Airbnb ROI Calculator: Cash-on-Cash Return and Cap Rate for Any Property
Enter purchase price, down payment, closing costs, and operating numbers. Get cash-on-cash return, cap rate, and annual ROI.
Duplex in Tampa
4 bed, 3 bath
14.2%
Cash-on-Cash
7.1%
Cap Rate
$32k
Annual NOI
Condo in Denver
2 bed, 2 bath
11.8%
Cash-on-Cash
6.4%
Cap Rate
$24k
Annual NOI
Cabin in Gatlinburg
3 bed, 2 bath
16.5%
Cash-on-Cash
8.2%
Cap Rate
$41k
Annual NOI
Investment snapshot
Purchase Price
$450,000
Down Payment (20%)
$90,000
Annual NOI
$32,000
Cash-on-Cash
14.2%
Cap Rate
7.1%
What is an Airbnb ROI calculator?
Two numbers matter when you evaluate a rental property as an investment: cap rate and cash-on-cash return. They answer different questions. Cap rate ignores financing. It divides net operating income by the full property value. Cash-on-cash measures the return on the money you actually put in: annual cash flow divided by total cash invested.
Both matter. A property with a 7% cap rate and a 14% cash-on-cash is telling you that financing is doubling your return on invested capital. That is useful information when you are choosing between deals or deciding how much to put down.
Try the calculatorHow does the ROI calculator work?
Three steps. Enter your deal terms, add operating numbers, get the return metrics you need to make a decision.
Enter purchase price and down payment
Set the property price, your down payment percentage, closing costs, and any renovation or furnishing budget. These define your total cash invested.
Add operating income and expenses
Enter your expected nightly rate, occupancy, and every cost line: platform fees, cleaning, management, insurance, property tax, utilities, and mortgage payment.
Get cap rate, cash-on-cash, and payback period
See your projected cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and how many years until your initial investment is recovered from operating cash flow.
Why calculate ROI before you buy?
A property can look great on revenue and still deliver a poor return on the cash you put into it. ROI is the number that tells you whether the deal is worth the capital.
Cash-on-cash return
14.2%
Annual return on invested capital
Cap Rate
7.1%
Payback
7.0 yrs
Annual NOI
$32k
This is projected ROI. Want the actual return from your bank data?
What most ROI projections miss
Projected ROI is a starting point, not a guarantee. These are the gaps between the spreadsheet and the bank statement.
Cap rate and cash-on-cash tell different stories
Cap rate is the return on the full property value. Cash-on-cash is the return on your out-of-pocket investment. A highly leveraged property can show a 20% cash-on-cash and a 6% cap rate. Both are accurate. They just measure different things.
ROI on projected vs. actual revenue
An ROI built on estimated revenue is an estimated ROI. The actual return depends on what the property earns after it is operating, not before. Until real money moves through the bank account, the number is a hypothesis.
The costs that kill ROI
Closing costs, renovation, furnishing, and the first few months of mortgage before bookings ramp up. Most ROI calculators skip the startup period entirely. On a $450k property, those pre-revenue months can add $15k to $25k to your total cash invested.
Beyond estimates
The calculator tells you what it could earn. MagicBNB tells you what it actually did.
Connect your PMS and bank account. Every deposit gets matched against every payout. You get per-property financials from money that moved, not money that was estimated.
Bank-Reconciled P&L
Revenue rebuilt from deposits that cleared your bank, matched against payout records from your PMS. Per property, per month.
Smart Transaction Ledger
Every bank transaction auto-categorized and matched to the right property. No manual tagging, no spreadsheet reconciliation.
Channel Breakdown
See which platform (Airbnb, Vrbo, direct) actually pays more after fees. Stop guessing which channel to push.
Deal Analyzer
Run the numbers on a new property before you commit. Uses your actual portfolio data as the baseline, not market averages.
Milo AI Manager
Ask a question in plain English and get the answer from your own financial data. "Which property had the highest margin last quarter?"
Owner Statements
Branded PDF statements generated in one click. Send them to property owners or keep them for your own records.
More free STR calculators
This calculator runs your ROI math. These cover different parts of STR financial analysis.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate are Airbnb ROI calculators?
Any ROI calculator is only as accurate as the numbers you feed it. Most tools default to optimistic occupancy rates and skip variable costs like emergency repairs, seasonal utility shifts and insurance renewals. The projection gives you a starting point, but the real return only becomes clear once actual revenue and actual expenses are in the same ledger.
What is the difference between cap rate and cash-on-cash return?
Cap rate divides net operating income by the property value and ignores how you financed the purchase. Cash-on-cash divides annual pre-tax cash flow by the total cash you invested, including your down payment, closing costs and any renovation spend. A property can have a strong cap rate and a weak cash-on-cash if the mortgage terms are unfavorable.
What is a good ROI for a short-term rental?
8% to 12% cash-on-cash is the range most experienced STR investors target. Below 8% and the risk-adjusted return starts competing poorly with simpler investments. Above 12% is achievable but usually requires self-management, a strong market, or a below-market purchase. Cap rates for STR properties typically fall between 5% and 9% depending on the market.
How does financing affect Airbnb ROI?
Financing amplifies returns in both directions. A 20% down payment on a property that produces positive cash flow will show a higher cash-on-cash return than buying outright, because you are earning on money you did not spend. But if the property underperforms, you still owe the mortgage, and your return goes negative faster than it would on an unfinanced property.
How does MagicBNB calculate actual ROI?
MagicBNB connects to your bank accounts and PMS, then reconciles every deposit against the matching payout record. It pulls real revenue and categorizes real expenses per property, so the ROI it reports comes from money that moved, not from a projection spreadsheet.
Do I need a credit card to try MagicBNB?
Yes, and nothing is charged for 14 days. You get a reminder email on day 12 before anything happens, and you can cancel at any point before the trial ends.
Your calculator shows a projection. See the real numbers.
14 days, full access, no charge. Connect your PMS and bank account, and see per-property profit from deposits that actually cleared.
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