Short-term letting or a long-term tenant?
Both figures compared — using official rent data and an open calculation. Including when the result argues against us.
- Official rent data
- Open derivation
- No sign-up
Your flat
- Everything in the basic level
- Cleaning and laundry between stays
- Key handover or an electronic lock
- Reachable for guests around the clock
- Minor repairs up to the agreed limit
Set price and occupancy yourself
The starting values describe a professionally managed property available all year: the upper third of the market data plus 10 per cent for active pricing and good reviews. Achievable, not promised. If you assess your flat differently, set price and occupancy yourself here — the result updates at once.
Starting value for 3 rooms in this location: CHF 230. The basis is the upper third between the median (CHF 176) and the average (CHF 222) of the Zurich market, plus 10 per cent for professional pricing, scaled by location and size. Better photographs, a better listing and prices set by the events calendar move precisely this figure.
Starting value for this location: 70 %. That is the upper third of the documented range plus 10 per cent for professional management — sources run from 43 % (AirROI) to 74 % (Airbtics). The average across all listings sits lower, because it also counts flats available for only a few months.
What this figure does not say
Both routes have advantages and drawbacks that no calculator can express in francs. They decide the matter more often than the amount does.
Admissibility comes first. An earnings calculation is worthless if short-term letting is not permitted at your address. In the city of Zurich the Federal Supreme Court confirmed the rule on 30 April 2026; it has applied since 1 September 2026. What applies at your address depends on the zone. In June 2026 Kilchberg resolved to prohibit hotel-like use in purely residential zones. With condominium ownership the house rules apply on top. What applies in your region.
For short-term letting
You can use the flat yourself
Weeks for your own family, for visitors, or a temporary move — with short-term letting you block the calendar. With a long-term tenancy you cannot: personal need is a ground for termination in Switzerland, with notice periods and the possibility of challenge — not a switch.
No protection against termination to overcome
A long-term tenancy cannot be ended at short notice. Terminations can be challenged, extension proceedings take time, and anyone wanting to sell or convert is negotiating with a tenant who has rights. A guest leaves after three nights.
No loss of rent over months
If a long-term tenant does not pay, proceedings follow that take months — the flat is occupied and earns nothing. With short-term letting the guest pays when booking. Airbnb typically releases the payout about 24 hours after the guest's scheduled check-in.
The price stays at the market
In Zurich the median of all private leases for a 3-room flat is CHF 1,950, the new-tenancy rent CHF 2,250 — around 15 per cent higher. Anyone letting today at the new-tenancy rent will not be receiving the market rent of ten years hence — rent increases are tied to the reference interest rate and cost-based rent. A nightly rate can be adjusted every week.
Where these figures come from
Occupancy 70 per cent. The data providers contradict each other considerably for Zurich: AirROI gives 43.4 per cent, AirDNA 59, GuestReady 73, Airbtics 74. The difference comes from the definition — measured against available days or against all calendar days. We calculate with the upper third of this range, 63.8 per cent, and add 10 per cent for a professionally managed listing — giving around 70 per cent for the city, 74 for the centre, 68 for the lake and 57 for the surrounding area. The mark-up is our assumption, not a survey. The mean would have been 58.7 per cent; but it describes the average across all listings, which also includes flats available for only a few months of the year or without any reviews.
Comparison rent. New-tenancy rent for the city of Zurich, not non-profit, survey April 2026: 2 rooms CHF 1,834, 3 rooms CHF 2,250, 4 rooms CHF 2,690 net. We deliberately take the new-tenancy rent and not the overall median — what you could achieve today, not what a twenty-year-old contract yields. The gap between them is large: for the 3-room flat, 2,250 against 1,950 francs.
Deductions. 15.5 per cent platform fee at Airbnb, around 20 at Booking.com; then our commission. For long-term letting, 5 per cent for external property management. With short-term letting, guests carry the cleaning through the cleaning fee.
The range from minus 20 to plus 15 per cent is deliberately wide. Without having seen the flat, a narrower figure would not be honest.
Sources: AirDNA, AirROI, Statistik Stadt Zürich. As at 30 July 2026
Not legal advice. Protection against termination and personal need are governed by Art. 271 ff. OR; how they apply in an individual case is a question for a lawyer.
An assessment for your address
The figures above are an order of magnitude. For your flat we look at the location, the layout and the competition — and tell you when short-term letting is not worthwhile there.
We check the address, house rules and permit and reply on the same working day with an assessment. Free and non-binding.
Prefer to talk directly?
Ramp-up and seasonality in detail
Why the first months are weaker
A new listing has no reviews, and review volume is one of the strongest ranking factors. The difference between zero and five reviews is large; the difference between 45 and 50 is small. In the first year, therefore, calculate over twelve months, not over the first.
1
6
12
Months from the start of letting. First bookings after a few weeks, stable occupancy usually after 6 to 10 months. We set full market occupancy at the end of that span (dark bars). A reasoned assumption, not a measurement.
And it is spread unevenly across the year
July is the strongest month in Zurich at 56.2 per cent occupancy, January the weakest at 37.8. That follows the pattern of a leisure destination — notable for a city regarded as a business travel destination. The strong May points to the trade-fair share. Individual months sit distinctly below the average; that is normal and no sign that something is not working.
JJan
FFeb
MMar
AApr
MMay
JJun
JJul
AAug
SSep
OOct
NNov
DDec
Distribution per AirROI, July 2025 to June 2026.
Questions about the earnings calculation
Does Airbnb bring in more than a long-term tenant?
For a well-kept, continuously available property yes — for an average one not necessarily. For a 3-room flat in Zurich outside the centre we calculate around CHF 3,060 net from short-term letting against CHF 2,140 new-tenancy rent after management costs, so around 43 per cent more. The widespread industry claim of «two to three times the long-term rent» cannot be substantiated for Zurich: the federal portal lists three studies on it, none with comparative revenue figures. Anyone calculating with the average across all listings ends up closer to break-even. What decides it is which third of the market your property sits in — and that depends on photographs, furnishing and reviews, not on the number of rooms.
As at 30 July 2026
How long does it take before a new flat earns money?
First bookings come after a few weeks, and stable occupancy usually after 6 to 10 months. A new listing has no reviews, and review volume is one of the strongest ranking factors — the difference between zero and five reviews is large, that between 45 and 50 small. AirDNA has found that listings with a good starting date run up to six months above the market average; after a poor start, recovery takes over six months. A study saying «from month X income is stable» does not exist — We do not name a single month. Our ramp-up curve in the calculator is a reasoned assumption and is marked as such.
As at 30 July 2026
In which months is Zurich strongest?
July is the strongest month at 56.2 per cent occupancy, January the weakest at 37.8 per cent. The peak is July, August and May, the trough January, February and November. That follows the pattern of a leisure destination — remarkable for a city regarded as a business travel destination: the share of business tourism is around 30 per cent, and it is leisure stays above all that have grown. The strong May points to the trade fair share. Across the year, strong and weak months balance out; individual months sit well below the average, and that is no sign that something is wrong.
As at 30 July 2026 · Source: AirROI, July 2025 to June 2026
What is occupancy in Zurich really?
That cannot be answered with a single figure, and anyone who does is leaving something out. The data providers contradict each other considerably for the same city: AirROI gives 43.4 per cent, AirDNA 59, GuestReady 73, Airbtics 74. The difference comes from the definition — occupancy measured against available days gives a higher value than against all calendar days.
We calculate with the upper third of this range, 63.8 per cent, and add 10 per cent for a professionally managed listing: around 70 per cent for the city, the other locations scaled in proportion. The mark-up is our assumption for active pricing, reviews and year-round availability, not a survey. The mean would have been 58.7 per cent, but it describes the average across all listings — that also counts flats available for only a few months of the year, without reviews, or not actively run at all. Anyone looking for a management company wants to know what a well-kept property achieves.
As a cross-check: with these values a 2-room flat in the city comes to around CHF 3,900 gross revenue per month, a 4-room flat to CHF 6,000. Market observation gives CHF 3,000 to 5,000 for well-run flats in strong city markets — our values sit at the upper end, and above it for large flats. Achievable, not promised — and with the sliders above you calculate with your own assumptions. For comparison, the hotel trade: the Zurich tourism region recorded a peak in 2025 with 7.56 million overnight stays, and room occupancy in the first half-year was 61.1 per cent.
As at 30 July 2026
Why does the calculator not ask for the exact address?
Because address autocompletion transmits your home address to a mapping service before you have submitted anything at all. The calculator deliberately does not: for a first estimate the location is enough. The exact address is needed only when you request an assessment, and then it goes to us, not to third parties. For the zoning check, however, it is decisive — in Zurich, permissibility depends on the zone your flat lies in.
As at 30 July 2026