Break-Even Calculator
Free break-even calculator: how many units you must sell to cover your costs, the break-even revenue, contribution margin and units for a target profit.
No currency is shown on purpose: the figures come out in whatever unit you type in.
| Units | Revenue | Total costs | Profit |
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What it does
The break-even point is the number of units at which revenue equals total costs: below it you lose money, above it you profit. Each unit sold contributes its price minus its variable cost to paying the fixed costs. With 10,000 of fixed costs, a price of 50 and a variable cost of 30, each unit contributes 20, so you break even at 500 units, or 25,000 of revenue.
How to use it
- Type your fixed costs for the period: rent, salaries, software, insurance.
- Type the selling price and the variable cost of one unit: materials, shipping, card fees, commissions.
- Read the units and revenue needed to break even; add a target profit or your expected sales to see how far you are.
The arithmetic runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere and nothing is stored, so you can use these with real numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fixed and variable costs?
Fixed costs stay the same whether you sell one unit or a thousand, such as rent and salaries. Variable costs grow with each unit sold, such as materials, packaging, shipping and payment fees.
What is the contribution margin?
It is what each unit leaves after its variable cost: price minus variable cost. As a ratio of the price, it tells you how much of every sale goes to fixed costs and profit. A 40% ratio means 40 of every 100 sold pays fixed costs, and becomes profit once they are covered.
Why is the number of units rounded up?
Because you cannot sell part of a unit. If the exact result is 666.7, selling 666 still leaves a small loss, so 667 is the first whole number that covers all costs.
How can I lower my break-even point?
Raise the price, lower the variable cost of each unit or cut fixed costs. Small changes in the margin move the break-even point a lot: in the example above, raising the price from 50 to 55 lowers it from 500 to 400 units.
Wikipedia — Break-even point
Wikipedia — Contribution margin
Wikipedia — Fixed cost