Whentraveling, hotels used to be the only option.Airbnbchanged that, allowing regular people to rent out their homes, apartments, or other amenities to travelers in exchange for money. However, another name in the rental space isVrbo, which was founded in 1995 — long before Airbnb was even an idea.
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Even though it was founded first, Vrbo isn’t nearly as well-known as Airbnb. But before you book your next trip, it’s worth checking out Vrbo to see if you can find a place you like better and to compare similar rentals at potentially lower prices. Here’s everything you need to know about Vrbo so, you can make an educated travel decision before you go.
What is Vrbo?
Vrbo was initially founded in 1995 as VRBO or ‘Vacation Rentals by Owner.’ It really blew up in popularity in 2019 when it dropped the capital letters in the name and started being pronounced phonetically as ver-bow (this was also after Expedia purchased the company in 2015).
Like Airbnb, anyone can list their vacation home, apartment, cabin, or other rental on the service, and travelers can rent them for their vacation. Vrbo claims to have over 2 million bookable vacation rentals as of this writing, so just about any popular destination should have homes available. It comes with a detailed search tool that’ll let you find homes that work for your journey. The filters and options on Vrbo are far superior to Airbnb, so locking in the right place is a lot easier on Vrbo.
How is Vrbo different from Airbnb?
The most significant difference between the two travel giants is the types of places Vrbo offers. You’ll have difficulty finding extremely cheap places where you rent a room inside the host’s home (often while the host is there), which is quite common on Airbnb. Instead, Vrbo prides itself on offering the entire residence for rent, which is great for privacy but not so great for anyone looking to go somewhere alone at a very low price.
Otherwise, the two vacation rental platforms are very similar. Vrbo’s superior search tools give it a slight edge in that regard, but that’s not to say it’s hard to find a place on Airbnb. When you’re traveling somewhere and want to rent a whole home, your best bet will always be to check both websites to see which offers the best options for the best price. Limiting yourself to one platform will only hurt you. Speaking of the search tools, we definitely recommend you use those limitation buttons, ranges, and boxes. Think online shopping, but for vacation homes.
Vrbo vs Airbnb: Price comparison for travelers
While the two travel websites are pretty similar, I still had to put them to the test to see where I could find a cheaper rental. For testing, I used the Las Vegas Strip, as it’s an extremely popular travel destination with plenty of choices on both platforms. I used the week of January 14 through July 04, 2025, on both sites (this was written and researched about three weeks before those dates, so it’s a fairly last-minute trip). I also selected two travelers to get a good idea of what the average couple would see if they planned a trip. I also limited my search to only houses with full kitchens and living rooms.
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Starting with Vrbo, I got 29 results using the Las Vegas Strip as the search location with the above parameters. The cheapest was a 480 square-foot apartment in Bluegreen Club 36 with a kitchen, living room, one bedroom, and a bathroom for $77 per night or $669 total. For those with money to burn, there was a four-bedroom suite on the strip for $18,025 for the week.
One that really caught my attention was a three-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom townhouse, a block from the strip for $225 per night. Overall, I was happy with the results on Vrbo, and if I were planning a trip toLas Vegas, I’d definitely book one of these options.
Using the same search option for Airbnb was more difficult because Airbnb doesn’t have the option to require the place to have a living room, but you can require a kitchen in the filtering options. It will search only for places where you get the entire home, which gave me similar results. Sorting options are also non-existent on Airbnb, so finding the cheapest option is tricky. The same or a similar one-bedroom apartment at Bluegreen Club 36 was listed on Airbnb for $82 nightly or $712 total, which is a little more expensive than the option on Vrbo.
Despite the price difference, I did find more options on Airbnb than Las Vegas once I got into the slightly higher $150-$200 per night price range, so if having a more extensive selection of homes and apartments is an essential factor for you, definitely check Airbnb, as its larger userbase leads to more choices.
I could find an apartment for the lowest price much more easily on Vrbo, and the overall cost is lower, so if you’re traveling on a budget and want a whole home or apartment for yourself, Vrbo is a good option to consider.
Vrbo vs Airbnb: Price comparison for owners
If you’re a property owner, you’re probably wondering how much it’ll cost to list your place on Airbnb or Vrbo. After all, how much you’ll take home is an important factor to consider.
Vrbo has a 3% fee for payment processing costs and a 5% commission fee for bookings. However, listing your rental on the site is free. This is the only option for listing your home on Vrbo, so it’s a take-it-or-leave-it kind of situation.
Airbnb offers two different options for renters: the split-fee option, where the homeowner and traveler pay the fee together, or a structure that sees only the homeowner paying the fee. Most people go with the split option, which sees the homeowner paying 3% and the renter paying the rest, usually in the 14% range. Some homeowners, such as those in Italy and those with Super Strict cancellation policies, will pay a higher percentage. The Host-only fee option allows the homeowner to spend 14-16% of the booking cost, leaving the renter to pay none of the cost.
Most hosts will find that Airbnb is cheaper since it doesn’t charge the 3% plus 5% fee; instead, it charges only 3% to the homeowner in the split-fee option.
Which should you use for your next trip?
The answer here is really simple: you should use both. There’s no reason to lock yourself into one travel site or another. Take the extra 15 minutes to scan through the rental options on both websites and see which offers the better price for your destination and time-frame. You might find a hidden gem on Vrbo that isn’t listed on Airbnb or vice versa.
That said, if you’re unwilling or unable to look at both sites, I’d have to recommend Airbnb overall, as there are far more options available, even if the search tools aren’t as good as Vrbo. Having more options means you can find the perfect spot for your trip, and that’s always a good thing.
