How much does Airbnb take from hosts?

The basics

Airbnb charges a service fee on every confirmed booking. How much you pay depends on which of two fee structures your account is on. Airbnb's service fees page (opens in a new tab) says it is "in the process of transitioning all home hosts to a single service fee structure" and that the split fee "is being phased out." The page gives no end date.

So for most home hosts the number to plan around is 15.5%, taken out of your payout.

The two fee structures

Figures from Airbnb's service fees page, checked Oct 30, 2026:

A few more details from the same page:

• The single fee is mandatory for most hosts, including hotels and serviced apartments, hosts who use property management software and hosts in countries subject to it.
• "Once you've switched to the single fee structure, you can't switch back."
• The single fee "applies only to new bookings. Bookings made before the switch are unaffected, even if they occur after the switch."
• The guest fee under the split fee varies by booking and can reach 16.5% when the guest pays in a different currency from the listing's.
• Where VAT applies, the fee shown includes it.

Airbnb's How pricing works for homes (opens in a new tab) page confirms the guest side: "Where hosts have moved to the single fee structure, no guest service fee is charged."

What the fee is charged on

Airbnb's page describes service fees as "a percentage of the nightly price and any fees charged by the host, but exclude the guest service fee and taxes." Fees charged by the host include the cleaning, pet and extra guest fees you set. That wording sits in the split-fee section; the single-fee section says "the entire fee is deducted from the host's payout" without restating the base. Check a recent payout breakdown to confirm what is deducted on your listing.

So plan as if the fee applies to your nightly price plus your cleaning fee, but not to taxes.

A worked example

One hypothetical stay: 3 nights at $150 with a $60 cleaning fee.

1. Nightly price total: 3 × $150 = $450.
2. Fee base: $450 + $60 cleaning = $510 (taxes excluded).

Same listed prices, very different payouts. On the single fee, this stay pays you $63.75 less ($494.70 − $430.95), but the guest also pays $71.91 to $84.15 less, because there's no guest service fee.

How to price for the payout you want

If you want a set amount after the fee, divide by what's left of each dollar:

Listed price = target payout ÷ (1 − fee rate)

At 15.5%, that's target ÷ 0.845. Round up to the cent so the payout never falls short.

To keep the $494.70 payout from the split-fee example:

1. Stay price needed: $494.70 ÷ 0.845 = $585.4438, rounded up to $585.45.
2. Keep the $60 cleaning fee: $585.45 − $60 = $525.45 for the nights.
3. Per night: $525.45 ÷ 3 = $175.15.
4. Check: 3 × $175.15 + $60 = $585.45. 15.5% of that is $90.74, which leaves $494.71.

The guest would pay $585.45 before taxes, which is inside the $581.91 to $594.15 they paid for the same stay under the split fee.

A few more targets at 15.5%:

Notice the markup is about 18.3%, not 15.5%. Adding 15.5% to your price isn't enough, because the fee is also taken on the added amount.

Airbnb's price adjustment tool

Airbnb's price adjustment tool (opens in a new tab) is for home hosts who don't use property management software. It makes a one-time adjustment to the prices of all your listings when you move from the split fee to the single fee, using an adjustment ratio, and shows you the new prices before you confirm. The page says it covers base, custom and weekend prices plus fees such as cleaning or pet fees, but not discounts. Afterward you can still edit prices in your calendar.

Checking your own rate

Your rate may not be 15.5%. Open a recent reservation in Earnings and find the Airbnb service fee line, as the service fees page describes. Then use that rate in the stay profit calculator and the break-even rate calculator. For what the fee means for your cleaning fee, see how to set an Airbnb cleaning fee, and for whether to fold it into the nightly price, see cleaning fee or higher nightly rate.