How much does Airbnb really charge hosts?
Learn more about Airbnb's fee structure and how much they charge hosts.
May 2025
For most holiday rental owners starting out, Airbnb feels like a natural choice. After all, it’s one of the biggest holiday rental portals around — but is it really the best choice? Before you sign up, make sure you understand how Airbnb rates work. Keep reading to learn all about the Airbnb fee structure.
How much does Airbnb take to list your property?
First of all, here’s the good news for anyone who wants to advertise their holiday home: listing your property on Airbnb is free. The holiday rental website doesn’t have any upfront charges, so you won’t need to pay to get started. This can make it an affordable alternative to some other sites, which charge hosts to advertise their properties or ask for upfront subscription fees.
Instead, Airbnb has a commission-only structure. Whenever a guest pays to rent your holiday home, you’ll need to pay a percentage to Airbnb. If you don’t get any bookings, you don’t need to pay.
How much commission does Airbnb take?
With each booking you receive, you’ll need to pay a host service fee, which is usually somewhere between 3% and 16%. As you can see, that’s quite a wide range. Unfortunately, Airbnb commissions aren’t always entirely straightforward. There are a few factors that affect just how much you pay:
- The location of your property: In some regions, Airbnb’s fee structure can be overridden by local tax laws. The most famous example is Italy. If you want to rent out a holiday home there, you’ll need to pay 21% in fees.
- Whether you opt for a host-only fee or a split fee structure: As the name suggests, the former means that the host pays the entire charge; the latter divides the cost between the host and the guest.
- Whether you use third-party property management software: This software can be extremely handy for holiday home owners, but it will cost you more. In practice, if you use this software to manage your listings, you’ll have to pay a host-only fee; you cannot split it with your guests.
- Your cancellation policies: Hosts with Super Strict cancellation policies must pay a higher rate of fees. If your cancellation fee is more flexible, you’ll pay less.
- The length of the stay: Fees are generally lower for longer stays — that is to say, 28 nights or more.
How much does Airbnb charge the hosts vs the guests?
Most listings on Airbnb have split fees. As mentioned above, with a split fee structure, Airbnb commissions are divided between the host and the guests.
Under a split fee structure, hosts will pay around 3% of the total — unless there are other mitigating circumstances, like region or Super Strict cancellation policies. Guests will need to pay somewhere between 13% and 20%.
On the other hand, a host-only fee is usually between 14% and 16%. This is obviously a lot more expensive for hosts — so why would anyone choose it? Well, there are two reasons. Firstly, as already discussed, some hosts have no choice. If you’re using third-party property management software, you’ll need to pay a host-only fee.
It’s also worth noting that host-only fees are very attractive to guests. You may need to raise your prices to cover the cost, but guests still tend to prefer properties with host-only fees. This means that host-only fees can make it easier to rent your holiday apartment, so it’s a particularly good choice if you’re just starting out and need to get some bookings for those all-important reviews.
How much does Airbnb charge hosts with Super Strict cancellation policies?
When you set up an Airbnb listing, you’ll need to choose your cancellation policy. Take care when reviewing this. Not only will a strict cancellation policy put guests off, but it will also result in higher fees.
The standard Airbnb cancellation policies are:
- Flexible: Guests can get a full refund if they cancel at least 24 hours before check-in, and you won’t receive any payment.
- Moderate: Guests can get a full refund if they cancel at least 5 days before check-in, and you won’t receive any payment.
- Firm: This introduces a sliding scale. Guests can get a full refund if they cancel at least 30 days before check-in. You’ll get a 50% payment if they cancel between 7 and 30 days before check-in and 100% with less than 7 days notice.
- Strict: Guests can only get a refund if they cancel within 48 hours of booking (which must also be at least 14 days before check-in). You’ll get a 50% payment if they cancel between 7 and 14 days before check-in and 100% payment if they cancel with less than 7 days notice.
- Super Strict 30 days: Guests will only get a 50% refund if they cancel at least 30 days before check-in. You’ll get a 100% payment if they cancel with less than 30 days notice.
- Super Strict 60 days: This is the same as the Super Strict 30-day policy, but the notice period is doubled to 60 days.
If you have a Super Strict cancellation policy, you will usually pay 2% to 3% more on top of the standard host fees. This amount is slightly higher if you have a Super Strict 60-day policy.
How to pay your fees
Now that you know more or less how much of a percentage Airbnb takes, you might be wondering when to pay it. In fact, this is something you won’t have to worry about. Airbnb deducts the fees automatically from your payout, so you’ll receive a net payment.
To check your fees, go to the Earnings tab on the Airbnb website or app. Look under Payout, and you’ll find a note indicating your Airbnb Service Fee. Note that, depending on where your property is located, Airbnb may also deduct VAT automatically from your payout.
Airbnb alternatives
If you’re not happy with how much Airbnb charges hosts, it’s always worth checking out other platforms. Airbnb may be the most famous holiday rental website, but there are plenty of options that provide budget-friendly alternatives.
Holidu offers low rates of 5% to 6% commission, with no hidden fees like you can find sometimes on Airbnb. You’ll need to pay a one-time activation fee, which is between €100 and €150. However, you’ll only pay this when you receive your first booking. You can list your property for free, with nothing to pay until your first guest gets in touch.
Another advantage of using Holidu is its referral programme. If you have friends who are also holiday rental owners, you can give them your referral code. When they list their properties, you’ll get a special referral bonus that starts at €75, and if your friends list lots of properties, it can go up to €1,000 or even more.