Ottawa vs Toronto: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Ottawa edges ahead of Toronto on higher occupancy (60% vs 56%).

Head-to-head metrics

	Ottawa	Toronto
Median occupancy	60%	56%
Median daily rate	£64	£75
Median RevPAR	£24	£25
Active listings	1,888	11,370
YoY occupancy	+25.5 pts	+23.1 pts
YoY daily rate	+2.8%	-3.7%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Ottawa vs Toronto

Ottawa finishes narrowly ahead of Toronto on our composite of occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk — and it is the calendar rather than the price tag doing the work. Ottawa's listings run at 60% occupancy against 56% in Toronto, worth 4 extra points of booked calendar every year. Nightly rates are also climbing faster in Ottawa, +2.8% over the last year against −3.7% in Toronto. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Toronto would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Toronto is the rate market: £75 a night against £64, some 18.2% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 56% occupancy. Ottawa is the volume market, filling 60% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £25 in Toronto against £24. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Toronto is not simply the weaker market of the two. Nightly rates favour Toronto: £75 against £64 in Ottawa, a 18.2% premium. Toronto is the deeper market at 11,370 active listings against 1,888, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. If your model leans on nightly rate rather than volume, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Ottawa nor Toronto currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Ottawa peaks in September at 53.8% and bottoms in February at 29.6%; Toronto runs from 62.7% in September down to 39.2% in January. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Ottawa suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Toronto answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 707 active Ottawa listings and 4,206 in Toronto.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ottawa or Toronto better for Airbnb investment?

Ottawa, on the data we track. It leads on higher occupancy (60% vs 56%), faster rate growth (+2.8% vs −3.7% year over year), and the better occupancy trend (+25.5 points vs +23.1 points year over year). Toronto is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a higher nightly rate (£75 vs £64).

Which has higher occupancy, Ottawa or Toronto?

Ottawa, at 60% median occupancy against 56% in Toronto — a gap of 4 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Toronto can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Ottawa gained 25.5 points and Toronto gained 23.1 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Ottawa or Toronto?

Toronto, at £75 a night against £64 in Ottawa — roughly 18.2% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £25 in Toronto against £24, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Ottawa or Toronto?

Ottawa, on occupancy: +25.5 points over the last twelve months against +23.1 points in Toronto. Nightly rates rose 2.8% in Ottawa and fell 3.7% in Toronto over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Ottawa or Toronto?

Toronto, with 11,370 active listings against 1,888 in Ottawa. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.

How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Ottawa vs Toronto?

Toronto earns more: roughly £9,022 a year for a median listing against £8,770 in Ottawa. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Ottawa →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Toronto →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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