Put one stay through Airbnb’s 2026 host-only fee, the old 3% split, Vrbo, and a direct booking. You get the host payout, the price the guest actually pays, the nightly raise that restores the deposit you used to get, and how many stays you must keep going direct before the fee gap is real money.
The stay
Same nights, same cleaning fee, every channel. Starting rates are 2026 ballparks — replace them with the line items on your own statement.
Channels
Uncheck anything you cannot actually list on. The retired Airbnb split is a reference row — it cannot be named the winner.
Host payout
$—
annual on the best available channel
Channel
Payout / stay
Guest pays
Effective host fee
Stays kept
Annual payout
Transparent arithmetic on the rates you typed. Starting percentages are common 2026 figures, not a quote from Airbnb or Vrbo and not a recommendation to list or delist.
Common questions
How much does Airbnb take from hosts in 2026?
Most hosts now pay a single host-only service fee of about 15.5% of the booking subtotal (nights plus cleaning and other mandatory fees). Guests no longer pay a separate Airbnb service fee at checkout. The older split-fee model — host ~3%, guest ~14% — is being retired. Replace the starting rate with the percentage on your own payout statement; this page only does the arithmetic.
Is Vrbo cheaper for hosts than Airbnb?
On fees alone, usually yes in 2026. Vrbo’s pay-per-booking model is typically 5% commission on the rental plus 3% payment processing on the guest payment, which includes tax and deposits. Airbnb’s host-only fee is about 15.5% of the subtotal. That gap can reverse if Airbnb’s demand keeps more nights booked, which is why this calculator also asks how many bookings you actually get and how many you would keep going direct.
How much should I raise my Airbnb rate after the 15.5% host-only fee?
To keep the same payout you had under a 3% host fee, the listed subtotal has to rise by about 14.8%, because 15.5% is taken from the new list price, not the old one. Guests used to pay a ~14% service fee on top; after you raise the list they often pay a similar all-in total with no separate service fee. Enter your own old and new rates above — the restore figure is arithmetic on those rates, not advice.
How many direct bookings do I need to break even with Airbnb or Vrbo fees?
More than the fee gap alone suggests. At the default stay ($225 × 2 nights, $545 subtotal, 36 marketplace bookings a year), the best available channel is Vrbo’s annual subscription at $18,158 a year — and direct booking needs about 35 stays a year, roughly 97% of those 36, to match it once card processing and the $29/month site cost are counted. A per-stay fee that looks small on paper can still make direct the losing channel if it costs you nearly as many bookings as it saves in fees. The break-even panel recomputes this from your own occupancy-kept percentage the moment you change it — it is not a fixed rule of thumb.