Break-Even Calculator
Estimate how many units you need to sell to cover your costs. Add your fixed and variable costs below to calculate your break-even point in units and revenue
Your Costs & Pricing
Break-Even Point
How to use this tool
- Enter the selling price per unit.
- List your fixed costs (rent, salaries, subscriptions) and use “Add Fixed Cost” for more rows.
- List the variable costs per unit (materials, packaging, shipping) and use “Add Variable Cost” for more rows.
- Read the units to sell, the break-even revenue, the contribution margin per unit and the margin ratio.
Worked example
A market stall sells an item for 12. Monthly fixed costs are 800 for the pitch plus 200 for insurance and licences, 1,000 in total, and each unit carries 4 of materials and 1 of packaging, so 5 of variable cost. The contribution margin is 12 − 5 = 7 (a 58.3% margin ratio), so break-even is 1,000 ÷ 7 = 142.9, rounded up to 143 units and 1,716 in revenue. Selling 143 units earns nothing; every unit beyond that adds 7 of profit. If the price is 11, the margin falls to 6 and break-even rises to 167 units – small price changes move the target a lot.
Why this tool exists and where its numbers come from
Anyone selling a product needs to know how many units cover the fixed costs before profit starts. The tool uses the standard cost-volume-profit formula (fixed costs ÷ contribution margin per unit), which assumes a constant price and constant variable cost per unit.
Sources
For the full method, see the Methodology section just below.
Methodology
Break-even analysis comes from cost-volume-profit (CVP) accounting. Profit equals units sold times (price minus variable cost per unit), minus fixed costs, and the break-even point is the volume where that profit is exactly zero. The calculator adds up every fixed-cost row and every variable-cost row you enter, so you can see how rent, salaries, materials and shipping each shape the result.
Marta's candle shop: raise the price or cut it?
Marta sells hand-poured candles online, about 60 a month. Fixed costs per month: 500 for the workshop, 50 for shop software and 200 for ads, so 750. Per candle she pays 9 for wax, wick and jar, 2 for packaging, 1 in payment fees and 2 towards shipping, so 14 of variable cost.
At a price of 28 the margin is 28 − 14 = 14. Break-even is 750 ÷ 14 = 53.6, rounded up to 54 candles and 1,512 in revenue. Selling her usual 60 leaves a 6-candle cushion and a profit of 60 × 14 − 750 = 90.
A friend suggests a promotional price of 26. The margin drops to 12, and break-even climbs to 750 ÷ 12 = 62.5, so 63 candles and 1,638 in revenue. At 60 sales she would lose 30 a month, unless the lower price brings in at least three more buyers.
She tries 30 instead: margin 16, break-even 46.9, so 47 candles and 1,410. She decides to test 30 for one month and watch whether sales stay above 47.
These are planning figures with one product and constant costs; they ignore taxes and are not financial advice.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fixed and variable costs? ▼
Fixed costs stay constant for a given period no matter how many units you sell, such as rent, insurance, software subscriptions and salaried staff. Variable costs rise with every unit, such as raw materials, packaging, payment fees and shipping. Many costs are mixed, for example a phone plan with a flat fee plus usage. Split those into a fixed part and a per-unit part and enter each in the matching list. A common mistake is entering a per-unit cost such as shipping as a fixed cost, which makes break-even look far easier than it is.
What happens if my variable costs are higher than my selling price? ▼
The contribution margin is negative, so you lose money on every sale and no volume can ever cover the fixed costs. The tool then shows the infinity symbol instead of a number. A margin of exactly zero behaves the same way. Raise the price, lower the variable cost, or both. Even a small positive margin can demand a huge volume: a margin of 0.50 against 4,000 of fixed costs needs 8,000 units.
Why is the break-even unit count rounded up? ▼
You cannot sell a fraction of a unit, so the tool rounds up to the next whole unit and calculates break-even revenue from that number. With 1,000 in fixed costs, a price of 50 and a variable cost of 20 (a margin of 30 per unit), you need 34 units (33.33 rounded up), which is 1,700 in revenue. Compare the result with the sales you realistically expect in the same period: the gap between the two is your margin of safety.