How to price your rentals
A practical framework for setting daily rates that actually earn — with worked examples for a camera, a chainsaw, and a spare room.
The most common question new owners ask is also the hardest to answer in the abstract: what should I charge? Price too high and your listing collects views but no bookings; too low and you are subsidizing your renter's project with your own equipment.
Here is the framework we recommend, and the one built into how we display earnings estimates.
Start from replacement cost, not purchase price
A good daily rate has a simple floor: the cost of replacing the item, spread over the realistic number of rental days it will ever see. A $2,400 camera body that rents 30 days a year should earn more than $80 per day of pure wear-and-tear allowance — the rate also has to cover cleaning, insurance, and the occasional repair.
A quick back-of-envelope breakdown for the camera above:
day rate $95
platform fee 5% → −$4.75
insurance $6
net per day $84.25
30 rental days → $2,527 / year
If the net annual figure doesn't justify the handling time, the rate — or the listing — needs to change.
Anchor against local alternatives
Renters rarely compare you to another listing; they compare you to buying the item, renting it from a shop, or not doing the project at all. Check:
- Big-box rental counters for the same category.
- Subscription rental services, where they exist.
- The item's resale value — a week of rentals shouldn't be more than a fraction of buying.
Adjust with the calendar
Flat rates leave money on the table. Two adjustments cover most situations:
| Signal | What to do |
|---|---|
| Weekends and holidays book out first | Raise the rate 10–20% for peak days |
| Dead season with near-zero demand | Discount, or block the dates entirely |
In Rental, that's just editing the rate on the listing — the calendar preview shows the effect before you save.
Revisit after every ten bookings
Your first ten renters are free market research. If you sell out instantly, raise the rate. If conversion is low despite good photos, your description or price is the problem — and it is almost always the price.