Airbnb’s commission rate in India, explained
What changed in the fee model, what you actually pay now, and what it means for your payout.
If your Airbnb payouts look different from a year ago, it’s not your imagination — Airbnb changed how it charges hosts. Here’s exactly what the commission is now, what it used to be, and what it means for the number that actually lands in your account.
The current rate: ~15.5%
Airbnb now deducts a single host-only service fee of roughly 15.5% directly from your payout. This is the fee that replaced the older two-sided model — so if you’ve been hosting a while, this is likely different from what you remember.
What changed
The old model split the fee between both sides: hosts paid around 3%, and guests paid a separate fee of roughly 14–16.5% shown at checkout. Airbnb has been moving hosts onto a new host-only model, where the full fee — about 15.5% — comes out of the host’s side instead, and the guest no longer sees a separate Airbnb line at checkout.
The total the platform collects is broadly similar under either model. What changed is who pays it and how visibly — under the new model, it’s entirely on you, deducted before the money reaches your account, rather than split with the guest.
Most hosts have already been migrated to the new model as of 2026. The remaining hosts outside the EEA are being moved by a September 15, 2026 deadline.
| Model | Host pays | Guest pays |
|---|---|---|
| Old (split fee) | ~3% | 14–16.5% |
| New (host-only) | ~15.5% | None (from Airbnb) |
What the fee applies to
- Your nightly rate
- Any cleaning fee you set
- Any extra-guest fee
It does not apply to taxes collected separately. If you offer discounts — weekly, monthly, or promotional — those reduce the base you’re charged commission on, since the fee is a percentage of what the guest actually pays you.
Airbnb is one platform. Most hosts use several.
See what Booking.com, MakeMyTrip and Goibibo charge too — and what it all adds up to over a year.
Read the full OTA commission breakdown →Is 15.5% the whole story?
It’s Airbnb’s platform fee — the number that determines your payout on every booking. It’s not necessarily your only cost of doing business on the platform: if you opt into promotional discounts to boost visibility, that’s a separate choice that reduces your take, not a fee Airbnb charges. Payment and currency conversion can also apply depending on how guests pay.
The other thing worth remembering: 15.5% is what you pay every time, including on guests who already knew your property and would have booked you anyway. That’s the part a direct booking website can change — nothing added on top of Airbnb’s fee, just an option for repeat and referral guests to book you without it.
The number that matters isn’t the percentage — it’s what shows up in your payout. Once I understood exactly how the fee was calculated, it became obvious which guests were worth routing around it.Safiya — Founder, Rukiye Zara
Questions hosts ask first
What is Airbnb’s commission rate in India?
Does the guest still pay a separate Airbnb fee?
Has every host moved to the new fee model?
What does the commission apply to?
Is 15.5% the total cost of using Airbnb?
Know the fee. Now reduce it.
Launch a direct booking website free — no commission on the guests who already know you.
