Airbnb vs Vrbo host fees
Airbnb vs Vrbo host fees: which platform takes more?
By the VacayDirect team · · 2 min read
The short answer
For hosts on Airbnb's single-fee structure, Airbnb takes more: most pay 15.5% of the booking, against Vrbo's 5% commission plus 3% payment processing fee. For hosts still on Airbnb's split-fee structure, Airbnb takes less from the host, about 3%, because the guest pays a separate 14.1% to 16.5% service fee.
The answer depends entirely on which Airbnb fee structure you're on, so start there.
The rates side by side
| Airbnb, split fee | Airbnb, single fee | Vrbo, pay-per-booking | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host pays | 3% for most hosts | 15.5% for most hosts; 14% to 16% for the rest | 5% commission + 3% payment processing |
| Guest pays on top | 14.1% to 16.5% service fee | No separate service fee | A traveller service fee |
| Fee base | Nightly price plus host-charged fees | Nightly price plus host-charged fees | Commission: rent plus fees. Processing: total payment including taxes and deposits |
| If you use property management software | You're moved to the single fee | Mandatory | Processing fee doesn't apply |
All figures are from the two platforms' help centres.
The same booking on each
Take four nights at $300 with a $180 cleaning fee: a $1,380 booking before tax.
- Airbnb split fee: 3% is $41.40 from you. Your guest pays Airbnb roughly $195 to $228 on top.
- Airbnb single fee: 15.5% is $213.90 from you. Your guest pays no separate service fee.
- Vrbo: 5% is $69, plus 3% processing on the total including tax. With 10% lodging tax that's another $45.54, for $114.54 in total.
The detail that changes everything
Airbnb makes the single fee mandatory for hosts who use property management software. Vrbo does the opposite: it removes its processing fee for them.
So the moment an independent owner gets organised, connects a channel manager and syncs calendars properly, Airbnb becomes the more expensive platform by a wide margin: 15.5% against 5% plus whatever your own card processor charges.
What neither comparison shows
Both numbers are the cost of being introduced to a guest. That's worth paying for a new guest you'd never otherwise have reached. It's a poor deal for the couple who've stayed with you three times and would have come back anyway.
That's the case for a direct booking site alongside your listings, not instead of them. Keep the platforms for discovery. Give returning guests, referrals and people who search for you by name somewhere to book that costs you card processing and nothing more.
Run your own numbers to see what that split is worth for your property.