Free calculator
Break-Even Calculator
Find the exact number of units—and the revenue—you need to cover your costs each month.
Break-Even Calculator
Find the exact number of units—and the revenue—you need to cover your costs each month.
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Break-even
143 units/mo
$28,600/moBreak-even revenue
$140/unitContribution margin
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What the break-even tells you
Your break-even point is the level of sales where total revenue exactly covers total costs—no profit, no loss. Below it you lose money; above it you start to earn.
The gap between your price and your variable cost per unit is the contribution margin: what each sale contributes toward fixed costs. Divide fixed costs by that margin to get break-even units.
Formula
Break-even units = Fixed costs ÷ (Price per unit − Variable cost per unit)
How to use it
- Enter your total fixed costs for the month (rent, salaries, software).
- Enter the price you charge per unit.
- Enter the variable cost to produce or deliver one unit.
- Read the units and revenue you need to break even.
Worked example
With $20,000 fixed costs, a $200 price, and $60 variable cost, your contribution margin is $140/unit—so you break even at 143 units, or about $28,600 in revenue.
FAQ
Common questions
It's the sales level where revenue equals total costs, so profit is zero. Every sale beyond it contributes to profit.
Contribution margin is price per unit minus variable cost per unit. It's the amount each sale contributes toward covering fixed costs and, eventually, profit.
Reduce fixed costs, raise your price, or cut variable cost per unit. Each widens your contribution margin or shrinks the fixed costs you need to cover.
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