Best Rental Yield Calculators in Australia (2026)
Rental yield is the foundation of every cash-flow-focused property investment decision. Whether you are screening suburbs, comparing listings, or stress-testing a purchase before making an offer, you need a reliable calculator that gives you accurate numbers quickly.
The problem is that dozens of tools claim to calculate rental yield, but they vary wildly in what they actually measure. Some only calculate gross yield. Others require paid subscriptions or professional accounts. A few bury the calculator behind lengthy signup flows.
We tested the most popular rental yield calculators available in Australia in 2026 and compared them on the metrics that matter most: accuracy, cost, ease of use, and whether they calculate net yield (which is what actually determines your cash return). If you need a refresher on the formulas themselves, see our guide to calculating rental yield.
Quick Comparison: Rental Yield Calculators at a Glance
| Tool | Free? | Signup Required? | Gross Yield | Net Yield | AI-Powered Rent Estimate | Best For | |------|-------|-----------------|-------------|-----------|--------------------------|----------| | PropBuyAI | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Investors wanting instant gross + net yield with AI rent data | | CoreLogic RP Data | No | Yes (paid) | Yes | Limited | No | Professionals needing suburb-level data | | Domain | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Quick gross yield checks on listed properties | | realestate.com.au | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Basic calculations while browsing REA listings | | SQM Research | Partially | Yes | Yes | No | No | Researchers wanting vacancy rate and asking-rent data |
1. PropBuyAI Rental Yield Calculator
Cost: Free, no signup required
PropBuyAI's rental yield calculator is purpose-built for Australian property investors. You enter a property address or paste a listing URL, and the tool returns both gross and net rental yield instantly.
What sets it apart from the competition is the net yield calculation. Most free calculators stop at gross yield, which overstates your actual return by ignoring expenses like property management fees, council rates, insurance, strata fees, and vacancy allowance. PropBuyAI factors in all of these costs automatically, drawing on suburb-level data to pre-fill realistic expense estimates that you can adjust.
Key features:
- Calculates both gross and net yield in a single step
- AI-powered rent estimate based on comparable rental listings in the area
- No signup or account creation needed
- Includes expense breakdown (management fees, rates, insurance, strata, maintenance)
- Works with any Australian property address or listing URL
- Part of PropBuyAI's broader analysis platform, which also provides detailed yield breakdowns, valuation bands, and investment scoring
Best for: Investors who want accurate net yield figures without paying for a subscription or creating an account. Particularly useful when comparing multiple properties, as the AI-powered rent estimate removes the guesswork of researching comparable rents manually.
Limitations: The AI rent estimate is most accurate in suburbs with sufficient rental listing data. In very remote areas with few comparable rentals, you may want to verify the estimate against local agents.
2. CoreLogic RP Data
Cost: Paid subscription (from approximately $120/month for basic access)
CoreLogic is the dominant property data provider in Australia, and its RP Data platform includes yield calculations as part of its comprehensive property reports. The platform provides suburb median yields and individual property estimates based on its extensive sales and rental database.
Key features:
- Suburb-level median gross yield data
- Individual property reports with estimated value and rental range
- Deep historical data going back decades
- Used by banks, valuers, and real estate professionals
Best for: Property professionals, buyer's agents, and serious investors who need institutional-grade data and are willing to pay for it. If you are a buyer's agent charging clients $15,000 to $20,000 per engagement, the subscription cost is easily justified.
Limitations: The cost puts it out of reach for most individual investors. The platform calculates gross yield at the suburb level but does not provide a purpose-built net yield calculator with itemised expenses. The interface is designed for professionals rather than everyday investors.
3. Domain Rental Yield Calculator
Cost: Free, no signup required
Domain's website includes a basic rental yield calculator that lets you enter a purchase price and weekly rent to get a gross yield percentage. It is simple, fast, and accessible directly from property listing pages.
Key features:
- Simple gross yield calculation
- Integrated into Domain's property listing pages
- No account required
Best for: Quick gross yield checks when you are already browsing listings on Domain. It is useful for initial screening when you want to instantly see whether a property's yield is in the right ballpark.
Limitations: Domain's calculator only computes gross yield. There is no net yield calculation, no expense modelling, and no AI-powered rent estimate. You need to know the weekly rent already, as the tool does not look it up for you. For a deeper understanding of why this matters, see our comparison of net yield versus gross yield.
4. realestate.com.au (REA)
Cost: Free, no signup required
Australia's largest property portal includes basic yield information on some listing pages and provides a simple calculator where you can input a purchase price and rent to see the gross yield.
Key features:
- Basic gross yield display on some property listings
- Large database of rental listings for manual rent research
- Suburb profiles with median rent data
Best for: Investors who are already using REA as their primary search portal and want a quick gross yield figure without leaving the site.
Limitations: Like Domain, REA only provides gross yield. The calculator is basic and does not factor in any expenses. There is no net yield output, and you need to source the rental figure yourself. The tool is more of a convenience feature than a dedicated investment analysis tool.
5. SQM Research
Cost: Some data free, full access requires subscription (from approximately $30/month)
SQM Research, founded by property analyst Louis Christopher, is known for its vacancy rate data, asking price indices, and rental yield estimates at the suburb level. It provides weekly updated asking rents and vacancy rates that are valuable for estimating achievable rent.
Key features:
- Weekly updated asking rent data by suburb
- Vacancy rate tracking (a critical input for realistic yield calculations)
- Suburb-level gross yield estimates
- Stock on market data
Best for: Researchers and analysts who want to understand rental market dynamics at the suburb level. The vacancy rate data is particularly useful because it helps you estimate how many weeks per year your property might sit empty, which directly affects net yield.
Limitations: SQM Research does not offer a property-specific yield calculator. The data is at the suburb level, so you still need to do your own calculations for individual properties. Full data access requires a paid subscription.
What to Look for in a Rental Yield Calculator
Not all yield calculators are equal. Here are the features that separate genuinely useful tools from basic ones.
Net yield, not just gross yield
Gross yield is a useful screening metric, but it can be misleading. A property with a 5.5% gross yield might only deliver 3.8% net yield after expenses, while another property at 5.0% gross yield in a suburb with lower rates and no strata might net 4.2%. Always use a calculator that accounts for expenses. We explain the difference in detail in our net yield versus gross yield guide.
Realistic rent estimates
A yield calculator is only as good as the rent figure you put into it. The best tools provide AI-powered or data-driven rent estimates based on comparable rental listings, rather than forcing you to guess or manually research rents.
Expense modelling
The calculator should let you include (or at least estimate) key expenses: property management fees (typically 6 to 10% of rent), council rates, water rates, landlord insurance, strata or body corporate fees for units, maintenance allowance, and vacancy allowance.
Ease of use
If a tool requires a paid subscription, lengthy signup process, or professional credentials, it is not practical for most individual investors who just want to run the numbers on a property they are considering.
How to Calculate Rental Yield Manually
If you prefer to do the maths yourself, here are the formulas.
Gross rental yield:
Gross Yield = (Weekly Rent x 52) / Property Price x 100
Net rental yield:
Net Yield = ((Weekly Rent x 52) - Annual Expenses) / Property Price x 100
For a worked example: a $700,000 property renting at $550 per week with $8,500 in annual expenses (management fees, rates, insurance, maintenance) gives a gross yield of 4.1% and a net yield of 2.9%.
The 1.2 percentage point gap between gross and net yield in this example is typical. For properties with strata fees, the gap can be even larger. This is precisely why a calculator that only shows gross yield can lead you to overestimate your return.
For a full walkthrough with more examples, see our rental yield calculation guide.
Our Recommendation
For most Australian property investors, PropBuyAI's free rental yield calculator offers the best combination of features, accuracy, and accessibility. It is the only free tool that calculates both gross and net yield with AI-powered rent estimates and itemised expense breakdowns, without requiring a signup or subscription.
If you are a property professional who needs institutional-grade suburb data, CoreLogic remains the industry standard, though the cost is significant. For casual browsing, Domain and REA's built-in calculators are fine for quick gross yield checks, but you should always follow up with a net yield calculation before making any investment decisions.
SQM Research fills a different niche. Its vacancy rate and asking rent data are excellent inputs for your own analysis, but it does not replace a property-specific yield calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate rental yield on an Australian property?
Gross rental yield is calculated by dividing annual rent by the property value and multiplying by 100. For example, a $600,000 property renting at $500 per week earns $26,000 per year, giving a gross yield of 4.3%. Net yield subtracts annual expenses such as management fees, council rates, insurance, and maintenance before dividing by the property value. For a complete walkthrough, see our rental yield calculation guide.
What is a good rental yield in Australia in 2026?
In 2026, a gross rental yield above 5% is generally considered strong for Australian residential property. Yields between 4% and 5% are average, while anything below 3.5% is typically considered low unless the property offers strong capital growth potential. Net yields are usually 1 to 2 percentage points lower than gross yields after accounting for expenses.
What is the difference between gross yield and net yield?
Gross yield uses the total annual rent divided by the property price, with no deductions. Net yield subtracts all ongoing ownership costs, including property management fees, council rates, water rates, insurance, strata fees, maintenance, and vacancy allowance, before dividing by the property price. Net yield gives a more accurate picture of your actual cash return. We break this down fully in our net yield versus gross yield comparison.
Is there a free rental yield calculator in Australia?
Yes. PropBuyAI offers a free rental yield calculator that requires no signup and calculates both gross and net yield instantly. Domain and realestate.com.au also provide basic calculators, though they typically only calculate gross yield.
Should I use gross or net yield when comparing investment properties?
Always use net yield for final investment decisions. Gross yield is useful for quickly screening properties and comparing suburbs, but it overstates your actual return because it ignores expenses. Two properties with identical gross yields can have very different net yields if one has high strata fees or is in an area with expensive council rates.
Try PropBuyAI's Free Rental Yield Calculator
Ready to calculate the true rental yield on a property you are considering? Try PropBuyAI's free rental yield calculator. No signup required. Enter an address or paste a listing URL to get instant gross and net yield figures with a full expense breakdown.
For investors who want the complete picture, PropBuyAI's full analysis includes AI-powered valuations, comparable sales, investment scoring, and negotiation guidance. View plans to learn more.