Campsite income calculator: What could your campsite make in a year?

Put in your pitches, your price and your season. See a year’s takings, where you’d be against the VAT threshold, and what commission would take from it.

Takings a year £12,000

480 pitch-nights sold, in about 240 bookings.

Under the £90,000 VAT threshold, unless your other taxable sales take you over it. If the campsite is part of your farm business, the farm’s count too.

All through a booking site taking 15% £1,800

In commission, at Pitchup’s published rate, including VAT.

All direct through PootlrHost £468

On Pay As You Go: the £1 booking fee and Stripe’s card fee, on each booking.

Takings before your costs, and before tax. Most sites take bookings both ways: our commission calculator compares the booking sites.

Open 60 days a year or fewer, with up to 50 pitches? In most of England you could run as a pop-up, with no planning application. Our 60-day planner counts the days.

How it’s worked out

  • Pitch-nights sold are your pitches, times the nights you’re open, times how full you are. Takings are those pitch-nights at your price.
  • Bookings are the pitch-nights divided by the average stay, rounded up.
  • The VAT threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover over a rolling 12 months. HMRC says pitch fees are standard-rated.
  • For comparison, Defra’s Farm Business Survey found farms with tourist accommodation and catering made an average of £8,700 from it in 2024/25.

What PootlrHost charges

  • Pay As You Go: £1 for each booking a guest makes online. Bookings you add yourself are free. Or Pro is £25 a month with no booking fee: the calculator shows whichever costs less.
  • Stripe’s card fee is 1.5% + 20p on standard UK cards, taken here as one payment a booking. Premium and overseas cards cost more.
  • Prices shown are the full price — we’re not VAT-registered, so there’s no VAT to add. Everything on our pricing page.

Adding camping to a farm? Read our guide to camping as farm diversification.

Questions about campsite income.

Anything else, get in touch and we’ll help.

It depends on your pitches, prices, season and how full you get. Defra’s Farm Business Survey for 2024/25 found that farms with tourist accommodation and catering made an average of £8,700 a year from it.

When its VAT taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a rolling 12 months. If the campsite is part of a farm business, the farm’s taxable sales count too. Pitch fees are standard-rated at 20%.

There’s no reliable national figure for small sites. Weekends and school holidays fill first, and midweek outside the holidays is quieter. Start low, and use your own bookings once you have them.

Ready when your first guest is.

Set up in about ten minutes.

Start free