If you’re planning to invest in an Airbnb property in 2023, the chances are that you will want to use an Airbnb host income calculator.
But how do you choose from the available tools, and is a free home income calculator enough to maximize your return on investment as an Airbnb property owner?
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Investing in Airbnb property is one of the most popular types of real estate investments.
But such a type of investment can be challenging and requires investors to consistently adjust their rental rates to maximize their rental income.
And rental rates are only becoming more difficult to calculate due to the high number of frequently changing market dynamics that affect Airbnb rentals.
It is why it is important for you to understand the risks of investing in an Airbnb property in 2023 and learn about the available tools that can help you navigate today’s changing markets.
In this article, we will be talking about the Airbnb host calculator tool, how it can help you, and which better free tool to use between Mashvisor and AirDNA.
Risks of Investing in an Airbnb Property in 2023
In 2023, the real estate market is still recovering from the volatility that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It means that beginner investors should be more aware than ever of market prices and whether they can afford to buy a vacation rental property.
However, with good financial planning and the right type of loan, real estate investors should be able to find markets where property prices remain within their reach.
On the other hand, another major challenge that Airbnb investors face in today’s market is the disruption in the seasonality patterns that dictate Airbnb rentals’ performance and income rates.
Due to the limitations on tourism and traveling in recent years, new Airbnb hosts will find themselves lacking the data to calculate how much rental income their properties can generate.
Luckily, there are Airbnb calculator tools that can gather massive amounts of data to be able to provide rental estimates.
But what exactly is an Airbnb host income calculator, and how does it predict what your rental income will be using market data? Let’s find out.
What Is an Airbnb Host Income Calculator?
An Airbnb host income calculator is a tool that lets Airbnb hosts get insights about different properties and the amount of rental income that they can generate.
Such tools typically rely on highly sophisticated machine-learning algorithms that produce projections based on the massive amounts of data they can access.
While investors and property owners can technically gather the data and do all of the required calculations by hand, it is far from being practical and it will be extremely time-consuming.
Instead, hosts who use an Airbnb host income calculator are encouraged to learn how the process is done, how each metric is calculated, and where the data comes from.
It enables them to double-check the results that the tool gives them if they feel like it’s not accurate, but not to completely replace the tool.
How Does the Income Calculator Gather Data?
The data that an Airbnb income calculator gathers typically comes from trusted sources like Airbnb’s database, the MLS, or realtors and agents.
The said sources gather and store all types of information about real estate properties, including but not limited to the following:
- Current and historical property prices
- Current and historical rental rates
- Current and previous property ownership
- Property’s information and characteristics
- History of renovations
- Tax information
All of the above information can then be used by the AI to make very complex calculations and produce insights, such as the property’s projected rental income or return on investment.
Naturally, it means that an Airbnb host rental income calculator is as good as the data it gathers.
So, when deciding which Airbnb rental income calculator tool to use, it is very important to verify their data and whether it is up-to-date or not.
Now, let’s take a look at the two most well-known Airbnb host rental income calculator tools and see how they compare.
Related: The Investor’s Guide to Finding Active MLS Listings Without a Realtor
Which Is Better: Mashvisor or AirDNA’s Free Airbnb Host Income Calculator?
Whenever you’re looking for the best Airbnb host calculator tool to use, there are two options that you will come across: Mashvisor and AirDNA.
Both tools specialize in rental property analysis based on reliable data sources.
While AirDNA focuses solely on short term and Airbnb rentals, Mashvisor’s tool can be used for both short term and long term rental property analysis.
However, when looking at the toolkits and types of insights that each tool provides, you’ll find several similarities.
Both tools provide the following main features:
- Rental property calculator
- Neighborhood/market analysis
- Rental comps
- Investment property search
- Rental rate projections
- Customized reports
- Ability to connect your own property
In other terms, both platforms can be used to find, analyze and compare Airbnb rental properties based on their rental rates, occupancy rates, cap rates, and more.
So, how do you decide on which Airbnb host income calculator to use?
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using each tool to determine which is the better option.
Mashvisor: Pros & Cons
Mashvisor’s rental income calculator tool is part of a larger platform that helps you throughout the entirety of your investment journey.
From finding the best short term rental markets, to finding affordable properties to invest in, all the way to analyzing your property and figuring out the best rental rate to set.
The platform is known for its ease of use, comprehensive toolkit, up-to-date data, and interactive rental income calculator.
When using Mashvisor for the purpose of analyzing Airbnb for sale before buying them, this tool makes it easier than ever to compare properties and determine the ones with the highest potential for profit.
Additionally, Mashvisor’s rental comps are very efficient in telling you how your Airbnb rental compares to other similar properties around it.
It lets you determine the best rental rate you can set on your property to maximize your return on investment.
Mashvisor’s Income Calculator helps beginner and experienced Airbnb hosts throughout their investing journey.
Pros
There are definitely more pros than cons to using Mashvisor.
To start off, Mashvisor’s tool can be used to analyze both short term and long term rentals.
It applies to all the different tools and features the platform offers, including its interactive color-coded map search tool, which is another big advantage of using Mashvisor.
Being able to seamlessly switch between short term and long term rental analytics and insights during your search can be very useful. It is especially helpful for investors who are open to investing in either type of rental property.
Additionally, Mashvisor’s color-coded heatmap tool is perhaps the best way to quickly analyze markets and neighborhoods based on whichever metric you prefer.
When using the heatmap tool, you can use any of the provided filters to give you an idea of how each area’s properties are performing based on relevant metrics and information.
It includes filters for short term and long term rental income, Airbnb occupancy rate, property price, cap rate, and cash on cash return.
Finally, Mashvisor offers a free trial that lets you test the platform and get familiar with the tools if you’re not sure you want to spend money on a subscription.
Cons
While a 7-day free trial is available, to gain the maximum value of Mashvisor’s platform, you will need to pay a subscription fee.
Of course, it is understandable, as developing such a tool and maintaining it can be costly.
However, for investors who are looking for a tool that they can use completely for free, then Mashvisor might not be the best option for them.
But be aware that tools that are marketed as completely free can often end up hurting your investment decisions due to faulty or outdated data.
Related: Mashvisor—The Best Airbnb Income Calculator in 2023
AirDNA: Pros & Cons
Unlike Mashvisor, AirDNA only focuses and provides output on short term rentals.
It allows AirDNA to provide a deeper level of analytics than most other platforms for such types of rental real estate.
AirDNA gathers its data from Airbnb, VRBO, and other trusted sources, which makes it a reliable source of data and improves the accuracy of its calculations. However, the tool lacks the diversity and wide range of tools and features that Mashvisor provides.
AirDNA does the job when it comes to getting dynamic pricing recommendations in markets you’re interested in. However, the tool wasn’t designed to specifically help you find properties to invest in with ease.
Instead, the tool is best utilized by people who already own an Airbnb rental and are looking for an Airbnb rental income calculator to help them set their rental rates.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of using AirDNA.
Pros
One advantage of AirDNA compared to Mashvisor is that the former gives you access to global markets.
It means that real estate investors who are looking to invest abroad can get insights and analytics about the market they’re investing in using AirDNA.
Additionally, since AirDNA specializes exclusively in short term rentals, it means the platform provides a deeper level of rental analysis and more historical data than most other platforms.
AirDNA users often commend the tool for providing real-time listing data that is well-sourced and accurate.
Cons
The biggest drawback of using AirDNA is its pricing.
It is one of the few Airbnb host rental income calculator tools that is priced based on the number of properties you want to analyze.
It means that if you’re planning to analyze markets or neighborhoods to find the best investment property, AirDNA can be very pricey the wider the area you want to search.
Additionally, the pricing plans operate on a per-market basis, so investors who own Airbnb rentals across multiple markets will find it even more expensive.
Finally, AirDNA doesn’t provide an interactive heatmap tool or data related to long term rental properties.
Related: AirDNA Pricing: How Much Does It Cost to Join? Is It Worth Subscribing?
AirDNA vs Mashvisor: Pricing Plans
Both great Airbnb host rental income calculators come with very different pricing plans.
Generally, Mashvisor is much more affordable than AirDNA, as the latter’s costs can ramp up significantly the more properties you want to analyze.
Here is a breakdown of each tool’s pricing plans.
AirDNA Pricing
You may avail AirDNA’s subscription plans on a per-market basis, as follows:
- Obtaining data for a small market with less than 100 active listings comes at a price of $19/month
- Markets with 100-1,000 active listings come at a cost of $39/month
- If you’re looking to analyze markets with more than 1,000 active listings, the cost is $99/month
Since real estate analysis requires a lot of data to gain useful and accurate insights, most real estate investors will end up paying the highest price to get the results that they’re looking for.
Of course, if you’re investing in an Airbnb rental in a small suburban market, the first two pricing plans might be sufficient for you.
Mashvisor Pricing
Mashvisor’s subscription plans are simple, and each tier will give access to additional features and tools:
- At $17.99/month, you can subscribe to the Lite plan, which includes ROI analysis for individual long term and short term rental properties
- For $49.99/month, you can subscribe to Mashvisor’s most popular Standard plan, which lets you run rental comps for markets, neighborhoods, and properties
- For $74.99/month, you can subscribe to the Professional plan, which gives you the ability to export large datasets and access even more search filters
As you can see, Mashvisor’s plans are more affordable when considering the fact that you gain access to all the data from each plan instead of paying extra for more data.
Want to try Mashvisor and its various tools? Start your 7-day free trial today!
Bottom Line: Becoming an Airbnb Host in 2023
Becoming an Airbnb host in 2023 can be a lucrative business venture or a real estate investment.
While the rental markets are more volatile than ever, using an Airbnb host income calculator can make the process of investing much quicker and easier.
A rental income calculator can help Airbnb hosts and investors in setting the rental rates for the property and determining their long term return on investment.
Although there are plenty of tools to choose from, the two most popular tools that you should consider using are Mashvisor and AirDNA.
Each tool comes with its own pros and cons, but many consider Mashvisor to be the better one to use due to its flexibility, affordability, and the amount of data it provides.
Want to learn how to use Mashvisor’s tools like a pro? Schedule a demo now with one of our product specialists.
