Free tool · Break-even
Break-Even Calculator
Break-even is the volume at which revenue finally covers cost — the point where a product, campaign, or retainer stops losing money and starts making it. Enter your fixed costs, price, and variable cost per unit to see how many units you need to sell.
Break-even is the line — knowing where it sits is the hard part
The arithmetic is one division. The judgement is making sure the costs above and below that line are real, complete, and sorted into the right bucket.
Fixed vs variable is a judgement call
A “fixed” cost only holds within a range — hire one more person to ship more units and your fixed base just stepped up. Misclassifying a semi-variable cost as fixed flatters break-even and hides the volume where you actually need more capacity.
Contribution, not price, pays the bills
Two products at the same price can break even at very different volumes. What matters is the contribution margin — what’s left after variable cost — because that’s the only money available to cover the fixed base.
A volume target, not a finish line
Break-even tells you the floor, not the goal. Hitting it means you’ve stopped losing money, not that the product is worth running. Read it next to the realistic demand you can actually capture in the period.
Find your break-even point
Enter fixed costs, price, and variable cost per unit.
Costs that don’t change with volume — rent, salaries, tooling, retainers.
What you charge for one unit, subscription, or deliverable.
The cost incurred for each unit sold — materials, fulfilment, per-seat fees.
Waiting for input
Enter your fixed costs, price per unit, and variable cost per unit to find the break-even point.
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost per unit).
What is the break-even point?
The break-even point is the sales volume at which total revenue equals total cost — no profit, no loss. Below it you’re funding the gap; above it, every additional unit drops its contribution straight to profit.
It’s computed by dividing fixed costs by the contribution margin per unit (price minus variable cost). The contribution margin is the slice of each sale left over to chip away at the fixed base, so the smaller it is, the more units you need to cover the same fixed costs.
Contribution margin per unit
Contribution = Price − Variable cost per unit
Price $50, variable cost $20 → Contribution = 50 − 20 = $30 per unit
Break-even units
Break-even units = Fixed costs ÷ Contribution
$12,000 fixed costs ÷ $30 contribution = 400 units
Break-even revenue
Break-even revenue = Break-even units × Price
400 units × $50 = $20,000 in revenue to break even
How to use this break-even calculator
Three inputs, one threshold — sort your costs correctly and the rest is arithmetic.
Total your fixed costs
Add everything that stays constant regardless of how much you sell — rent, salaries, software, retainers. These are the costs the contribution margin has to cover before you make a cent.
Set price and variable cost per unit
Enter what you charge per unit and the cost that scales with each one — materials, fulfilment, per-seat or per-transaction fees. The gap between them is your contribution margin.
Sanity-check against real demand
Compare the break-even volume to what you can realistically sell in the period. If break-even is above plausible demand, the lever is price, variable cost, or fixed-cost discipline — not optimism.
What’s the difference between fixed and variable costs?
Fixed costs stay the same no matter how much you sell — rent, salaries, software, retainers. Variable costs scale with each unit — materials, fulfilment, per-seat fees. The split matters because only variable cost is subtracted from price to get the contribution margin that covers your fixed base.
Why does the calculator round units up?
You can’t sell a fraction of a unit and still cover costs, so break-even is rounded up to the next whole unit. At the exact mathematical break-even you’d be a few dollars short; the rounded figure is the first whole unit that fully clears your fixed costs.
What’s a contribution margin and why does it matter?
Contribution margin is price minus variable cost — the portion of each sale left over to pay down fixed costs and then become profit. A higher contribution margin means fewer units to break even, which is why margin, not headline price, drives how quickly a product turns profitable.
How do I lower my break-even point?
Three levers: raise price, cut variable cost per unit, or reduce fixed costs. Raising price and cutting variable cost both widen the contribution margin so each sale does more work; trimming fixed costs lowers the bar those sales have to clear. Small moves on margin usually beat chasing volume.
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