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

Bottom line

Vancouver edges ahead of Toronto on higher occupancy (36.2% vs 30.7%), stronger RevPAR (£55 vs £31).

Head-to-head metrics

	Toronto	Vancouver
Median occupancy	30.7%	36.2%
Median daily rate	£114	£175
Median RevPAR	£31	£55
Active listings	12,844	4,491
YoY occupancy	-0.5 pts	-13.1 pts
YoY daily rate	+36.7%	+55.2%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Toronto vs Vancouver

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Vancouver finishes clearly ahead of Toronto. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 80.2% higher in Vancouver: £55 against £31. Vancouver commands 52.9% more per night, £175 against £114. Those gaps are wide enough to survive a normal year's variance.

Vancouver takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £175 against £114 — and still fills more of the year, 36.2% against 30.7%. A market that leads on price and utilisation at once is normally one where demand has outrun supply, rather than one where hosts are discounting to keep the calendar busy. RevPAR reflects the double advantage at £55 against £31.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Toronto is not simply the weaker market of the two. The twelve-month direction favours Toronto too: occupancy there moved −0.5 points while Vancouver moved −13.1 points. Toronto is the deeper market at 12,844 active listings against 4,491, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Toronto nor Vancouver 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. Toronto peaks in September at 63.2% and bottoms in February at 37.8%; Vancouver runs from 66.9% in September down to 40.1% in November. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Toronto suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Vancouver answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. It is the contrarian side: buying it means buying a market that has cooled. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2026-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 12,844 active Toronto listings and 4,491 in Vancouver.

Frequently asked questions

Is Toronto or Vancouver better for Airbnb investment?

Vancouver, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£55 vs £31), a higher nightly rate (£175 vs £114), and faster rate growth (+55.2% vs +36.7% year over year). Toronto is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on the better occupancy trend (−0.5 points vs −13.1 points year over year).

Which has higher occupancy, Toronto or Vancouver?

Vancouver, at 36.2% median occupancy against 30.7% in Toronto — a gap of 5.5 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Toronto can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Toronto shed 0.5 points and Vancouver shed 13.1 points, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Toronto or Vancouver?

Vancouver, at £175 a night against £114 in Toronto — roughly 52.9% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £55 in Vancouver against £31, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

Neither is growing on occupancy — both cooled over the last year. Toronto gave up 0.5 points and Vancouver 13.1, so Toronto is the shallower decline rather than the winner. Nightly rates rose 36.7% in Toronto and rose 55.2% in Vancouver over the same window.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Toronto or Vancouver?

Toronto, with 12,844 active listings against 4,491 in Vancouver. 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 Toronto vs Vancouver?

Vancouver earns more: roughly £20,073 a year for a median listing against £11,131 in Toronto. 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 Toronto →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Vancouver →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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