Break-even calculator

What it does

Enter your fixed costs for a period, your price per unit and your variable cost per unit. The calculator subtracts the variable cost from the price to get the contribution each unit makes, divides fixed costs by that contribution, and rounds up to the next whole unit. It also shows the revenue at that unit count. If the price is not higher than the variable cost, there is no break-even point and the calculator says so instead of showing a number.

Use it before opening a new location, launching a product, hiring, or signing a lease, to see how much more you would need to sell to cover the extra fixed cost. It is also a quick sanity check on a price change: if break-even jumps well above what you sold last month, the new price or cost will probably lose money until volume grows. Run it again whenever a big fixed cost such as rent, insurance or a salary changes.

How to use it

1. Add up fixed costs for the period: rent, insurance, software, salaries.
2. Enter your selling price per unit.
3. Enter the variable cost per unit: materials, packaging, card fees.
4. Read the break-even units and revenue.

Tips

• Use the same period for fixed costs and sales targets, such as monthly.
• A small price cut can raise break-even a lot when margins are thin.
• Recalculate when rent or supplier prices change.
• Pair this with the profit margin calculator to check each product.