Quick answer: BNBCalc's headline figures, checked 18 October 2026, put average bookings per listing across the 22 places below at between £18,900 a year in Birmingham and £78,900 in London. Pick a place below to see the average nightly rate, the share of nights booked and what is left each month after the Airbnb fee, cleaning and a management fee. No sign-up is needed.
How much could your home earn on Airbnb?
Pick a place to load BNBCalc's average nightly rate and nights booked. Change any figure to match your home. No email needed.
Costs
For a figure for your own home, get a free valuation.
How does the calculator work it out?
Bookings a year = average nightly rate × 365 × share of nights booked. The starting nightly rate and nights booked for each place are BNBCalc's headline 12-month averages (BNBCalc). The management fee defaults to 14.4%, which is 12% plus 20% VAT, Guestwise's lowest rate. Change it to compare any manager.
BNBCalc's yearly average per listing also reflects how many nights each listing is open for booking, so it will not exactly match the nightly rate × 365 × nights booked. Both figures are shown so you can see the difference.
The Airbnb host fee defaults to 15.5%, which Airbnb says most hosts on its single-fee structure pay (Airbnb). Hosts listing on Booking.com or Vrbo can enter that platform's fee instead.
Cleaning is the hardest cost to pin down, because it depends on how many separate stays you get, not just how many nights are booked. The calculator works out the number of stays from the nights booked and the average stay. The average stay defaults to 2.9 nights, the average length of a domestic overnight trip in Great Britain in 2024 (Welsh Government, from the GB Tourism Survey). The cleaning cost defaults to £60 a stay, the middle of Turno's estimate for a two-bedroom home in London, which Turno says comes from its own data (Turno). Shorter stays mean more cleans, so change both figures to match your home and your cleaner's price.
If you charge guests a cleaning fee, that money comes back to you in the booking total and offsets this cost. Airbnb says its host fee also applies to fees you charge, such as a cleaning fee (Airbnb). The result does not take off bills, council tax or business rates, insurance or repairs. Our rental yield calculator takes those costs off too.
What do short lets earn in each place?
BNBCalc headline 12-month averages per listing across homes of every size, checked 18 October 2026. Sorted by average bookings a year. In Greater London, Airbnb says it limits entire-home listings to 90 nights a year unless the host has permission, so see our London 90-night rule guide.
| Place | Average nightly rate | Nights booked | Average bookings a year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | £316 | 59% | £78,900 | BNBCalc |
| Edinburgh | £240 | 60% | £56,900 | BNBCalc |
| Lake District (Kendal, Windermere, Ambleside) | £198 | 53% | £46,200 | BNBCalc |
| Cheltenham | £201 | 49% | £41,700 | BNBCalc |
| Chichester | £203 | 45% | £35,800 | BNBCalc |
| Oxford | £177 | 48% | £33,000 | BNBCalc |
| York | £168 | 46% | £32,300 | BNBCalc |
| Bristol | £154 | 51% | £32,000 | BNBCalc |
| Bournemouth | £169 | 44% | £31,800 | BNBCalc |
| Brighton | £175 | 45% | £29,900 | BNBCalc |
| Bath | £153 | 46% | £29,300 | BNBCalc |
| Cambridge | £152 | 48% | £28,900 | BNBCalc |
| Reading | £171 | 44% | £28,800 | BNBCalc |
| Chester | £151 | 48% | £28,500 | BNBCalc |
| Canterbury | £160 | 41% | £27,300 | BNBCalc |
| Essex | £153 | 44% | £25,100 | BNBCalc |
| Newcastle | £130 | 45% | £24,400 | BNBCalc |
| West London | £154 | 42% | £24,200 | BNBCalc |
| Manchester | £130 | 45% | £22,900 | BNBCalc |
| Liverpool | £145 | 38% | £22,500 | BNBCalc |
| Sheffield | £117 | 43% | £19,900 | BNBCalc |
| Birmingham | £124 | 41% | £18,900 | BNBCalc |
What could your home earn?
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What makes one home earn more than the average?
City averages include every kind of listing, from spare rooms let a few weeks a year to large full-time homes. Bigger homes, good photos, strong reviews and a location close to what guests visit usually sit above the average, and new listings often take a few weeks to build up bookings. For a figure based on homes like yours rather than the city as a whole, the free valuation above uses your postcode and bedrooms. Our page on how new listings perform in their first weeks explains the early period.
For more on earnings by city, see how much short lets earn in 17 UK cities, which adds ONS rents for comparison.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I earn on Airbnb in the UK?
It depends on the place. BNBCalc's headline 12-month averages, checked 18 October 2026, range from about £18,900 a year in bookings per listing in Birmingham to £78,900 in London, across the 22 places in our calculator. These are bookings before platform fees, cleaning, bills and management.
How does this Airbnb calculator work?
It multiplies the average nightly rate by 365 days and by the share of nights booked, then takes off the Airbnb host fee, cleaning for each stay and the management fee you enter. The starting figures for each place are BNBCalc's headline averages, and you can change them to match your home.
How accurate are Airbnb calculators?
A calculator based on city averages shows what a typical listing takes, not what one home will earn. Size, location within the city, photos, reviews and season all move the figure. A valuation based on homes like yours, such as our free valuation, is closer.
What costs come out of Airbnb income?
Airbnb says most hosts on its single-fee structure pay a 15.5% service fee. On top of that come cleaning, linen, utility bills, council tax or business rates, insurance, repairs and any management fee. This calculator takes off the Airbnb fee, cleaning and the management fee. Bills, council tax, insurance and repairs still come out of what is left.
Do I pay tax on Airbnb income in the UK?
Usually, yes. GOV.UK says individuals can earn up to £1,000 a year of property income tax-free under the property allowance. HMRC says the furnished holiday lettings tax regime ended in April 2025, so short-let income is now taxed like other property income.
Is Airbnb more profitable than a long let?
It can earn more in bookings, but the costs are higher, so compare what is left after costs. Our short-let vs long-let calculator and rental yield calculator compare both on the same basis.
Get short-let earnings updates
BNBCalc updates its market figures through the year. Leave your email and we'll send you a short note when the figures on this page change.
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Related guides
Sources
- BNBCalc: short-term rental market data by city, headline 12-month averages checked 18 October 2026
- HMRC: clarification on the abolition of the furnished holiday lettings tax regime
- GOV.UK: tax-free allowances on property and trading income
- Airbnb: how Airbnb service fees work
- Welsh Government: domestic GB tourism statistics, overnight trips 2024 (GB average 2.9 nights a trip)
- Turno: vacation rental cleaners in Greater London, cleaning price estimates
This is general information, not financial advice. The calculator shows an illustration from market averages and the figures you enter. Your home may earn more or less.