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Airbnb Cap Rate Calculator: NOI and value

Enter annual bookings, costs and the price. See net operating income, the cap rate, and the price that hits your target.

No account neededFree PDF report

Examples computed by this calculator on sample inputs. Not market data.

The property in four numbers

  • No account needed
  • Airbnb fees per Help Center article 1857
  • Every formula shown, sources dated
  • Free PDF report with every chart
How it works

Three steps. About a minute.

  1. Step 1: Enter income and price

    Annual gross bookings, operating costs, property tax, insurance and the asking price. Add the cap rate you want to earn.

  2. Step 2: See NOI and cap rate

    Net operating income, the cap rate at this price, and the price that hits your target on today's income.

  3. Step 3: Keep the PDF

    Download the gross-to-NOI steps and a table of value across a span of cap rates.

Your report

What you'll get

Cap rate at this priceFrom the sample
THE HEADLINE

What the property yields at this price, debt aside

NOI divided by the price. Compare it with your target and with the cap rates similar STRs nearby actually sold at.

  • Cap rate at this price
  • Net operating income
  • Expense ratio incl. platform fee

Showing part 1 of 4: Cap rate

  • Net operating income with every cost line shown
  • Cap rate at the asking price
  • The price that meets your target cap rate
  • Cap rate if revenue drops or costs rise
  • Whether a loan at your rate lifts or cuts the return

Cap rate is NOI divided by price

From the sample

Net operating income is annual gross bookings minus the platform fee and every operating cost: cleaning, supplies, utilities, repairs, insurance, property tax, management and a reserve. The mortgage and depreciation stay out.

Divide NOI by the price and you have the cap rate. It describes the property, not your loan, so two buyers with different financing see the same cap rate on the same house.

Cap rate mistakes this calculator catches

Most cap rate errors start with a wrong NOI.

  1. 01Taking NOI from a listing sheet

    Seller NOI often leaves out the platform fee or uses gross as revenue. On $54,000 of gross, the 15.5% host fee alone is $8,370 of NOI that is not there.

  2. 02Comparing with long-term rental cap rates

    An STR earns more and costs more to run, and its income swings. A cap rate that would be fine on a 12-month lease carries more risk on nightly bookings.

  3. 03Assuming a loan always boosts the return

    At 7.4% over 30 years the loan constant is 8.31%. On a 7.5% cap rate that is negative leverage: 80% financing drops the cash return to 4.27%.

  4. 04Reading one year as the value

    A 10% drop in gross takes the sample from a 7.50% cap rate to 6.36%. One soft year can move value by more than the negotiating room.

From gross bookings to NOI

Gross to NOIFrom the sample

Most of the gap between gross and NOI sits in two places: the platform fee, which Airbnb charges on the whole booking including cleaning, and the running costs that STRs carry and long-term rentals do not.

That is why an STR cap rate and a long-term rental cap rate on the same street are not comparable. STR income is higher, the costs are higher, and the income depends on permission to rent short term.

What good looks like

This calculator does not publish a good STR cap rate range: no primary source checked supports one. It grades against your own target and your loan.

OutputWeakOkayGood
Cap rate against your targetRule of thumb used by this calculator's verdict. Take the target from local sales, via a broker.More than 1 point belowWithin 1 point belowAt or above target
Cap rate against loan constantArithmetic. Above means a loan raises the cash return.Cap rate below itWithin 0.25 pointsCap rate above it

Turn a target cap rate into a price

Value vs cap rateFrom the sample

Flip the formula. Value is NOI divided by the cap rate you want to earn, so a higher target means a lower price on the same income. The chart shows how fast value falls as the target rises.

Use the cap rate similar STRs actually sold at, from a local broker. Milo, MagicBNB's AI Revenue & Profit Manager, keeps a metrics glossary with cap rate, NOI and DSCR, so the definitions stay the same from one question to the next.

How operators use it

  1. Investor screening ten listings

    Has gross and a cost estimate for each, and needs a fast ranking.

    Runs each through, drops any below target after a 10% revenue haircut, and only underwrites the rest in full.

  2. Owner weighing a sale

    Broker quotes a local STR cap rate for similar sales.

    Enters it as the target to see what the property's own NOI supports as a price.

STR cap rates, worked through

How much does a revenue drop change an STR cap rate?

More than most buyers expect, because costs do not fall with revenue. On the sample, a 10% drop in gross moves the cap rate from 7.50% to 6.36%.

Most of an STR's costs are fixed or tied to bookings rather than to price. Lose 10% of gross and NOI falls by far more than 10%. On the sample it falls about 15%, from $30,000 to $25,437.

That makes the stress table more useful than the headline. If the deal still meets your target in the gross -10% row, it has room for a soft year.

Sample: $54,000 gross, $400,000 price
  • Gross as entered7.50% cap rate
  • Gross -10%6.36%
  • Gross -20%5.22%
  • Gross -10% and costs +10%5.97%

What costs are missing from a seller's Airbnb NOI?

Most often the platform fee, insurance, and a realistic repairs figure. On $54,000 of gross, the 15.5% host fee alone is $8,370 of NOI that a gross-based figure never had.

Seller figures often start from gross bookings, or from payout with costs taken from memory. Ask for the payout report and 12 months of bills, then build NOI line by line: platform fee, operating costs, property tax, insurance.

NOI here never includes the mortgage, depreciation or income tax. Those belong to the buyer, not the property.

Sample, gross to NOI
  • Gross booking revenue$54,000
  • Platform fee (15.5%)-$8,370
  • Other operating costs-$8,330
  • Property tax-$4,800
  • Insurance-$2,500
  • Net operating income$30,000

What should I pay for an Airbnb to get an 8% cap rate?

NOI divided by 0.08. On the sample's $30,000 NOI that is $375,000, $25,000 under the $400,000 ask.

Every point of cap rate is a large swing in price at STR yields. On the same NOI, 7% values the property at $428,571 and 9% at $333,333. The target you choose decides the offer more than the income does.

So take the target from local sales of similar STRs, through a broker who can share them, rather than from a national figure.

Should I pay cash or finance an Airbnb at a 7.5% cap rate?

At today's rates, financing lowers the cash return on a 7.5% cap rate. The sample earns 7.50% all cash and 4.27% at 80% loan to value.

A 30-year loan at 7.4% has a loan constant of 8.31%: each borrowed dollar costs 8.31 cents a year. When the property yields 7.5 cents, borrowing loses money on every dollar and the loss lands on your equity.

The rate used is the Freddie Mac 30-year average of 7.40% as of Oct 8 2026. STR loans often cost more than that, which widens the gap.

Sample, cash return by loan to value (before closing and furnishing)
  • All cash7.50%
  • 50%6.69%
  • 65%6.00%
  • 75%5.07%
  • 80%4.27%

Where it fits when you buy or sell

  1. First screen

    Enter gross, costs and price. Anything below target after the 10% gross haircut goes to the bottom of the pile.

  2. Before the offer

    Read the price at your target and the loan table. Offer from the price, and size the loan from whether it helps.

  3. After you own it

    Re-measure from real books. MagicBNB's Profitability & P&L gives you per-property NOI to recalculate the cap rate any month.

Terms on this page

Cap rate
NOI divided by price: the yield as if you paid all cash.
NOI
Gross minus the platform fee and operating costs, before any loan.
Gross rent multiplier
Price divided by annual gross. A quick screen that ignores costs.
Loan constant
Annual loan payments divided by the loan amount.
Negative leverage
When the loan costs more per dollar than the property yields, so borrowing lowers your return.

Questions

What is a good cap rate for an Airbnb?

One at or above what comparable STRs sell for in that market, and above your loan constant if you are borrowing. There is no reliable national range for STR cap rates, so a local broker's recent sales are the right benchmark.

How do you calculate cap rate on a short-term rental?

Take annual gross booking revenue, subtract the platform fee and every operating cost (cleaning, supplies, utilities, repairs, insurance, property tax, management, a capex reserve), and divide what is left, the NOI, by the price. Leave the mortgage and depreciation out.

Does cap rate include the mortgage?

No. Cap rate measures the property alone, so it uses NOI before any debt. To see the effect of the loan, use cash-on-cash return, which divides cash flow after the mortgage by the cash you put in.

How do you value a vacation rental from its income?

Divide NOI by the cap rate you want to earn or that the market pays. For example, $30,000 of NOI at an 8% cap rate values the property at $375,000. The vacation rental valuation calculator adds a maximum offer from your loan terms.

Why do STR cap rates differ from long-term rental cap rates?

STR income is higher but so are the costs: platform fees, cleaning, furnishing, utilities and the work of running it. It also depends on permission to rent short term, which a city can restrict. Buyers price that risk, so the cap rates are not interchangeable.

When does a mortgage lower an Airbnb's return?

When the loan constant (a year of payments divided by the loan) is above the cap rate. Each borrowed dollar then costs more than the property earns on it, so a bigger loan means a lower cash return. Enter your rate and term and the results show the cash return at loan-to-value levels from all cash to 80%.

Does cap rate include furnishing costs?

No. Cap rate divides NOI by the property price. Furnishing, closing costs and the loan belong in cash-on-cash, which the ROI calculator works out.

Is a higher cap rate always better?

Not on its own. A high cap rate can mean a cheap property or a risky one: a permit at risk, a single strong season, or income the seller will not repeat. Check what drives it.

Where do I find the market cap rate for short-term rentals?

From recent sales of similar STRs near you, through a broker who has the income records. National STR cap rate figures are rarely sourced well enough to price a deal on.

Does refinancing change the cap rate?

No. Cap rate ignores financing. A refinance changes cash flow and cash-on-cash, not NOI or the cap rate.

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Formulas last checked .

Profitability & P&L

NOI from your own books

A cap rate is only as good as the NOI behind it. MagicBNB's Profitability & P&L gives a per-property P&L any day of the week, so the NOI you divide by is the one your doors actually earned.

Two more places this shows up in MagicBNB

  • 60+ metrics glossaryAsk Milo about cap rate, NOI or cash-on-cash and it uses one consistent definition for each, the same every time.
  • Bank syncPMS payouts and bank transactions sit in one system, so NOI is built from cleared money on both sides.
Get real NOI per property
Go deeper

Your cap rate, run in depth, every month

This calculator is the quick look at one year of NOI. MagicBNB runs the same numbers in depth and in real time, property by property, in its Property Detail view.

Run the numbers in depthBack to the calculator