Break-Even Calculator — Units and Revenue
Find break-even units, revenue and the units needed for a profit goal
Runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
Rent, salaries, subscriptions: everything you pay each month no matter how much you sell.
What each extra unit costs you: materials, packaging, fees and so on.
Enter a profit goal to see how many units reach it.
Enter it to see the margin of safety above break-even and the expected profit.
Result
Enter fixed costs, a price and a variable cost to see the break-even point.
For estimates only. It assumes a constant price and variable cost; put ad spend, returns and taxes into the variable or fixed costs to include them.
What it is
Before you open a shop, sign a lease or hire someone, it helps to know how many sales it takes just to cover your costs. The break-even point is the sales volume at which revenue equals total cost, so profit is exactly zero. Enter your monthly fixed costs plus the price and variable cost of one unit and you get the units and revenue needed. Add a profit goal to see the volume that reaches it, or an expected volume to see your margin of safety and expected profit. All calculations run in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
How to use
- Enter fixed costs per month: rent, salaries, subscriptions and other costs that do not change with sales.
- Enter the selling price and the variable cost per unit (materials, packaging, per-order fees, shipping).
- Optionally enter a target monthly profit to see the units and revenue that deliver it.
- Optionally enter your expected units per month to see the margin of safety and expected profit.
- Check the formulas below the table to see how your numbers were used.
How it works
- Contribution per unit = price − variable cost. Contribution margin = contribution ÷ price × 100.
- Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution, rounded up to a whole unit. Break-even revenue = those units × price.
- Target-profit units = (fixed costs + target profit) ÷ contribution, rounded up.
- Margin of safety = (expected units − break-even units) ÷ expected units × 100.
- Amounts are handled as whole cents, so there is no floating-point drift.
- The model assumes a constant price and variable cost. If bulk discounts change your unit cost, calculate each tier separately.
Examples
| Fixed costs | Price | Variable cost | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000,000 | 10,000 | 4,000 | 500 units, revenue 5,000,000 |
| 3,000,000 | 10,000 | 4,000 | Target profit 1,200,000 needs 700 units |
| 1,000,000 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 333.3 rounds up to 334 units |
| 3,000,000 | 10,000 | 4,000 | Expected 800 units: profit 1,800,000, safety 37.5% |
For estimates only. Taxes, returns and stock losses count only if you add them to the fixed or variable costs.
FAQ
How is the break-even point calculated?
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost). The gap between price and variable cost is the contribution per unit, the money each sale adds towards covering fixed costs. With 3,000 of fixed costs, a price of 10 and a variable cost of 4, the contribution is 6, so you need 500 units to break even.
What counts as a fixed cost and what as a variable cost?
Fixed costs stay the same however much you sell, such as rent, salaried staff and software subscriptions. Variable costs grow with every unit, such as materials, packaging, payment fees per order and postage. A flat monthly ad budget is fixed; an ad fee charged as a share of sales is variable.
How many units do I need for a profit target?
Enter a target monthly profit and the calculator uses (fixed costs + target) ÷ contribution per unit. To keep 1,200 after 3,000 of fixed costs with a contribution of 6, you need 4,200 ÷ 6 = 700 units. Fractions are always rounded up so you never fall short.
What is the margin of safety?
It shows how far expected sales sit above break-even, calculated as (expected units − break-even units) ÷ expected units. With 800 expected and 500 needed it is 37.5%, meaning sales could fall by that share before you start losing money. A negative number means the expected volume is below break-even.
What if the price is lower than the variable cost?
Then every sale loses money and no break-even point exists. The calculator says so; raise the price or cut the variable cost and try again.
