Break-Even Calculator
The most sobering number in business: how many sales just to cover the bills. Fixed costs, price, unit cost — and the honest answer, including when it's 'never'.
Spotted a mistake or have an idea? — errors get fixed and credited publicly.
Last reviewed: July 20, 2026 · Formulas verified by automated tests before every release.
The formula
Break-even units = Fixed costs ÷ (Price − Variable cost)
How to actually use the number
- Reality check: 167 units at break-even means ~6 sales every single day. Is that realistic for your channel? If not, the plan needs different costs or prices, not more optimism.
- Lever comparison: raising the price $5 usually cuts break-even far more than trimming $5 of fixed costs — test both in the calculator.
- The "never" case is a gift: discovering that price < variable cost on a calculator costs nothing; discovering it after a year of scaling costs everything.
- After break-even each unit's full contribution becomes profit — that's why months look dramatically different on either side of the line.
Frequently asked questions
How is the break-even point calculated?
Fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit, where contribution = price − variable cost. With $5,000 fixed costs, a $50 price and $20 unit cost: 5000 ÷ 30 = 167 units per month.
What counts as fixed vs variable costs?
Fixed: rent, salaries, subscriptions, insurance — costs that arrive whether you sell or not. Variable: materials, packaging, transaction fees, delivery — costs born with each unit. Some costs are hybrids; assign the honest share.
What is contribution margin?
The slice of each sale left after variable costs — the money that "contributes" first to covering fixed costs and, after break-even, becomes pure profit. It's the single most useful unit-economics number.
What if my price is below variable cost?
Then there is no break-even — every sale increases the loss, and scaling makes it worse. The calculator flags this in red: fix the unit economics before fixing the marketing.