Saint-Tropez vs Marbella: what does a villa really earn?
| What we measure | Saint-Tropez | Marbella |
|---|---|---|
| Nightly rate, high season | €1,900 | €900 |
| Nightly rate, low season | €650 | €380 |
| Nights sold, high season | 45 | 80 |
| Nights sold, low season | 10 | 60 |
| Total nights sold per year | 55 | 140 |
| Gross annual income | €92,000 | €94,800 |
| What an agency takes | 35% | 30% |
| Net, self-managed on a platform | €77,700 | €80,100 |
| Net, through an agency | €59,800 | €66,400 |
All figures on this page are shown in euros, on both sides, so the two columns can be compared. The individual market pages show local currency.
The number that actually changes the answer
This is where the comparison turns. An agency takes about 35% in Saint-Tropez and about 30% in Marbella. Manage the villa yourself on a platform and you lose about 15.5% in either. The commission gap can be worth more than the difference in gross, which is why comparing headline revenue alone is how owners get this decision wrong.
The two markets do not earn their money the same way
Saint-Tropez sells 45 nights at €1,900 and 10 outside the peak. Marbella sells 80 at €900 and 60 outside it. Saint-Tropez is the fragile one. A year that rests on 55 sold nights has no margin for error: lose the two or three weeks everyone wants and the year is gone, and no amount of clever pricing in the shoulder season will bring it back. A market that sells many nights at a moderate rate is a structurally different asset, even when the annual total lands in the same place.
Because it is the most misleading number in this business, and it is the one every other site quotes. An occupancy rate of 50% sounds moderate. Multiply it by 365 and you have implied 182 nights sold. A seasonal villa does not sell 182 nights. It sells the weeks people want and stands empty the rest of the year, and nobody is even trying to rent it in November. The occupancy model overstates seasonal markets by roughly a factor of two. We count nights actually sold, and nothing else.
What we know here, and what we are still estimating
The Saint-Tropez figures were confirmed by an operator who ran villas there, set the prices and paid the staff. The Marbella figures are still our estimate, built from comparable markets and public rate data, and we say so rather than pretend to a certainty we do not have. If you own in Marbella, tell us what you actually earned and this page gets better.
Which of the two is your villa in?
Three questions and we will tell you what yours specifically can earn, not what the market average earns. Free, and free permanently.
Estimate my villa →Questions owners ask about these two markets
Does a luxury villa earn more in Saint-Tropez or in Marbella?
They are close enough to call it level. A 4-bedroom villa grosses roughly €92,000 a year in Saint-Tropez and €94,800 in Marbella, a difference of about 3%, which is smaller than the difference between a good operator and a bad one in either market. Choose on purchase price and on how much you want to use it.
How many nights a year does a villa actually rent in Saint-Tropez and Marbella?
About 55 in Saint-Tropez and 140 in Marbella, on our benchmark. Nights sold, not occupancy. We never quote an occupancy percentage because multiplying one by 365 flatters a seasonal market by roughly a factor of two: the villa is not on the market for most of the year, and nobody is trying to sell it in November.
Is Saint-Tropez or Marbella the better investment?
This page cannot tell you, and anyone who claims it can is selling you something. Rental income is one half of a yield. The purchase price is the other half, and it varies more between two streets than it does between two countries. A high gross on a very expensive property is frequently a worse investment than a modest gross on a cheap one. Get both numbers before you decide.
What does an agency take in Saint-Tropez compared to Marbella?
About 35% in Saint-Tropez and about 30% in Marbella, of everything the guest pays, before a single bill is settled. Self-managing on a platform costs about 15.5%. Nobody publishes these figures because every party in the chain benefits from the owner not knowing them. Our team has worked both sides of that trade, which is how we know.
Estimates are based on destination benchmarks and property attributes, not on a formal appraisal. Amounts are shown in local currency using approximate conversion rates. Actual results depend on marketing, pricing strategy and seasonality. Last updated 19/07/2026.