Finance
Break-even Calculator
Find how many units you must sell to cover fixed and variable costs, and the revenue that gets you there.
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Transparent methodology
What the result includes—and what it does not
Built for small business owners and product managers working out how many units a price must sell to cover a period's fixed costs.
Calculation method
- 1Contribution per unit = price per unit − variable cost per unit; the calculator requires this to be greater than zero.
- 2Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit, rounded up to the next whole unit because a partial unit cannot be sold.
- 3Revenue at whole-unit break-even = the rounded unit count × price per unit, so it reports the takings at the first whole unit that clears the line rather than the exact fractional break-even amount.
- 4The currency selector changes the symbol and number format only; no amount is converted between currencies.
Assumptions and limits
- Price per unit and variable cost per unit are held constant at every volume, so volume discounts, tiered pricing and step increases in fixed costs are not modelled.
- Fixed costs must be totalled by the user for one chosen period — a month, a quarter, a year — and the unit answer applies to that same period.
- Tax, interest, returns, refunds and unsold stock are excluded unless the user folds them into the entered fixed or variable costs.
- If the variable cost equals or exceeds the price, no finite break-even volume exists and the tool returns a message instead of a number.
Worked example
$12,000 of fixed costs at an $80 price and a $32 variable cost
Input: $12,000 fixed costs, $80 price per unit, $32 variable cost per unit, USD.
Output: $48.00 contribution per unit, 250 break-even units, and $20,000.00 of revenue at that volume.
Primary sources
- U.S. Small Business Administration — Break-even pointOfficial statement of both forms of the equation: units from fixed costs ÷ (sales price per unit − variable cost per unit), and sales dollars from fixed costs ÷ contribution margin.
- U.S. Small Business Administration — Calculate your startup costsOfficial guidance on separating one-time startup expenses from recurring monthly expenses, which is what gets totalled into the fixed-costs field. It does not cover the fixed/variable split itself.
How to use it
Three steps. One clear answer.
- 1Enter or paste the values requested by the tool.
- 2Review the input units and choose any relevant options.
- 3Calculate, then copy or download the result you need.
Built for trust
Useful without the friction.
- No registration or paywall before your result.
- Responsive controls for phone, tablet, and desktop.
- Clear assumptions and warnings where estimates have limits.
Frequently asked questions
What is the break-even formula?
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price per unit − variable cost per unit). The divisor is the contribution per unit: what one sale leaves over after covering its own variable cost. With $12,000 of fixed costs, an $80 price and a $32 variable cost, that is 12,000 ÷ 48 = 250 units.
How do I calculate break-even revenue?
Multiply the break-even units by the price per unit — 250 × $80 = $20,000 in the example above. You can also divide fixed costs by the contribution margin ratio, (price − variable cost) ÷ price, which the SBA gives as the sales-dollar form of the same equation. This calculator uses the first method, so its revenue figure reflects the rounded-up whole unit count.
Is contribution margin the same as contribution per unit?
They describe the same gap in two different units of measure. Contribution per unit is a currency amount, price minus variable cost per unit ($48 in the example); the contribution margin ratio divides that by the price, 48 ÷ 80 = 60%. This tool reports the currency amount.
What counts as a fixed cost and what counts as a variable cost?
A fixed cost does not change with how many units you sell in the period — rent, salaries, insurance, software subscriptions. A variable cost is incurred per unit sold — materials, per-unit shipping, per-order payment fees. Leaving a per-unit cost out of the variable field overstates the contribution and returns a break-even count that is too low.
Why does the calculator round the number of units up?
Partial units cannot be sold, so the raw division is rounded up to the next whole unit. When fixed costs do not divide evenly by the contribution per unit, that whole-unit result clears break-even by a small margin rather than falling short of it.
Is break-even ROAS the same as the break-even point?
No. The break-even point is a sales volume: the units needed to cover fixed costs. Break-even ROAS is an advertising ratio, 1 ÷ gross margin, and it is calculated on the ROAS calculator page.
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