Short answer: PadSplit, the largest US rent-by-the-room marketplace, reports more than 36,000 rooms, average occupancy above 90 percent, and a 97 percent collections rate. It charges hosts the first 10 days of each new stay plus 8 percent after that, which works out to about 10.5 percent on a one-year stay and 19 percent on a twelve-week stay. Every figure on this page lists its source and the date it was read.
Each number below is followed by where it came from and when it was read. PadSplit’s figures are PadSplit’s own claims. I have not audited them.
Platform size and performance, as reported by PadSplit
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rooms on the platform | 36,000+ | PadSplit host page, read Oct 10, 2026 |
| Average occupancy | Above 90% | PadSplit host page, read Oct 10, 2026 |
| Collections rate | 97% | PadSplit host page, read Oct 10, 2026 |
| Income versus a traditional rental | 2.5 times | PadSplit host page, read Oct 10, 2026 |
| Average host earnings, Atlanta | $4,649 a month | PadSplit host page, read Oct 10, 2026 |
PadSplit’s sample house on the same page: a four-bedroom, three-bath house earning $1,649 a month as a traditional rental becomes a seven-bedroom earning $4,183 a month, with net operating income going from $730 to $1,891. PadSplit marks those as assumed amounts based on market rates.
What PadSplit charges hosts
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Booking fee | 100% of the first 10 days of each new member’s stay | PadSplit help center, page updated July 17, 2026 |
| Service fee | 8% of member payments after that | Same |
| Payout timing | Monthly, after the month ends; target the 10th, no later than the 20th | PadSplit help center, page updated Dec 17, 2024 |
Real fee by length of stay
This is arithmetic on the fee model above, for a room at $175 a week. It is my calculation, not a PadSplit figure. You can run your own numbers in the PadSplit fee calculator.
| Member stays | Member pays | PadSplit keeps | Real fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 weeks | $700 | $286 | 40.9% |
| 12 weeks | $2,100 | $398 | 19.0% |
| 26 weeks | $4,550 | $594 | 13.1% |
| 52 weeks | $9,100 | $958 | 10.5% |
PadSplit’s own sample house shows a $502 PadSplit fee on $4,183 of monthly income, which is 12.0 percent.
One owner’s real numbers
These are from my own properties.
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Renting by the room since | 1992 |
| Coliving properties, Atlanta | 6 |
| Net from one of them, after all expenses and management | About $3,200 a month |
| One house, September 2026: collected by PadSplit | $8,658.75 |
| Same house, same month: platform fees | $692.70 (8.0%) |
| Same house, same month: paid out before mortgage and other costs | $7,966.05 |
The statement itself is shown in PadSplit for owners: what it really costs.
Who visits coliving websites
Estimated visits for August 2026, from Semrush. These are estimates from a third-party tool, not the sites’ own counts.
| Site | Estimated visits | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| padsplit.com | 2.39 million | Room marketplace, US |
| cohabs.com | 193,000 | Operator, New York and Europe |
| junehomes.com | 192,000 | Furnished rooms, five US cities |
| coliving.com | 142,000 | Global listing directory |
| bungalow.com | 107,000 | Operator, US |
| habyt.com | 81,000 | Operator, mostly Europe |
Semrush also estimated that 89 percent of PadSplit’s visits came from phones and 63 percent arrived directly, without a search.
What people search for
US average monthly searches, September 2025 to August 2026, from Google Keyword Planner, read October 10, 2026. Google reports ranges.
| Search phrase | Monthly searches |
|---|---|
| padsplit | 10,000 to 100,000 |
| house hacking | 1,000 to 10,000 |
| rental property calculator | 1,000 to 10,000 |
| mid term rental | 1,000 to 10,000 |
| rooming house | 1,000 to 10,000 |
| coliving | 1,000 to 10,000 |
| padsplit host | 100 to 1,000 |
| rent by the room | 100 to 1,000 |
| co living investing | 10 to 100 |
The takeaway: owners rarely search the word “coliving.” They search the platform’s name, or the problem they are trying to solve.
Rules of thumb used on this site
These are my own working numbers, not industry statistics. The setup costs on this site follow PadSplit’s published guidance: about $1,000 a bedroom to furnish, and $5,000 to $10,000 to turn unused space into a bedroom (PadSplit help center, page updated June 2, 2021).
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Average room rent, shared bathroom | $175 a week |
| Average room rent, private bathroom | $250 a week |
| Target bedrooms | 6 to 8, by turning unused rooms into bedrooms |
| Most bedrooms per bathroom | 4 |
| Starting vacancy for rooms | 10% (15% in a new or soft market) |
| Operating expenses for rooms | 40% of collected rent (typical range 35% to 45%) |
| Minimum cash-on-cash return | 12% |
| Minimum debt coverage | 1.25 |
| Minimum cash flow | $400 a month and $100 a room |
How they are used: rent by the room vs. whole house: the math and what vacancy rate to use.
Common questions
How big is PadSplit?
PadSplit's host page listed more than 36,000 rooms when read on October 10, 2026. Its website drew an estimated 2.39 million visits in August 2026, according to Semrush.
How much do PadSplit hosts make?
PadSplit's host page said hosts in Atlanta earn $4,649 a month on average, and its sample house showed $4,183 in monthly income and $1,891 in net operating income. Those are PadSplit's figures. One of the author's own houses collected $8,658.75 in September 2026 and was paid $7,966.05 before the mortgage and other costs.
How many people search for coliving investing?
Very few use that phrase. Google's Keyword Planner showed 10 to 100 US searches a month for 'co living investing' against 1,000 to 10,000 each for 'house hacking', 'rental property calculator', and 'mid term rental'.
Can I quote these numbers?
Yes. Please link to this page and keep the source and date with each figure, since platform numbers and fees change.
Education only, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Worked examples use round numbers to show the method and are not real properties unless they say so.