Units or revenue only
Work per unit from a price and a variable cost, or switch to revenue only and use a contribution or gross margin ratio when there is nothing to count.
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Break-Even Calculator
Find the units and revenue where your business stops losing money. Enter fixed costs, a price, and a variable cost (or a margin ratio), then test profit targets, expected sales, and price changes on one chart.
Figures stay in this browser
Break-even at 445 units and $20,025.00 of revenue per month.
Break-even inputs
Your numbers
What do you sell?
For products or services you can count, each with a price and a cost per unit.
Period
Materials, packaging, shipping, card fees, and sales commission: anything you spend again for each unit.
Formula
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost), rounded up
Break-even result
Break-even point · per month
445 units
$12,000.00 ÷ $27.00 per unit = 444.44 units. Rounded up to 445: you cannot sell part of a unit, and stopping at 444 would still leave a $12.00 loss.
Break-even revenue
$20,025.00
$20,000.00 by the sales formula, before whole units
Contribution margin
$27.00 / unit
Price minus variable cost
Contribution margin ratio
60%
Of each sale left for fixed costs and profit
Every figure is per month. The period only relabels results, so enter all figures for the same period.
Target-profit solver
Sales needed for a profit goal
Units needed
630
Revenue needed
$28,350.00
That is 185 units beyond break-even. Whole units earn $5,010.00, at or just above the goal.
Formula
($12,000.00 + $5,000.00) ÷ $27.00 = 629.63 → 630
Target profit of $5,000.00 needs 630 units and $28,350.00 of revenue per month.
Margin of safety
How far sales can fall
In units
155
In revenue
$6,975.00
Of sales
25.8%
Sales can fall by 155 units, 25.8% of the plan, before the business starts losing money. Operating profit at this level: $4,200.00.
Operating leverage 3.86×. At this volume, a 10% change in sales moves operating profit by about 38.6% in the same direction.
Margin of safety 155 units, 25.8% of expected sales. Operating profit $4,200.00.
Cost-volume-profit chart
Where revenue overtakes total cost
Each line is labelled at its end. Move across the chart, or use the slider, to read the figures at any sales level.
At 750 units: revenue $33,750.00, total cost $25,500.00, profit $8,250.00.
- Revenue
- Total cost (fixed plus variable)
- Fixed costs (dashed)
- Loss region
- Profit region
Sensitivity
Break-even units at other prices and costs
Fixed costs stay at $12,000.00. Columns move the price 10% and 20% either way; rows move the variable cost 10% either way.
| Variable cost | Price −20%$36.00 | Price −10%$40.50 | Your price$45.00 | Price +10%$49.50 | Price +20%$54.00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost −10%$16.20 | 607+162 vs now | 494+49 vs now | 417−28 vs now | 361−84 vs now | 318−127 vs now |
| Your cost$18.00 | 667+222 vs now | 534+89 vs now | 445Your numbers | 381−64 vs now | 334−111 vs now |
| Cost +10%$19.80 | 741+296 vs now | 580+135 vs now | 477+32 vs now | 405−40 vs now | 351−94 vs now |
Honest limits
What this model assumes
- Straight lines and one price. Costs are assumed to rise in a straight line with sales, and every unit sells at the same price.
- Real businesses bend the lines. Step costs (a second shift, a bigger unit), volume discounts, and a product mix all move the answer. For a mix, use a weighted average contribution margin.
- A planning estimate. This is arithmetic on the figures you enter, not financial, tax, or accounting advice.
Continue the workflow
Keep working on the numbers.
Profit Margin & Markup Calculator
Set the selling price and margin that feed the contribution margin used here.
Monthly Budget Planner
Track the rent, wages, and subscriptions that add up to your fixed costs.
Conversion Rate Calculator
Turn a break-even unit count into the visitors your funnel needs to reach it.
How it works
Three numbers, one break-even point.
Fixed costs are what the period costs before you sell anything. Each sale then pays off part of them with its contribution margin, and the break-even point is the sale that finishes the job.
- 01
Enter your fixed costs
Type one total for the period, or itemise rent, salaries, software, and the rest so the calculator adds them up for you.
- 02
Add price and variable cost
Enter what one unit sells for and what it costs to make and deliver. Nothing to count? Switch to revenue only and enter a margin ratio instead.
- 03
Read and test the break-even point
See break-even units and revenue with the rounding explained, then try a profit target, your expected sales, and the price and cost scenarios in the grid.
Built for real planning
More than a single formula.
Rounding you can check
Break-even units always round up to a whole unit, and the result shows the exact quotient and the loss one unit short would still leave.
Itemised fixed costs
List rent, salaries, software, insurance, and anything else as separate lines and the calculator totals them, so you do not need the figure before you start.
Target profit and margin of safety
Add a profit goal to get the units and revenue it takes, and expected sales to see how far they can fall before a loss, with a one-line reading of operating leverage.
Cost-volume-profit chart
Revenue, total cost, and fixed costs are labelled at the end of each line, with the break-even point marked and the loss and profit regions named, not only shaded.
Price and cost sensitivity
A grid of break-even units at prices 10% and 20% either side of yours, and variable costs 10% either side, shows which lever moves the answer most.
Break-even questions
Formulas, rounding, product mix, and worked examples.
What is a break-even point?+
It is the sales level at which total revenue equals total costs, so the business makes neither a profit nor a loss for the period. Below it the period ends in a loss; above it every extra sale adds its contribution margin to profit. It can be stated in units sold or in sales revenue.
What is the break-even formula?+
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (selling price per unit − variable cost per unit). The part in brackets is the contribution margin per unit. With $12,000 of monthly fixed costs, a $45 price, and an $18 variable cost, each sale contributes $27, so break-even is 12,000 ÷ 27 = 444.44, rounded up to 445 units a month.
What is contribution margin?+
Contribution margin is what each sale leaves after its own variable costs: the money that pays the fixed costs first and becomes profit after that. Per unit it is price minus variable cost, and as a ratio it is that amount divided by the price. A $45 product with $18 of variable cost has a $27 contribution margin and a 60% contribution margin ratio.
How do I calculate break-even in sales dollars?+
Divide fixed costs by the contribution margin ratio: $12,000 ÷ 0.60 = $20,000 of sales. If you sell whole units, revenue at the rounded-up unit count can be slightly higher, since 445 units at $45 is $20,025. Revenue-only mode uses the sales-dollar formula directly when you know a margin ratio but not a unit price.
Why is the break-even quantity rounded up?+
You cannot sell part of a unit, and the break-even point is the first sales level with no loss. A result of 444.44 units means 444 units still leaves a loss ($12 in the example above), so the answer is 445. Rounding down would understate the target every time the division is not exact.
What if I sell several products?+
Use a weighted average contribution margin. Multiply each product's contribution margin by its share of units sold and add the results, then use that figure as the contribution per unit; or use the weighted margin ratio in revenue-only mode. The answer only holds while the sales mix stays the same, and selling more of a low-margin product raises the real break-even point.
How can I lower my break-even point?+
There are three levers: raise the price, lower the variable cost per unit, or cut fixed costs. Price and variable cost both act through the contribution margin, so small changes there can move the break-even point a long way, as the sensitivity grid shows. A price rise only helps if sales volume holds up, so test it against the demand you expect.
What is the margin of safety?+
It is how far sales can fall before the business reaches break-even: expected sales minus break-even sales. It is shown in units, in revenue, and as a percentage of expected sales. Planning 600 units against a 445-unit break-even gives a margin of safety of 155 units, or about 25.8% of the plan.
How do I work out break-even for a restaurant or a startup?+
Pick one unit and put every cost that moves with it into the variable cost. For a restaurant the unit can be the average bill: $18,000 of monthly fixed costs, a $24 average bill, and $9 of food, packaging, and card fees per bill give a $15 contribution, so break-even is 1,200 bills a month, or 40 a day over 30 days. For a subscription startup the unit is one paying customer for a month: $40,000 of monthly fixed costs, a $49 plan, and $9 of hosting, payment, and support cost per customer give a $40 contribution and a break-even of 1,000 customers. These figures are illustrations, not industry benchmarks.
What happens if my price is at or below the variable cost?+
Then there is no break-even point. Each sale adds nothing toward fixed costs, or adds a further loss, so selling more never closes the gap. The calculator says so plainly instead of showing a negative or infinite number. The fix is to raise the price above the variable cost or bring that cost below the price.
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