Campsite income calculator
Work out what a small pop-up campsite on your land could realistically earn across an example operating season. Move the sliders — the maths and your running costs are all shown, so you can check every figure yourself. The number of nights is an example you set, not a legal limit.
Your numbers
How many tents, vans or pods you can host at once.
Typical UK back-to-basics pitches sit well below serviced holiday parks.
Choose the number of nights you expect to open. This is an example operating period, not a legal limit — how many nights you may open for depends on your own planning position.
The share of available pitch-nights that actually sell. New sites often start nearer 30–40%.
Loos, water, waste, insurance, mowing, signage — everything you pay out.
Estimated season
84 pitch-nights sold
- Gross bookings
- £2,520
- Guest booking fee (5%, paid by guests)
- + £126
- Your running costs
- − £1,200
- Net to you
- £1,320
That is £264 net per pitch, per season, from the figures above.
How the maths works
Gross = pitches × nights × occupancy × nightly rate. The 5% booking fee is calculated on your price, added to the guest's total and collected from their deposit, so it is not deducted here; we only take off the running costs you entered. LIVE-1.LIFE takes no card-processing costs from your price; if you take the balance by card yourself, your own provider's charges apply. Nothing is hidden and no assumptions are made on your behalf.
This is arithmetic, not a forecast. It does not include tax, business rates or the value of your own time.
Ready to test it for real?
Listing is free. You set the rate, the dates and the rules, and you only pay when a booking is confirmed.
Rent out your landHow many nights you can open: the planning position
Many small UK campsites start life under permitted development rights: the ability to use land temporarily for a set number of days a year without applying for full planning permission. Camping now has its own right in both England and Wales, and the old general 28-day temporary use allowance no longer covers camping in either country.
In England, Class BC of the General Permitted Development Order (inserted on 26 July 2023) permits the use of land as a recreational campsite for up to 60 days in a calendar year, with a maximum of 50 pitches and moveable structures only. In Wales, Class BA permits up to 60 days a calendar year — 28 days within a National Park, AONB or World Heritage Site — and you must apply to your local planning authority before you begin each calendar year for a determination as to whether prior approval is needed for toilets and wastewater, waste disposal and vehicle access.
Neither right is automatic. Both are subject to conditions and are unavailable on several categories of land, an Article 4 direction can remove them locally, anything permanent normally needs full planning permission, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regimes. Some councils also require a caravan site licence or other consents depending on what you offer.
Before you take a single booking, check the current position for your own land with your local planning authority. Useful starting points: the government's planning permission guidance, Part 4 of the England General Permitted Development Order and the 2026 Wales amendment order. None of them replaces advice from your council about your own site.
Questions hosts ask
- How many nights can I actually open for?
- That depends on your planning position, and this calculator does not decide it for you — the nights slider is an example operating period you choose, not a legal limit. In England, Class BC of the General Permitted Development Order has allowed the temporary use of land as a recreational campsite for up to 60 days a calendar year, with no more than 50 pitches, since 26 July 2023. In Wales, a separate right (Class BA) allows up to 60 days a calendar year, or 28 days within a National Park, AONB or World Heritage Site, and you must apply to your local planning authority each year for a determination on whether prior approval is needed. Both rights are subject to conditions and are unavailable on several types of land, and Scotland and Northern Ireland differ again. Confirm your own position with your local planning authority before you take bookings.
- How much can a small campsite make in a season?
- It depends on three numbers: how many pitches you offer, what you charge per pitch per night, and how many of those nights actually sell. The calculator on this page multiplies those together and then subtracts your running costs, so you can see a realistic net figure rather than a headline one. The 5% booking fee is calculated on your price, added to the guest's total and collected from their deposit, so it is not taken off your earnings.
- Is the figure the calculator gives me guaranteed?
- No. It is an arithmetic estimate from the numbers you enter, not a forecast or a promise of earnings. Real occupancy depends on location, weather, photos, reviews and how early you open bookings.
- What costs should I include?
- Portable or composting toilets, water, waste removal, grass cutting, insurance, signage, laundry if you supply bedding, and your own time. Many small hosts also budget for a one-off setup cost in year one — gates, a track, a water point.
- Do I pay tax on campsite income?
- Usually yes. Income from letting land for camping is normally taxable and may also affect business rates and your agricultural status. Speak to an accountant before your first season — this page is not tax advice.
Use this calculator on your own site
Journalists, farming groups and rural business advisers are welcome to reference or embed this tool. Copy a ready-made credit below.
- Plain credit
Campsite Income Calculator — live 1 life (2026). https://live-1.life/tools/campsite-income-calculator - HTML link
<p>Source: <a href="https://live-1.life/tools/campsite-income-calculator">Campsite Income Calculator</a> by <a href="https://live-1.life">live 1 life</a></p> - Embed card
<a href="https://live-1.life/tools/campsite-income-calculator" style="display:block;max-width:420px;padding:16px;border:1px solid #dcd7cc;border-radius:12px;font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;color:#1f3d2b"><strong>Campsite Income Calculator</strong><br><span style="color:#5b6b5f;font-size:14px">Free tool estimating pop-up campsite earnings across an example operating season.</span><br><span style="font-size:12px;color:#8a9489">live-1.life</span></a>