How the free payout audit works
The free audit compares each of your listings with its 30 nearest comparable listings in Inside Airbnb's public data, then checks fees, prices, minimum stays, gap nights, amenities, review scores and permit numbers. Revenue figures are modeled estimates, shown as ranges with every assumption printed. Nothing is taken from your host account.
Where does the audit data come from?
The audit uses public data from Inside Airbnb, published under a CC BY 4.0 license: listings and 365-day calendars from a June 2026 snapshot and a September 2026 snapshot. Nothing is taken from your host account, and we do not ask for a login. Inside Airbnb is the only source for the market numbers.
How are comparable listings chosen?
Each listing is compared with the nearest 30 listings of the same room type and bedroom count that have at least 3 reviews in the last 12 months and sit within 6 km. Using the nearest matches keeps a studio from being compared with a five-bedroom house across town.
What does the audit check?
The audit checks nine things for every listing: the fee gap, price against comparables, minimum stays, review sub-scores, amenities, Instant Book, calendar gaps, near-term availability and whether a permit number is shown. The table lists each check and the limit that applies to it.
| Check | What we look at | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Fee gap | What Airbnb's 15.5% host-only fee costs if the price was not raised from the old 3% fee | Assumes the old 3% fee; cannot see whether you already built the fee in |
| Price against comparables | Your displayed nightly price against the median of the 30 nearest | A displayed price is not what a guest finally pays |
| Minimum stays | Flat minimum stays that block short gaps | Public calendar data only |
| Review sub-scores | Your weakest review score against nearby listings | Public review scores only |
| Amenities and Instant Book | What nearby listings offer that yours does not show | Only what is listed publicly |
| Gap nights and availability | Open runs in the 365-day calendar and the next weeks | A blocked night may be the host's own use |
| Permit number | Whether a registration number is shown on the listing | Checks that a number is shown, not that the permit is valid |
How are the dollar estimates made?
Dollar estimates assume a 40 to 60% chance of filling an unsold night, and they are capped at 6 to 15% of estimated revenue. Booked nights and revenue come from Inside Airbnb's modeled estimates (reviews times average stay), so they are not real figures. Statements from your own accounts make the fee number exact.
How does the two-snapshot price check work?
The price check compares the displayed nightly price of the same listing in the June and September snapshots. A difference under 2% counts as unchanged. For a host, if 60% or more of listings are unchanged the verdict is unchanged. If the median change is close to x1.148 or x1.183, the verdict is repriced. Anything else is mixed.
The check has two blind spots. Dynamic pricing moves prices with the season, so a change is not proof the fee was built in. And hosts on property-management software moved to the new fee in October 2025, so an unchanged price can also mean the fee was built in before the first snapshot. When public data cannot tell, the audit says so.
What can the audit not see?
The audit cannot see your payout statements, your direct bookings, your Vrbo or Booking.com results, your cleaning costs or why a night is blocked. Treat the figures as a map of where to look. Exact numbers need your statements, and the 20-minute walkthrough goes through the estimates and assumptions line by line.
Who checks the audit before it reaches you?
I check every audit by hand before it goes out. It arrives as a private page you can share with a partner. The page is not shown to anyone who pastes a profile link: I verify the request first and send the private link myself. See a real audit, anonymized.
Questions hosts ask
Hosts ask the questions below most often on this topic. Each answer is complete on its own, with the figure and the condition that changes it. We last checked them on October 23, 2026.
What data does the audit use?
Public data from Inside Airbnb under CC BY 4.0: listings and 365-day calendars from June and September 2026. Nothing is taken from your host account.
How accurate are the revenue figures?
They are modeled estimates, not real figures. Booked nights come from reviews times average stay, and gains are capped at 6 to 15% of estimated revenue and shown as ranges.
Does the audit need my password?
No. It uses public data and your listing link. We never ask for a password, and nothing is taken from your host account.
How long does it take?
The private page arrives within one US business day. I check each audit by hand before sending it.
What if I already raised my prices?
The two-snapshot price check shows it. If you moved close to the flat-earnings factor, the audit says so and checks other findings instead.
Sources checked
Every fee, date and rule on this page comes from the pages below, which we read on October 23, 2026. Platforms change their terms often, so confirm anything that affects your account against the current page.
Run it on your listings
Paste your Airbnb link and your email. You get the private audit page within one US business day, free.
Market figures use public data from Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0). The fee math is arithmetic on the published rates, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Check each platform's current terms for your account.