Know if a listing is a
good STR investment

How does STRInvest calculate short-term rental investment returns?

STRInvest uses a four-input methodology to estimate cap rate and cash-on-cash return. The nightly rate is set at the P45 (45th percentile) of comparable active Airbnb listings in the same zip code with the same bedroom count — a conservative market rate that accounts for the fact that most new listings don't command top-tier prices immediately.

Occupancy is assumed at 68% — the national average annual occupancy for short-term rentals according to AirDNA's 2024 market data. Expense ratio is set to 35% of gross revenue, covering property management, cleaning, maintenance, insurance, and supplies. The mortgage payment uses a 30-year amortization at prevailing interest rates, calculated from the listed purchase price and a 20% down payment assumption.

All four inputs are adjustable. Change your down payment percentage, target occupancy rate, local expense ratio, or interest rate and the cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and monthly cash flow figures update instantly — without re-fetching Airbnb data.

How does STRInvest compare to AirDNA for STR investment research?

AirDNA is a standalone market data platform starting at ~$40/month that provides historical revenue analytics, occupancy trends, and seasonality data for STR markets. STRInvest is a lighter, cheaper web app: paste any Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com link and get cap rate, cash-on-cash return, cash flow, and local STR rules from live Airbnb comps — then save the deal, compare it, and get alerted when the price drops. It runs in any browser (with an optional free Chrome extension), for a fraction of AirDNA's price.