What’s more profitable in 2026: short-term or long-term rental?
If you own an apartment and are thinking about renting it out, you’ve probably already seen dozens of articles and posts saying “short-term rental earns three times more.” Spoiler: that’s true — but there are catches. We’ve gathered the latest figures for 2025–2026, calculated real expenses, and found out under which conditions short-term rental truly beats long-term — and when it’s better to rent your apartment to a quiet long-term tenant and forget about it for a year.
Let’s talk about the “headline” numbers
Cian conducted a study across 32 Russian cities and found that with short-term rentals, you only need 24% occupancy per year — that’s just 88 days out of 365!
However, it’s important to note that this figure applies to the regions. Even in Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, the threshold rises to 29–30%. In Moscow, the occupancy requirement reaches 39%.
Why? In the capital, long-term rental is more expensive: the average one-bedroom apartment costs around 55,000–70,000 rubles per month. That’s why the breakeven threshold for short-term rental is higher by comparison.
How much can you earn on the rental market?
The short-term rental market in Russia reached 381 billion rubles in 2025. The average nightly rate was 4,400 rubles — up 11.5% compared to 2024. Growth is slowing, but the market keeps expanding.
We put together a comparison table for clarity:
| Parameter | Short-term Rental | Long-term Rental |
|---|---|---|
| Russia average | 15–20% per year at ~50% occupancy | 7.4% per year (end of 2024) |
| Moscow | 8–10% per year | 4.1% per year |
| Saint Petersburg | 10–15% per year | 5% per year |
| Regions (Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod) | 15–27% per year | 6–7% per year |
| Payback period | ~10–15 years with good occupancy | ~24.7 years (Russia avg., 2026) |
What can eat into your profit?
Short-Term Rental
- Cleaning after every guest — 1,500–3,000 rubles per cleaning; with good occupancy, this can mean 10–15 cleanings per month.
- Booking platform commissions — commissions charged by short-term rental platforms can reach up to 25% of the booking value.
- Furniture and renovation depreciation — due to frequent guest turnover, furniture, appliances, and interior finishes wear out 2–3 times faster than in long-term rentals.
- Property management company — typically around 25% of revenue.
- Vacancy periods between bookings — even with high occupancy rates, some days remain unbooked.
- Consumables — soap, shampoo, toilet paper, trash bags, and other essentials require constant replenishment.
- Utilities — usually paid by the owner and already included in the accommodation price.
Long-Term Rental
- Vacancy periods between tenants — finding a new tenant can take anywhere from a few days to several months.
- Furniture and renovation depreciation — although wear and tear is lower, periodic investments in property maintenance and upgrades are still necessary.
- Property management company — if operational tasks are outsourced, management fees can reach up to 50% of revenue, depending on the agreement.
- Utility costs during vacancy periods — while the property is vacant, these expenses are borne by the owner.
- Ongoing repairs and maintenance — replacing appliances, fixing plumbing issues, and handling repairs are unavoidable regardless of the rental model.
- Risk of tenant arrears — delayed payments or dispute resolution costs can negatively impact profitability.
Worth keeping in mind
While everyone is looking at short-term rentals, the long-term market is going through an interesting period. At the end of 2025, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment across Russia dropped to 31,900 rubles per month, and seasonal price growth slowed from 20–25% to 10%. In early 2026, rates in Moscow fell by 5.9%, in Saint Petersburg — by almost 11%. But experts consider this temporary: as long as mortgage rates remain sky-high, people will keep renting rather than buying, and demand in the second half of the year will push prices back up.
Both short-term and long-term rental carry risks. In the first case, there may be unhappy neighbors and legal complications arising from guest incidents. In the second — an unreliable tenant who can cause stress for the landlord and damage to the apartment.
And one more thing: you might end up with the wrong tax structure. To avoid this mistake, we recommend reading our article “Taxes for short-term rental in 2026: self-employment, sole proprietorship, or patent?”.
Let's wrap up
Choose short-term rental if:
- The apartment is in the center of a tourist city or near a business district
- There's a modern renovation you don't mind depreciating
- You're ready to put in the time or hire a management company
- You have a tax status – self-employed or sole proprietor
- Cities: Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi – maximum profitability here
Choose long-term rental if:
- The apartment is in a residential area with no tourist traffic
- You want minimal operational hassle
- You don’t have the resources for management and cleaning
- Long-term rental yield in your city is high (e.g. Moscow — 6.8% per year)
- You don’t want conflicts with neighbors and the management company
Short-term rental wins on gross income almost always. But on net income — only if you have the right location, streamlined processes, and a clear understanding of all your costs.