How Much Can a Small Campsite Earn? Realistic Income for 5, 20 and 50 Pitches

Ask ten people what a campsite earns and you will get ten numbers, most of them from someone who has never run one. So here is the arithmetic laid out properly: how the income is built, what a realistic season looks like for three sizes of site, and the costs that come off before you see any of it. The figures are for the UK, in pounds, and they are deliberately cautious. If your site does better, good.

The four numbers that make the income

Every campsite's turnover is the same sum: pitches × nights open × occupancy × average price. Get those four right and the rest follows.

• Nights open. Most UK sites run from the Easter holidays to the end of October: around 30 weeks, or 210 nights. Year-round sites exist, but winter nights at a tent-and-tourer field are rarely worth the heating and the mud.
• Occupancy. This is the number people get wrong. A site that is full every bank holiday and summer weekend can still average 35% to 45% across the season, because Tuesday nights in May are empty. A small site with good reviews and online booking lands around 40%; one that only takes phone bookings and stays off the listing sites sits nearer 25% to 30%.
• Average price. Across 2026 listings, a basic tent pitch for two is typically £18 to £30 a night, an electric touring pitch £28 to £45, and a pod or hut £70 to £130. Your blended average is lower than your peak price because the cheap pitches sell the most nights.
• Pitches. The one you control least. Planning, the licence and the field decide it. See how many pitches you can have without planning permission if you are starting out.

A five-pitch site

This is the certificated location on a farm or the small field behind a house: five tourers or motorhomes, perhaps tents too, a water tap, a waste point and maybe a hook-up or two.

• 5 pitches × 210 nights × 40% occupancy × £25 average = £10,500 a season
• Running costs: insurance around £400 to £800, water and electricity £600 to £1,200, waste and chemical disposal £300 to £600, the club or listing fee, maintenance and mowing. Call it £2,500 to £3,500.
• Left: roughly £7,000 to £8,000, before your own time and before tax.

That is not a living, and nobody sensible opens five pitches for a living. It is a useful second income from land that is already there, and because it is small it is usually below the VAT threshold and may fall under small business rate relief. Adding electric hook-ups lifts the average price by £5 to £8 a night and tends to lift occupancy too, because tourers filter for them.

A twenty-pitch site

Twenty pitches is where a campsite becomes a business with a shower block, a season's worth of toilet rolls and a proper cleaning rota. A typical mix is twelve electric touring pitches, six tent pitches and a couple of glamping units.

• 20 pitches × 210 nights × 40% × £32 average = £53,760 a season
• Two pods on top, at £95 a night and 55% occupancy over the same season: another £22,000. Glamping units earn more per unit than any pitch, which is why so many sites add a couple.
• Running costs: business rates (often £2,000 to £5,000 at this size, less with relief), insurance £1,000 to £1,500, commercial waste £1,500 to £3,000, utilities £4,000 to £7,000 with showers and hook-ups, cleaning and consumables, repairs, marketing, a booking system and card fees. Realistically £18,000 to £25,000.
• Left: about £30,000 to £35,000 from the pitches alone, £50,000 or more with the pods, before your own labour and tax.

Two things decide which end of that range you land at. The first is the commission you pay to be found: a listing site taking 12% to 15% of £54,000 is £6,500 to £8,000 a year, more than your insurance and waste combined, which is why the Pitchup-versus-direct question matters more than it looks. The second is midweek: every extra 5% of occupancy at this size is worth about £6,700.

A fifty-pitch site

At fifty pitches you have staff, a reception, probably a small shop, and the sort of turnover that puts you squarely into VAT.

• 50 pitches × 210 nights × 45% × £34 average = £160,650 a season
• Add a handful of pods or static units and a shop margin and gross income of £200,000 to £250,000 is normal.
• Running costs: one or two seasonal staff (£20,000 to £35,000), higher rates, waste, utilities and insurance, cleaning at scale, maintenance of a block that sees 10,000 showers a year, marketing, software and card fees. £60,000 to £80,000 is a fair planning figure.
• Operating profit: £80,000 to £100,000 from the pitches, more with extras.

Sites this size trade as going concerns, and that profit figure is roughly what a buyer prices them on. It is also where the owner stops cleaning showers and starts managing the people who do.

The costs people forget

• VAT. Once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling twelve months you must register, and pitch fees are standard-rated. A £30 pitch then contains £5 of VAT that was never yours. Many 20-pitch sites sit just under the line; most 50-pitch sites are well over it.
• Business rates. A campsite is a non-domestic property and is rated on its rateable value. In England, relief applies in full below £12,000 and tapers to £15,000, so small sites often pay nothing. Larger ones should budget for it.
• Your own time. A 20-pitch site in August is a seven-day week. If you would otherwise be earning elsewhere, cost it in.
• Tax. The figures above are before income tax or corporation tax. A sole trader keeping £35,000 is not keeping £35,000.
• The quiet year. A wet July takes 10% off the season. Keep a reserve.

What moves the number most

Pitch count is fixed and the season is fixed. The levers you actually have are occupancy and average price, in that order.

• Be bookable at 10pm. A large share of leisure bookings are made in the evening, and a site that needs a phone call tomorrow loses the guest to one that confirmed tonight. If you are still on paper, this is how to switch without losing bookings.
• Price the calendar, not the pitch. A flat £25 all season leaves money on the table in August and empties the field in June. Three or four price bands around the bank holidays and school weeks is enough.
• Sell the extras. Hook-up, a second car, a dog, firewood, late checkout. Small sums that add £2 to £4 to the average night without changing the headline price.
• Add one glamping unit before you add five pitches. One pod at £95 and 55% occupancy earns about the same as four tent pitches, on a tenth of the ground, and it books in April and October when tents do not.
• Mind the commission. Use the listing sites to be found, then make it easy to book direct. The difference is a full-time wage at 50 pitches.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 5-pitch campsite earn?

A five-pitch certificated site or small field at around £25 a night and 40% occupancy over a 30-week season takes roughly £10,000 to £11,000 a year and keeps £7,000 to £8,000 of it after running costs. A useful second income from land you already own, not a living.

Is a 20-pitch campsite profitable?

Usually, if it is run well. Twenty mixed pitches at £32 average and 40% occupancy take about £54,000 a season; after rates, insurance, waste, utilities, cleaning and maintenance, £30,000 to £35,000 before your own time and tax is realistic, and a couple of glamping units add a good deal more.

How much can a 50-pitch campsite make?

Around £160,000 a year from the pitches at 45% occupancy and a £34 average, more with units and a shop. With seasonal staff, higher rates and VAT accounted for, an operating profit of £80,000 to £100,000 is achievable, which is why sites of this size are bought and sold as businesses.

What makes the biggest difference to campsite income?

Occupancy outside the school holidays. Peak weekends fill themselves; the gap between a 30% site and a 45% site is midweek and shoulder season, which comes down to pricing, being bookable online around the clock, and being listed where guests look.

If you want the four numbers for your own field, set up a free Campiamo account, add your pitch types and prices, and the dashboard shows occupancy and takings by month as the bookings come in. There is no commission on anything you take.