly cash flow is monthly income minus monthly expenses. Yearly cash flow multiplies that by twelve. It does not grow income inside the free headline. The paid calculator can project later years with the income appreciation percent. Cash-on-cash uses yearly cash flow divided by cash invested. It does not add principal paydown. A separate workbook-style ratio that adds principal exists in the full results, not in these three headlines.
Example
Worked example
Illustrative example. The monthly income and cash flow below are sample short-term inputs. They are not booked nights and not a listing this company operates.
The Airbnb sample uses the short-term rental defaults. Purchase is $400,000. Down payment is 25%. The loan is 7% for 30 years. Closing costs are 1.5% of price. Monthly Airbnb income is $3,500. Taxes are $2,400, insurance is $1,800, and maintenance is $1,200 a year. Cleaning is $150 a month, electric and gas $180, water $60, sewer $40, internet $90, and trash $30. The two-bedroom startup list plus a 10% contingency totals $15,791 and is part of cash invested, which is $121,791. Monthly cash flow is $504. Yearly cash flow is $6,049. Cash-on-cash is 4.97%. There is no seasonality model. A city rule that limits nights or bans short stays is not in the math.
If you raise the purchase price and leave income alone, cash flow falls because the payment rose, and cash-on-cash falls again because you also invested more cash. If you raise income and leave the price alone, both headlines improve until expenses, which are mostly fixed on this sample, eat the gain. Cleaning and utilities do not scale with the rate you charge. They scale with how you operate, which is why they are editable in the paid short-term rental calculator.
Contractor assumptions
Startup is not a construction budget. The preset is a furnishing and setup list for two bedrooms, plus 10% contingency. A roof, a kitchen, or a bath remodel is a different number and belongs in a flip or BRRRR rehab, not silently inside Airbnb income. This page does not estimate those trades and does not use a cost book.
If the house needs work before a guest can stay, add that work in your own budget before you trust the cash flow. The engine will not invent it. Publishing the calculator is not a bid to furnish or renovate this property.
Operating costs on the sample are ordinary monthly bills: cleaning, power, water, sewer, internet, and trash, plus annual taxes, insurance, and maintenance spread across the year. They are not a quote from a cleaner or an insurer. Replace them in the paid calculator when you have real invoices. A management percent of zero means you are modeling self-management. A co-host fee has to be typed or the profit is overstated.
Common pitfalls
A single monthly income figure hides slow months. If you type a peak-season month as if it repeats all year, yearly cash flow is the optimistic case, not an average.
Startup furnishing sits in cash invested on this sample. Dropping it makes cash-on-cash look higher while the house still needs beds, a kitchen setup, and the contingency percent.
What stays on the subscription
With a subscription you get the full short-term rental worksheet: the startup lines one by one, management fees, concessions, PMI, later-year projections, saved deals, and the PDF. The free Airbnb calculator keeps the defaults and moves only price and monthly income. The subscription is $9.99 a month after a 48-hour trial that starts when a card is added. Founding subscribers in the first 100 pay $5.99 a month, and that price stays while the subscription remains active.
Do not treat the cash flow as permission to operate. Short-term rental rules, HOA bans, and insurance exclusions are local. Confirm them before you buy for this use.
Questions
Is this an Airbnb calculator or a short-term rental calculator?
Both names point at this page. Income is the monthly figure you type, whether the booking site is Airbnb, VRBO, or direct. The engine does not connect to a booking account.
Are furnishing costs included?
Yes. The two-bedroom startup list and a 10% contingency are in cash invested on the sample. The worked example states that total. Editing each line is part of the paid calculator.
Does the model include slow seasons?
No. Income is flat every month. If your year is uneven, type an average you can defend, not the peak month. There is no seasonality curve in this version.
What loan does the free page assume?
Twenty-five percent down, 7% interest, 30 years, and closing costs of 1.5% of the price. Taxes, insurance, and the monthly bills in the worked example stay on too.
Can local rules wipe out this income?
Yes. The calculator does not know permit caps, night limits, or HOA bans. A positive cash flow is not evidence that the use is allowed.