Break-Even Calculator
Find break-even units and revenue from fixed costs, price, and variable cost per unit.
Written by Golam Rabbani, Founder & Lead Engineer
How to use this break-even calculator
- Enter total fixed costs for the period (rent, salaries, overhead that does not change with volume).
- Enter the price you charge per unit.
- Enter the variable cost per unit (materials, packaging, payment fees, per-sale costs).
- Press Calculate to see break-even units, break-even revenue, and contribution margin.
- Copy the result for a business plan, pricing review, or investor deck.
About this break-even calculator
The break-even calculator finds the sales volume at which total revenue exactly covers total costs — the point where a business stops losing money and starts making it. The key concept is contribution margin: the portion of each unit's price that is left after paying its own variable cost. Fixed costs are paid out of that margin, one unit at a time.
Worked example: a small business has $10,000/month in fixed costs, sells a product for $50 with a variable cost of $20 per unit. Contribution margin = $50 − $20 = $30/unit (60% of price). Break-even units = $10,000 ÷ $30 = 333.33, rounded up to 334 units. Break-even revenue = 334 × $50 = $16,700. Anything sold beyond 334 units in the month is pure operating profit.
Use it to evaluate a price change, decide whether a new product line is viable, or stress-test fixed-cost commitments. All math is local to your browser.
FAQ
- What is contribution margin?
- The price of one unit minus its variable cost. It is the cash each sale "contributes" toward covering fixed costs. As a percentage of price, it tells you how much of each dollar of revenue is left over to fund overhead and profit.
- What counts as a fixed cost vs. a variable cost?
- Fixed: stays the same whether you sell 1 unit or 1,000 — rent, base salaries, software subscriptions, insurance. Variable: scales with units sold — raw materials, packaging, shipping, payment processing fees, per-piece commissions.
- Why does the calculator round up units?
- You cannot sell a fractional unit, and the exact break-even is rarely a whole number. Rounding up to the next whole unit ensures you actually clear the threshold instead of falling a few cents short.
- What if variable cost is higher than price?
- Then every additional unit loses money — there is no break-even at any volume. The calculator catches this case and shows an error so you can adjust pricing or cost before continuing.
- Does the tool save my numbers?
- No. Everything happens in your browser; nothing is sent to a server or logged.