Break-Even Calculator

The break-even point is the level of sales at which total revenue equals total costs—you neither make nor lose money. Beyond that point, each additional unit sold contributes to profit. To find it, you need fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance—costs that do not change with output), price per unit, and variable cost per unit (materials, labor per unit, etc.). The contribution margin is price minus variable cost; it is what each unit contributes toward covering fixed costs. Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin; break-even revenue = break-even units × price.

Why break-even matters

Startups and small businesses use break-even analysis to see how many units they must sell (or how much revenue they must generate) before becoming profitable. It also helps with pricing: if your contribution margin is too low, you may need to raise prices or cut variable costs to reach break-even at a realistic volume. If contribution margin is zero or negative (price ≤ variable cost), you cannot break even at any volume—our calculator returns zero units in that case.

Personal finance use

You can adapt the idea to personal decisions—e.g., fixed cost of a side business (website, tools) and “revenue” per client minus “variable” cost per client. For broader financial planning, see our calculators hub and retirement calculator.