Which charges hosts less: Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com?

The basics

Each platform takes a percentage of what the guest pays you, but they don't publish their rates the same way. Airbnb and Vrbo state a rate on their help pages. Booking.com says your rate is in your contract and varies by country and property type. So a fair comparison uses the published rates where they exist and says "Not published" where they don't.

All figures below come from each platform's own help pages, checked Oct 31, 2026. Rates change, and your own rate is the one on your payout statement or contract.

Host fees at a glance

Payout on the same booking

One hypothetical stay: $1,000 in nightly price plus a $100 cleaning fee, so the fee base is $1,100 on every platform. Taxes are left out, because none of the three charge their fee on local taxes.

The math: $1,100 × 0.155 = $170.50, and $1,100 − $170.50 = $929.50. $1,100 × 0.12 = $132, and $1,100 − $132 = $968. On the split fee, $1,100 × 0.03 = $33, and the guest pays 14.1% to 16.5% of $1,100 on top.

So on these published rates, Vrbo leaves you $38.50 more than Airbnb's single fee on the same booking. If your Airbnb rate is 14% to 16% instead of 15.5%, your Airbnb payout is $924 to $946.

What each fee applies to

Airbnb

Airbnb's service fees page (opens in a new tab), checked Oct 31, 2026, says most hosts on the single fee pay 15.5%. Others typically pay 14% to 16%, and listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 16%. The single fee is mandatory for most hosts, including hosts who use property management software. The older split fee, about 3% from the host plus 14.1% to 16.5% from the guest, "is being phased out," and once you switch you can't switch back.

Fees are "a percentage of the nightly price and any fees charged by the host," excluding the guest service fee and taxes. For the full breakdown, see how much Airbnb takes from hosts.

Vrbo

Vrbo's help page About the pay-per-booking (PPB) model (opens in a new tab), checked Oct 31, 2026, says "a 12% commission rate is charged on the rental amount and any additional fees you charge to the traveler (such as cleaning, pet, and boat fees)." The commission is not charged on traveler service fees, taxes, refundable deposits or insurance products.

• If Vrbo processes the payment, there's no separate payment processing fee.
• If you use your own payment processor, you pay the 12% plus whatever your processor charges.
• In some regions, including parts of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Vrbo's Professional Plan can run up to 15% including processing. Vrbo says your Owner Dashboard shows the exact rate for each listing.
• The help page doesn't separate hosts who connect through software. Check your dashboard for your rate.

Vrbo's Host Terms of Service (opens in a new tab), effective Oct 29, 2026, say Vrbo "is not accepting new Subscription Listings and may not allow the renewal of prior Subscription Listings." So for a new host, pay-per-booking is the option. The terms also say Vrbo must give at least 30 days' notice before a new commission rate applies.

Some host blogs still quote Vrbo at 5% commission plus 3% payment processing. Vrbo's own help page now states 12%.

Vrbo's service fee page (opens in a new tab) says guests pay a service fee that's a percentage of the reservation total before taxes and refundable fees, and "the percentage varies depending on the reservation amount." Hosts can't waive or reduce it. No percentage is published.

Booking.com

Booking.com's Understanding your commission (opens in a new tab) page, checked Oct 31, 2026, publishes no rate. It says "the exact percentage depends on your country, property type, and the accommodation agreement you signed when you joined us." You find yours in your accommodation agreement or in the extranet under Finance, then Reservation statements. Before you join, the registration process shows what applies to you.

• Commission covers "the room rate as well as any additional fees you charge," such as cleaning fees, service fees and no-show or cancellation charges.
• It's applied once the guest checks out and billed on one monthly invoice. If you use Payments by Booking.com, it may be settled from your payouts instead.
• It isn't charged on local taxes such as city tax. In most countries it is charged on VAT or GST.
• Programs such as Preferred Partner and Visibility Booster add a percentage on top of your base commission.
• The rate is locked when the guest books, so a rate change doesn't touch earlier bookings.

We couldn't find a published payment processing fee for Payments by Booking.com on the official pages we could read, so we don't show one.

Pricing for the payout you want

To keep the same payout on a platform with a higher fee, divide your target by what's left of each dollar:

Listed price = target payout ÷ (1 − fee rate)

To keep Vrbo's $968 payout on Airbnb at 15.5%: $968 ÷ 0.845 = $1,145.5621, rounded up to $1,145.57 for the stay including cleaning. Check: 15.5% of $1,145.57 is $177.56, which leaves $968.01.

The Airbnb fee calculator does this for any target. Pick a custom fee rate to run the same math at Vrbo's 12%. For whether to fold cleaning into the nightly rate, see cleaning fee or higher nightly rate. If you list on more than one platform, the software check shows whether you need a tool to keep calendars in sync.