Airbnb Host Fees: From 3% to 15.5%, and What Vrbo Charges

Airbnb now charges most hosts a single 15.5% fee, taken out of the payout, and guests pay no separate Airbnb fee. Until late 2025, most hosts paid 3% and guests paid a service fee of 14.1% to 16.5% on top. Vrbo is changing too: from October 29, 2026, pay-per-booking hosts pay a flat 12% instead of 5% plus 3% processing.

Here is what changed, when, and what it means for what you keep. All fees are as of October 2026.

What does Airbnb charge hosts now?

Airbnb's help center says most hosts pay a single 15.5% service fee, and the whole fee comes out of the host's payout. Some hosts pay 14% to 16%. Listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 16%.

On the single fee, guests pay no separate Airbnb fee. The price you set is the price they see, before taxes.

The fee is charged on your nightly price plus the fees you add, like cleaning and pets. It isn't charged on taxes.

How did Airbnb's host fees change?

For years, Airbnb split its fee. Most hosts paid 3%, and guests paid a service fee on top at checkout. The single fee moved that whole cost onto the host, one group of hosts at a time.

Airbnb's help center confirms the 15.5% fee and that it is moving every home host to it, but it doesn't date each wave. The dates above are as reported by Hostfully, Truvi, PriceLabs and Rental Scale-Up, as of October 2026.

Airbnb says it combined the two fees to make it easier to know what guests pay and to price competitively, and that the 15.5% rate is based on its global average service fees. Once you're on the single fee, you can't switch back.

Why did hosts push back on the single fee?

In Airbnb's own example, the total barely moves: the guest still pays $115 and the host still earns about $97. What changed is who the fee comes from, and hosts felt that in three ways.

• The fee moved onto the payout. A host who paid 3% now pays 15.5%. At the same price, a $1,000 booking that paid out $970 now pays out $845.
• Prices had to rise just to stand still. Airbnb's advice is to raise your price when you switch, about 15%, so your payout stays the same. Some hosts worried that higher prices put guests off. One host on the Airbnb Community wrote that Airbnb "passed the buck onto the host".
• Other costs scaled with the price. A Nashville Superhost whose building takes 25% of nightly rates worked out that she'd need about 28% higher rates just to break even, and called the fee a dealbreaker.

Guests feel it too, just less visibly. With no fee line at checkout, a higher price reads as the host's price, not Airbnb's.

What does Vrbo charge hosts now?

From October 29, 2026, Vrbo charges pay-per-booking hosts a flat 12%, with payment processing included. Its help center already lists the 12%. Taxes and security deposits still get a 3% processing fee.

Before the switch, Skift reports that hosts not connected to property management software paid 8%: a 5% commission plus 3% payment processing. Hosts connected through software paid about 5%.

Vrbo told hosts about the change in September 2026, and Skift reported the October 29 start date.

Vrbo guests still pay a service fee at checkout, which hosts can't waive. Skift puts it at 11% to 14% today and reports that Vrbo plans to cut it, though Vrbo says most travelers will still see one. Vrbo hasn't published the new guest rates.

Airbnb vs Vrbo: what do hosts keep now?

Here is one $1,000 booking, nightly rate plus cleaning, on each platform's current host fee. Taxes are left out.

At the same price, Vrbo leaves you $35 more. Its guests pay a fee on top, so their total is higher. Vrbo vs Airbnb for hosts compares payouts, protection and cancellations too, and the free Airbnb fee calculator runs your own numbers.

How should you price after the fee change?

Work back from the payout you want. Divide it by what's left after the fee.

• On Airbnb, divide by 0.845. To keep $970, price the stay at about $1,148.
• On Vrbo, divide by 0.88. To keep $970, price the stay at about $1,102, and the guest's service fee sits on top.

Then check what guests see on each site. A guest who finds your home on both will compare totals. If you're weighing other platforms too, Airbnb competitors for hosts covers the fees and fit of each.

What about the nights you still can't book?

Every fee here comes out of a booked night. The nights that stay empty earn nothing on any platform.

Hostshare, a host-only travel network, turns those nights into a host swap: when another member books a night you share, you earn travel nights at other hosts' homes, with no nightly rate. You pay that host's cleaning fee plus a small service fee, and your listing stays live on Airbnb and Vrbo. How it works has the details, and pricing has the plans.

FAQ

What percentage does Airbnb take from hosts?

As of October 2026, most hosts pay a single 15.5% fee, taken from the payout. Some pay 14% to 16%, and listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 16%. Guests pay no separate Airbnb fee.

Can I still choose Airbnb's split fee?

For most hosts, no. Airbnb is moving every home host to the single fee, and once you're on it you can't switch back.

Why did Airbnb change its host fees?

Airbnb says one fee makes it easier to know what guests pay and to price competitively. It says the 15.5% rate is based on its global average service fees.

How much did the change cost hosts?

At the same price, a host who paid 3% now keeps $845 instead of $970 on a $1,000 booking. To keep the old payout, Airbnb suggests raising prices about 15%.

What is Vrbo's host fee in 2026?

A flat 12% for pay-per-booking hosts from October 29, 2026, with payment processing included. Before that, most hosts paid a 5% commission plus 3% processing.

Do Vrbo guests pay a service fee?

Yes. Vrbo guests pay a service fee at checkout, and hosts can't waive it. Vrbo plans to lower it but hasn't published new rates.