Break-Even Calculator
Calculate your break-even point in units and revenue instantly. Supports Units mode (price & variable cost per unit) and Revenue mode (variable cost ratio). Includes contribution margin, margin of safety, target-profit analysis, and a profit/loss scenario table.
Business Inputs
Rent, salaries, insurance, subscriptions, loan repayments
The price you charge customers per unit
Materials, packaging, shipping, commission per unit sold
Optional
How much profit do you want to achieve?
Enter to calculate your margin of safety
Break-Even Point
334 units
$16,700.00
CM Ratio: 60%
CM / Unit
$30.00
CM Ratio
60%
Profit / Loss Scenarios
| Units | Revenue | Variable Costs | Total Costs | Profit / Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 166 | $8,300.00 | $3,320.00 | $13,320.00 | −$5,020.00 |
| 250 | $12,500.00 | $5,000.00 | $15,000.00 | −$2,500.00 |
| 334 | $16,700.00 | $6,680.00 | $16,680.00 | $20.00 |
| 418 | $20,900.00 | $8,360.00 | $18,360.00 | $2,540.00 |
| 502 | $25,100.00 | $10,040.00 | $20,040.00 | $5,060.00 |
How It's Calculated
Fixed Costs: 10,000.00
Selling Price / Unit: 50.00
Variable Cost / Unit: 20.00
Contribution Margin = Price − VC/Unit
= 50.00 − 20.00 = 30.00
CM Ratio = CM / Price × 100 = 60%
Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs / CM
= 10,000.00 / 30.00 = 334 units
Break-Even Revenue = 334 × 50.00 = 16,700.00What Is a Break-Even Calculator?
A break-even calculator tells you exactly how many units you need to sell — or how much revenue you need to generate — before your business stops losing money. At the break-even point, total revenue equals total costs. Every sale above that threshold generates profit.
This tool is essential for pricing decisions, startup planning, investor pitches, and evaluating whether a new product line is worth launching. It takes just three numbers to get your break-even point, and two optional inputs to calculate margin of safety on your current sales.
How to Use This Calculator
Choose a mode
Use Units Mode if you sell a product at a set price — you know the cost to make or buy each unit. Use Revenue Mode for service businesses where it's easier to express variable costs as a percentage of revenue (e.g. agency with 35% delivery cost ratio).
Enter your costs
Type your total fixed costs (monthly or annual, just be consistent). In Units mode, enter your selling price and variable cost per unit. In Revenue mode, enter the variable cost ratio (what % of every dollar in sales goes to variable costs).
Add optional inputs
Enter a target profit to see exactly how many units or how much revenue is needed to hit that goal. Enter your current sales volume to instantly calculate your margin of safety — how far above (or below) break-even you are right now.
Analyse the scenarios table
The scenarios table shows profit and loss at five volume levels around your break-even point. The BEP row is highlighted in violet. Use this to quickly see what happens to profitability if sales are 25% or 50% above or below your current level.
Break-Even Formulas Explained
Break-Even Units
Fixed Costs
─────────────────────
Price/Unit − VC/UnitThe number of units you must sell so that contribution margin exactly covers fixed costs. Once you pass this number, every additional unit sold earns you the full contribution margin as pure profit.
Break-Even Revenue
Fixed Costs
────────────────────
Contribution Margin %The total revenue needed to cover all fixed and variable costs. Useful when you can't easily define a 'unit' — for example, a restaurant or consulting firm. CM% = 1 − (Variable Costs / Revenue).
Margin of Safety
(Current Revenue − BEP Revenue)
──────────────────────────────
Current RevenueHow far above break-even you are as a percentage of revenue. A margin of safety of 25% means you can afford to lose a quarter of your current revenue before you start making a loss. Higher is safer.
Worked Example — Coffee Cart
A coffee cart has the following monthly costs:
Monthly Fixed Costs
| Pitch rental | $800 |
| Insurance | $100 |
| Equipment lease | $200 |
| Total Fixed Costs | $1,100 |
Per Cup
| Selling price | $4.50 |
| Coffee + milk cost | $1.20 |
| Cup + lid | $0.15 |
| Variable cost / cup | $1.35 |
Break-Even Calculation:
Contribution Margin / Cup = $4.50 − $1.35 = $3.15
CM Ratio = $3.15 / $4.50 = 70%
Break-Even Units = $1,100 / $3.15 = 350 cups/month
Break-Even Revenue = 350 × $4.50 = $1,575/month
Margin of Safety (600 cups sold):
Current Revenue = 600 × $4.50 = $2,700
MoS = ($2,700 − $1,575) / $2,700 = 41.7%The cart needs to sell 350 cups per month to break even — roughly 12 cups per day on a 30-day month. At 600 cups/month (current pace), the margin of safety is a healthy 41.7%, meaning sales could drop by almost half before a loss occurs.
Try these exact numbers in Units Mode above: Fixed Costs $1,100 · Price $4.50 · Variable Cost $1.35
How to Lower Your Break-Even Point
A lower break-even point means less risk. There are only three levers:
Raise Selling Price
Even a 5–10% price increase significantly lifts contribution margin and shrinks the BEP. Test whether your market can absorb a price rise before other changes — it's often the quickest lever with no additional cost.
A 10% price rise on a 70% margin business drops BEP by ~12.5%
Cut Variable Costs
Renegotiate supplier contracts, consolidate orders for volume discounts, switch to cheaper materials, or reduce waste. A 10% drop in variable costs per unit directly boosts contribution margin.
Audit your top 3 variable cost lines first — they usually dominate
Reduce Fixed Costs
Move to a smaller premises, sublease unused space, cancel unused software, or switch from permanent to flexible staffing. Each dollar saved in fixed costs reduces BEP by 1/CM units.
Fixed costs savings are permanent and compound over time
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