Break-even calculator
Find how many units a product or business must sell to cover its costs. Founders, students and small business owners use it to test prices and cost plans.
- Runs in your browser
- Free, no account needed
- Copy or download the result
Result
Example
Fixed costs: 12000 Price per unit: 45 Variable cost per unit: 27
Break-even units: 667 Revenue at break-even units: $30,015.00 Exact break-even revenue: $30,000.00 Contribution margin per unit: $18.00 Contribution margin ratio: 40.00% Break-even units = fixed costs / (price - variable cost), rounded up to a whole unit (exact value 666.6667). Assumes price and costs stay the same at every sales level.
How to use the break-even calculator
- Enter the Fixed costs for the period.
- Enter the Price per unit and the Variable cost per unit.
- Press Run to see break-even units and revenue.
- Press Copy result to keep the answer.
How it works
Break-even units = fixed costs / (price - variable cost per unit), rounded up to a whole unit. The exact value is also shown.
Contribution margin per unit is price minus variable cost, and the ratio is that margin divided by price.
The price must be higher than the variable cost, or every sale adds to the loss and there is no break-even point.
It assumes the price and costs stay the same at every sales level.
Everything runs in your browser. Your input is not uploaded or stored.
Questions and answers
How do I calculate the break-even point?
Divide fixed costs by the profit each unit adds, which is price minus variable cost. $10,000 / ($50 - $30) = 500 units.
What are fixed and variable costs?
Fixed costs stay the same no matter how much you sell, like rent. Variable costs rise with each unit, like materials or shipping.
Why are units rounded up?
You cannot sell part of a unit, and selling one fewer would leave a small loss, so the tool rounds up.