Find exactly how many units you need to sell to cover your costs. Enter your fixed costs, variable cost per unit, and selling price to instantly see your break-even point, contribution margin, and profit at any sales volume.
This break-even calculator tells you exactly how many units you need to sell to cover your costs, then shows your contribution margin and the profit or loss at any sales volume you choose — instantly, with a visual cost-versus-contribution chart.
Break-even analysis is one of the first numbers any founder, freelancer, or product manager should know. It answers a deceptively simple question: at what point does a product stop losing money and start making it? The maths comes down to three inputs — your fixed costs, your variable cost per unit, and your selling price — but seeing how they interact is far clearer with a live model than a spreadsheet. This tool computes the break-even point in both units and revenue, works out the contribution margin each sale adds, and lets you test a target volume to preview the bottom line. Use it to:
All calculations run locally in your browser — none of your cost or pricing figures are uploaded. Remember that break-even is a planning estimate: it assumes costs split cleanly into fixed and variable and that your selling price holds, so revisit it whenever your cost structure or pricing changes.
Break-even analysis determines the point at which total revenue equals total costs — meaning you neither make a profit nor incur a loss. It tells you exactly how many units you need to sell before your business starts to profit. It's one of the most fundamental tools in business planning and pricing strategy.
Contribution margin is the amount each unit sold contributes toward covering fixed costs and generating profit. It equals the selling price minus the variable cost per unit. Once total contribution margin equals your fixed costs, you've broken even — every additional unit after that is pure profit.
Three levers: reduce fixed costs (negotiate rent, cancel unused subscriptions), reduce variable costs per unit (cheaper suppliers, automation), or raise your selling price. Even a small price increase can dramatically lower break-even volume when demand allows.
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (selling price − variable cost per unit). The denominator is your contribution margin per unit. To get break-even revenue, multiply the break-even units by your selling price.
Fixed costs stay the same no matter how much you sell — rent, salaries, insurance, software subscriptions. Variable costs rise with each unit sold — materials, packaging, shipping, transaction fees. Break-even analysis depends on separating the two correctly.
Treat a billable hour or project as your unit. Your selling price is the rate you charge, and your variable cost is whatever you spend to deliver one unit. Service businesses often have low variable costs, so they reach break-even on fewer sales than product businesses.
It varies by industry, but a higher margin means each sale covers fixed costs faster. Software and services often run 70–90%, while physical products with material and shipping costs may sit at 20–50%. Compare against peers in your sector rather than a universal benchmark.