How do I analyze my first property?
Last reviewed Oct 8, 2026 by Jeremy Werden
Short answer
To analyze a property in BNBCalc, type its address into the "Analyze any city or address" search box and pick it from the Addresses list. Check the bedrooms, bathrooms, guests and price, click Select analysis type, choose Buy, Own, Rent or Cohost, and click Run analysis. A new account includes 2 free analyses.
Running the analysis
Before you start, it's worth signing up for a free account, so your analysis is saved and you can come back to it.
- Type the address into the search box that says "Analyze any city or address", on the BNBCalc homepage or in the navbar, and pick it from the Addresses group in the dropdown. Picking from the list matters: an address typed in and submitted without choosing it may not be found.
- Check the property details. For US addresses, BNBCalc fills in the Bedrooms and Bathrooms from the property record, sets Max Guests to three per bedroom, and fills the Purchase price from the home's estimated value. Change anything that's wrong, since the bedroom count in particular decides which homes the estimate is compared with. Outside the US, you'll enter these yourself.
- Click "Select analysis type ›" and choose the kind of deal (see the next section). On a phone, the types appear in the same form instead.
- Click "Run analysis". After a few seconds, the analysis opens on its own page with a link you can bookmark or share.
You can also paste a Zillow listing link into the search box, or use the full-page form at /create-analysis, which has a Paste Zillow link button. The price field has a currency picker if you'd rather work in euros, pounds or another currency.
Choosing the analysis type
The type decides which numbers matter, so pick the one that matches your plan for the property:
| Type | Choose it if you're… | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Buy | thinking of buying the property to run as a short-term rental | Down payment, mortgage, closing costs, cap rate, and in the US, DSCR and tax savings |
| Own | already the owner and want to see it as a rental | Your existing mortgage, or none if it's paid off, with no down payment or closing costs; cap rate and tax savings as for Buy |
| Rent | planning to lease it from a landlord and sublet it on Airbnb | Rent and setup costs instead of a mortgage, and a payback period |
| Cohost | managing it for the owner in exchange for a commission | Your commission and the owner's payout |
What's the difference between Buy, Own, Rent and Cohost analyses? goes through each type in more detail.
What to look at first
Once the analysis opens, these are the parts worth checking before anything else:
-
Annual revenue. This is BNBCalc's estimate of what the home could gross in a year, with the average daily rate and occupancy behind it.
Related question -
The comps table. These are the nearby listings the estimate is built on. Untick any that aren't a fair comparison, or use Filters to keep only homes with a pool, for example, and the revenue updates as you go.
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Profit. On a Buy or Own analysis, click the pencil next to Mortgage & Taxes to enter your real down payment and rate, and next to Operating Expenses to adjust costs, then watch Profit (Cash Flow) and Cash Investment change. A Rent analysis shows your rent in place of the mortgage, and a Cohost analysis shows your commission and the owner's payout.
Related question -
The score cards. On a Buy or Own analysis, the Short Term Rental card at the top gives a letter grade with the cash-on-cash return and cap rate, and the Long Term Rental card shows the same home as an ordinary rental for comparison.
Keep in mind that every number is an estimate built from comparable listings. It's a starting point for your own judgment, not a promise of income.
How many analyses you can run
A new account includes 2 free property analyses. After each one, an upgrade window offering the 7-day free trial opens over the report after a few seconds. Both paid plans, and their trials, include unlimited analyses.
If you see "Something went wrong creating your analysis", BNBCalc may not have found enough rental data near that address. Try a nearby address or a different bedroom count.
Frequently asked questions
Which analysis type should I choose in BNBCalc?
Choose Buy if you're thinking of purchasing the property, Own if you already own it, Rent if you'd lease it from a landlord and sublet it on Airbnb, and Cohost if you'd manage it for the owner for a commission.
Can I analyze a property outside the US?
Yes. Search for the address the same way, then enter the bedrooms, bathrooms, guests and price yourself, because BNBCalc only prefills those details for US addresses.
Related articles
Getting started
What is BNBCalc and what's included?
BNBCalc is a short-term rental investment platform with two products. The BNBCalc Calculator estimates what a specific address would earn on Airbnb or Vrbo and what you'd make after expenses and financing. BNBCalc Markets, launched in June 2026, ranks 2,369 short-term rental markets in 157 countries and includes the Calculator.
Data & methodology
How does BNBCalc estimate revenue for a property?
BNBCalc estimates a property's annual revenue from up to 50 comparable Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com homes nearby, using what each could earn if it were bookable all year. The estimate benchmarks a well-run listing rather than the average, landing around the comps' 70th to 75th percentile, and it's gross revenue with cleaning fees included.
Data & methodology
How does BNBCalc choose comparable listings?
BNBCalc picks comps from Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com listings near your property: entire homes with your bedroom count, or one bedroom either side when it needs more. It looks within 5 km (about 3 miles) first, widens to 16 km (about 10 miles) in quieter areas, and keeps between 10 and 50 comps.
Getting started
What can I do without a subscription?
You can run 2 BNBCalc property analyses free on a new account, or start a 7-day free trial with full access. Without a plan, you can also browse the top 10 markets per ranking, explore Broken Bow, OK with all of its data unlocked, and use the free calculators. Unlimited analyses and full Markets data need a paid plan.
Data & methodology
How does BNBCalc calculate cash flow and returns?
BNBCalc subtracts operating expenses from revenue to get operating income, then subtracts the mortgage payment and property tax to get cash flow. From there, cash-on-cash return is year-one cash flow, plus one year of revenue growth, divided by the cash you put in, while cap rate is operating income divided by the purchase price.
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