Break-Even Calculator
Work out exactly how many units you need to sell before you start making a profit.
What is break-even?
Your break-even point is where total revenue exactly equals total costs - no profit, no loss. Sell fewer units than this and you're losing money; sell more, and every additional unit adds to your profit.
How it's calculated
Break-even point (in units) = Fixed Costs divided by (Selling Price minus Variable Cost per Unit). The difference between selling price and variable cost is called your contribution margin - it's what each sale actually contributes toward covering your fixed costs.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a fixed cost vs a variable cost?
Fixed costs don't change with how much you sell - rent, insurance, salaried staff. Variable costs scale directly with each sale - materials, packaging, payment processing fees. Some costs are genuinely a mix of both, in which case estimate as best you can.
What if my variable cost is higher than my selling price?
Then you lose money on every single sale, and no volume of sales will ever reach break-even - the price itself needs to increase, or costs need to come down first.
Does this account for one-off startup costs?
Not directly - this calculates your break-even for a single ongoing period based on your regular fixed costs. One-off setup costs would need to be factored in separately or spread across multiple periods.