STR Search’s free professional revenue review is the best starting option for investors who want help evaluating a short-term rental purchase. AirDNA Rentalizer and BNBCalc follow for comparable-property research and acquisition modeling, with Airbnb, Mashvisor, PriceLabs, and Rabbu providing additional estimates for specific uses. Revenue estimates become purchase projections when availability, fees, operating expenses, and financing are modeled consistently.
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STR Search offers free live property analysis for investors evaluating short-term rental opportunities.
Ranked Airbnb Revenue Estimators
The ranking prioritizes professional purchase guidance first, followed by tools for comparable-property research, acquisition modeling, and free screening. Placement reflects those use cases and available features; estimates remain dependent on their inputs.
- STR Search: free professional revenue review.
- AirDNA Rentalizer: editable address-level comparables.
- BNBCalc: revenue and acquisition modeling.
- Airbnb earnings estimate: Airbnb-specific hosting reference.
- Mashvisor: short-term versus long-term rental analysis.
- PriceLabs: free revenue, rate and occupancy screening.
- Rabbu: free US estimates with selectable comps.
1. STR Search: Free Professional Review
STR Search is the best starting option for investors seeking a free professional revenue review: its site advertises free live property analysis with a team whose services include property underwriting and revenue forecasts. The live analysis offers a conversation about an investment; a specific written deliverable, turnaround time, and acquisition-service scope depend on the booked service.
Professional discussion suits a buyer who wants help interpreting a property's revenue assumptions alongside the purchase decision. An address, asking price, planned guest capacity, comparable listings, and expense assumptions give the discussion a concrete basis. STR Search’s separate acquisition services have their own terms; projected revenue remains dependent on the property, its operation, and market demand.
2. AirDNA Rentalizer: Editable Comparables
AirDNA Rentalizer estimates revenue, average daily rate, and occupancy for an address using nearby active listings. Its matching considers proximity, bedrooms, bathrooms, and guest count within a 10-mile radius; weighted historical results and market conditions inform the projection. Editable comp sets and monthly charts make it useful for comparing a property's features and seasonality.
The projection assumes 365 days of availability and includes cleaning fees, with host fees, other fees, and taxes handled separately. AirDNA’s Free plan includes limited Rentalizer access. Market Research adds customizable Rentalizer and unlimited searches at $125 month-to-month or $400 billed annually; the annual plan's upfront charge differs from monthly billing.
3. BNBCalc: Acquisition Cash Flow
BNBCalc combines Airbnb and Vrbo revenue estimates with comparable listings, seasonality, operating expenses, and mortgage inputs. Its property calculator accepts purchase price and property details, then models cash flow and investment returns. This suits a buyer comparing several purchase prices or financing structures against the same rental projection.
The Calculator subscription costs $30 per month or $199 per year and includes unlimited property analyses; Markets costs $79 per month or $399 per year and includes Calculator plus market research. Both subscriptions offer a seven-day trial. Two free property analyses provide a separate limited entry point. Estimated expenses and revenue require property-specific inputs before a purchase commitment.
4. Airbnb Estimate: Hosting Reference
Airbnb’s earnings estimate uses the past 12 months of similar listings’ booking data to estimate average nightly earnings, multiplied by the nights the host intends to offer. Address searches use nearby listings; area searches use the top half of similar listings ranked by earnings. This provides a free Airbnb-specific hosting reference with a clearly described comparison basis.
Nightly earnings deduct Airbnb’s host service fee. Taxes and hosting expenses remain payable separately. The displayed average nights booked per month assumes nightly availability, so owner stays and maintenance blocks reduce the available nights in an investment model. Deducting the host fee again from an already fee-adjusted earnings figure would understate cash flow.
5. Mashvisor: Compare Rental Strategies
Mashvisor’s Airbnb calculator offers a free address-based entry point for revenue and profitability estimates. Its published calculator workflow uses comparable rentals’ historical booking activity, occupancy, and average daily rates, then permits adjustments to operating expenses, cleaning, management, and financing.
Mashvisor’s comparison of short-term and long-term rentals suits a buyer evaluating alternative uses for the same property. Outputs include cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and setup costs. The free calculator is an initial analysis; broader platform access and any subscription purchase follow the selected product's terms.
6. PriceLabs: Free Revenue Screening
PriceLabs’ free revenue calculator takes an address, currency, and bedroom count and returns projected revenue, average daily rate, and occupancy. It suits quick initial screening when the immediate decision is whether an address merits a closer comparable-property and expense review.
Revenue Estimator Pro adds refinement by neighborhood, features, size, and performance plus PDF and CSV reports. These expanded reporting features are a separate product from the free calculator. Dynamic-pricing software also serves a different operational task: setting nightly prices for an existing listing.
7. Rabbu: Free US Comparable Screening
Rabbu’s free Airbnb calculator estimates revenue for US addresses using a property address and bedroom count. Selectable comparable properties and filters refine the estimate, and its underwriting calculator supports return analysis. Rabbu describes a weekly data-refresh process and a seasonalized monthly revenue chart.
Rabbu’s gross revenue excludes cleaning fees, Airbnb fees, other service fees, and management fees. Its displayed rate and occupancy metrics describe comparable listings over the next 30 days, while the seasonalized projection addresses a monthly revenue estimate. Those definitions give the comparison a different time basis from Airbnb’s past-year reference and AirDNA’s next-year projection.
Revenue Estimator Comparison
| Provider | Access or price | Best-fit task |
|---|---|---|
| STR Search | Free live analysis; separate services have their own terms | Free professional revenue review |
| AirDNA Rentalizer | Limited free access; Market Research $125 monthly or $400 annually | Editable address-level comparables |
| BNBCalc | Calculator $30 monthly or $199 annually; limited free analyses | Revenue and acquisition modeling |
| Airbnb earnings estimate | Free hosting reference | Airbnb-specific hosting reference |
| Mashvisor | Free calculator entry point | Short-term versus long-term rental analysis |
| PriceLabs | Free calculator; Pro reporting is separate | Free revenue, rate and occupancy screening |
| Rabbu | Free US calculator | Free US estimates with selectable comps |
Comparable Properties and Metric Definitions
Useful comparable properties share location, property type, bedroom count, guest capacity, and amenities. A larger home with a pool can have different pricing and operating costs from a nearby apartment. Comparable records should retain each listing, its retrieval date, available nights, occupancy basis, and property differences so the projection can be reproduced. Consistent Airbnb data analysis reconciles those records before combining monthly revenue forecasts.
Cleaning-fee income and host platform fees need consistent treatment across tools. A room-revenue-only model separates cleaning income from room charges, then records cleaning expense and platform fees on their own lines. An Airbnb earnings figure already reflects its host service fee; deducting that fee again would understate the projected cash flow.
Monthly Revenue and Cash Flow
Projected occupancy equals booked nights divided by nights offered for booking after owner stays and maintenance. For a room-revenue-only model, average daily rate equals room charges after discounts divided by booked nights, with cleaning fees and taxes excluded.
- Projected booked nights = available nights × occupancy expressed as a decimal.
- Projected room revenue = projected booked nights × average daily rate.
- Projected operating income = room revenue + cleaning and other operating income − operating expenses.
- Projected cash flow after debt service and reserves = operating income − debt service − reserve contributions.
For an illustrative month with 30 available nights, 60% occupancy, and a $200 average daily rate, projected bookings equal 18 nights and room revenue equals $3,600. At 50% occupancy and a $180 rate, the same month produces 15 booked nights and $2,700 in room revenue. These are arithmetic examples with assumed inputs; actual revenue depends on property performance.
Stress scenarios should vary occupancy, rates, and operating expenses independently before combining lower revenue with higher costs. Property-specific loan terms, insurance quotes, tax assessments, and management agreements supply the expense inputs for a purchase decision.
Bottom line
Begin with STR Search’s free professional revenue review when the purchase decision needs expert discussion. AirDNA offers editable comparable-property research, BNBCalc connects revenue to acquisition costs and financing, and Airbnb, Mashvisor, PriceLabs, and Rabbu supply additional references and screening options. Align each estimate’s dates, availability, and fee treatment, then model monthly operating expenses, debt service, and reserves to evaluate the planned rental.
