SubletNY vs Airbnb monthly stays in NYC
Use Airbnb when you want to pay through a platform with instant booking, reviews, a cancellation policy and support if something goes wrong, or when you need fewer than 30 nights from a host who is registered with the city. Use SubletNY when you are staying 30 days or longer and would rather sublet directly from a New York leaseholder: no guest service fee, a written sublet agreement with your dates, and a price set as monthly rent rather than nightly rate.
Facts about Airbnb are taken from the sources listed at the end and were last checked on October 28, 2026. Airbnb is not affiliated with SubletNY.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Airbnb | SubletNY |
|---|---|---|
| Who lists | Hosts, from individuals renting their own home to professional operators, offering whole homes and private rooms. | NYC leaseholders subletting their own place, plus clearly labelled reposts of public listings; reposts never enter the search index. |
| Cost to list | Free to list. Airbnb deducts a host service fee from each payout: most hosts on the split-fee structure pay 3 percent, and hosts on the host-only structure pay around 15 percent (Airbnb help centre, checked on the date below). | Free. |
| Cost to rent | A guest service fee on top of the price, shown before booking; Airbnb's help centre puts it at 14.1 to 16.5 percent of the booking subtotal, plus any cleaning fee. Hosts may offer monthly discounts. | Free. No broker fee and no service fee; SubletNY does not take payments. |
| Stay length | Nightly to monthly. In New York City a whole-home stay under 30 nights requires a host registered with the Office of Special Enforcement and the platform must check it; stays of 30 nights or more are outside that registration rule. | 30 days or longer, by exact dates, so a search for "June 1 to August 15" only shows places free for those dates. |
| Verification | Identity checks for hosts and guests, reviews in both directions, and payment held by Airbnb until the stay begins. | The lister confirms their email with a one-time code before the listing goes live; listings pinned outside New York City are rejected; reposts are labelled as such. |
| How you make contact | In-app messaging; you book a reservation under Airbnb's terms and pay Airbnb, which pays the host. | A contact form on every listing reaches the lister directly. Renters can also save a search and be emailed when a matching listing is posted. |
| Coverage | Worldwide. | Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, with a page per neighbourhood showing live counts and asking prices. |
When Airbnb is the better choice
- A stay under 30 nights, from a registered host who lives there.
- Paying by card through a platform that holds the money, with a cancellation policy and customer support.
- Reviews from previous guests, and a host who may have hosted many times before.
When SubletNY is the better choice
- A multi-month stay where a 14 to 16 percent guest fee and a host fee add up to a real amount of rent.
- A sublet agreement with your dates and a monthly rent, rather than a nightly reservation.
- Dealing with the person who holds the lease, with the neighbourhood's asking prices in front of you.
Sources
- Airbnb help centre: host service fees
- Airbnb help centre: service fees
- NYC Office of Special Enforcement: short-term rental registration law
Fees and policies change. If something here is out of date, email hello@subletny.com and I will correct it.
