What does Airbnb charge in fees in 2026? The two models, and what you are actually paid

Updated 8 September 2026. Written by Nico Rossetti, Arnor.

Search for what Airbnb charges in fees and you will find two different answers. Some pages say 3 percent. Others say 15.5 percent. Both numbers are correct. Airbnb runs two fee structures, and which one your listing is on decides both what lands in your account and what price the guest sees on screen. Here is the full calculation in Danish kroner, as it works in 2026.

The short answer

Airbnb charges a service fee every time a booking is confirmed. It can be set up in one of two ways:

• Split fee: you pay 3 percent of the booking subtotal, and the guest pays a guest fee of 14.1 to 16.5 percent on top of your price.
• Host-only fee: you pay typically 15.5 percent, and the guest pays no separate service fee.

Many private hosts with a single listing are still on the split fee. Hotels, serviced apartments and hosts who use professional property management software must use the host-only fee. And Airbnb has announced that the split fee will no longer be available to certain hosts. More on that below.

Split fee: 3 percent from you, the rest from the guest

On the split fee, you as the host pay 3 percent. The fee is calculated on the booking subtotal, meaning the nightly price plus any fees you charge yourself, such as a cleaning fee. Taxes and the guest's own service fee are not part of the base. The amount is deducted automatically before the money reaches your account.

The guest pays the bigger share: a service fee of between 14.1 and 16.5 percent of the subtotal, added on top of the price you set. If the guest pays in a different currency from the one your listing uses, the fee can hit the top of that range. This is why your 1,300 kr per night flat never costs the guest 1,300 kr.

Host-only fee: typically 15.5 percent, and the guest sees no fee line

On the host-only fee, the entire service fee is deducted from your payout. Most hosts on this model pay 15.5 percent, the rest typically between 14 and 16 percent. In return, the guest sees no service fee: the price in the search results is much closer to what the guest actually ends up paying.

The host-only fee is mandatory for traditional hospitality listings such as hotels and serviced apartments, for hosts using property management software, and for hosts in certain countries. Airbnb also now states directly that the split fee will no longer be available to certain hosts, who are moved to the host-only structure instead. Airbnb has even built a price adjustment tool to help hosts raise their nightly price when they switch, precisely because the guest fee disappears.

A worked example: one three-night stay

Take a flat at 1,300 kr per night, three nights, plus a 400 kr cleaning fee. The subtotal is 3 times 1,300 kr plus 400 kr, which is 4,300 kr.

On the split fee: your host fee is 3 percent of 4,300 kr, which is 129 kr. Your payout is 4,171 kr. The guest pays the subtotal plus roughly 15 percent in guest fee, around 645 kr, so about 4,945 kr in total.

On the host-only fee: your fee is 15.5 percent of 4,300 kr, which is about 667 kr. Your payout is about 3,634 kr. The guest pays 4,300 kr plus any taxes, and nothing more.

Same flat, same nights. The difference is who the fee is visible to.

Does the host-only fee look expensive? Run the numbers all the way round

At first glance, 15.5 percent looks like a far worse deal than 3 percent. But run the numbers all the way round.

A year of 70 nights at 1,300 kr gives a subtotal of 91,000 kr. On the split fee you pay 2,730 kr in fees and are paid 88,270 kr. But your guests actually paid around 104,650 kr in total, because the guest fee came on top of your price. On the host-only fee you can raise your nightly price to about 1,495 kr, so the guests' total price is exactly the same. Your payout is then 84.5 percent of 104,650 kr, about 88,430 kr. The difference between the two models ends up below 200 kr over a full year.

The point is simple: the number that matters is the total price the guest sees in search, because that is what the market reacts to. Hosts who switch to the host-only fee without adjusting their nightly price are simply handing the guest a discount. Price to the market, and treat the fee structure as arithmetic, not emotion. We have written a separate guide on how to set the right prices across the year, and the numbers here match our breakdown of what you can earn neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

VAT and the cleaning fee: two details people get wrong

VAT: depending on the rules, VAT may be added to the service fee. Airbnb itself states that the fee you are shown is inclusive of VAT where relevant. So you should not add anything extra in your own calculation.

The cleaning fee is not an Airbnb fee. It is yours: you set it, and it ends up with you or your cleaning team. But remember two things. It is part of the subtotal, so the service fee is calculated on it. And a high cleaning fee makes the guest's total price less attractive in search, especially on short stays.

When does the money arrive?

Airbnb normally releases the payout about a day after the guest checks in. From there it depends on the payout method: a bank transfer typically takes 3 to 5 business days, and banks do not process on weekends or public holidays. If you are a brand-new host, or a transaction is being reviewed, it can take longer. Plan for the money to be in your account about a week after check-in, and you will only ever be positively surprised.

Fees first, tax afterwards

The order of the calculation is always the same: gross price, minus Airbnb's fee, minus your running costs, and tax last. In 2026 the first 35,100 kr of your annual rental income is tax-free when you rent out through a platform that reports automatically to the Danish Tax Agency, which Airbnb does. Of the rest, only 60 percent is taxable. The rates, the examples and the difference between owners and co-op members are in our guide to tax on Airbnb in Copenhagen.

What about when an agency runs the whole thing?

A management company costs its own percentage on top of Airbnb's fee. And here is a detail few people tell you: if your agency runs your listing through professional software, the listing is typically on the host-only fee of 15.5 percent. When you compare offers, always ask whether the estimate is before or after Airbnb's fee. An impressive number before fees is not a number you can use for anything. We have written an honest breakdown of what management costs and what is included.

At Arnor we always work backwards from your payout: when you get an estimate from us, Airbnb's fee, the cleaning and our own fee are already deducted. The number you see is the number you can hold us to.

Want to see what your home can realistically bring in in 2026? Get a free estimate, or try the calculator and see the number before and after tax in 30 seconds.

Sources: Airbnb's Help Centre (service fees and payouts, read July 2026) and the Danish Tax Agency (skat.dk, 2026 rates).

← All guides  ·  Airbnb management in Copenhagen