Break-Even Calculator
Your break-even point is fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost per unit). Enter those three numbers to see how many units — and how much revenue — it takes to stop losing money.
units per period covers all your costs. Sell more and you're profitable.
If those are monthly costs, that's about 115 units a week. Every extra $1,000 of fixed cost adds 50 units to the target.
If something changed
- Price up 10% to $55.00 400 units
- Unit cost down 10% to $27.00 435 units
Break-even chart
Break-even analysis
- You need 500 units — about $25,000 in sales — before this period turns a profit.
- Each sale keeps $20.00 after the cost of making it, which is 40.0% of the price.
- Break-even moves when your price or unit cost changes, not when volume does — charging $5.00 more per unit would bring it down to 400 units.
Break-even formula
Formula and worked example
Your contribution margin is what's left from each sale after the variable cost of producing it. That margin is what pays down fixed costs.
contribution margin = price − variable cost per unit break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin Break-even revenue is measured at that exact point — equivalently, fixed costs divided by the contribution margin ratio. The unit count shown is rounded up to a whole unit, so multiplying it by your price can land slightly above the revenue figure.
Worked example
- Fixed costs (per month)
- $10,000
- Price per unit
- $50
- Variable cost per unit
- $30
- Contribution margin
- $50 − $30 = $20
- Break-even
- 500 units · $25,000
Break-even FAQ
What is the break-even point?
The break-even point is the sales volume at which your total revenue exactly equals your total costs — fixed costs plus variable costs. Below it you're operating at a loss; above it, every additional unit contributes to profit.
What counts as a fixed cost vs. a variable cost?
Fixed costs don't change with how much you sell — rent, salaries, insurance, software subscriptions. Variable costs scale with each unit sold — materials, per-unit shipping, payment processing fees, sales commissions.
Why does the calculator reject some inputs?
If your variable cost per unit is equal to or greater than your selling price, you lose money (or break even) on every single sale. No sales volume can ever cover your fixed costs in that case, so the calculator flags it instead of showing a meaningless answer.
Why doesn't the break-even revenue equal my unit count times the price?
The unit count is rounded up to a whole unit, because you can't sell a fraction of one. Break-even revenue is calculated at the exact break-even point (fixed costs divided by the contribution margin ratio), so it can be slightly lower than rounded-up units multiplied by price.
Does this calculator store the numbers I enter?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Your costs and prices are never sent to a server or included in analytics.
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