Break-Even Point Calculator
Fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost per unit) = break-even units.
About this calculator
Free break-even point calculator: enter your monthly fixed costs, price per unit, and variable cost per unit — get the exact number of units (or paying customers) you need to sell each month to cover costs. Also reports break-even revenue and contribution margin per unit, so you know how much each incremental sale is actually adding to the bottom line. Built for founders pricing a product, evaluating a channel, or sanity-checking a forecast.
A break-even calculator tells you the exact number of units (or paying customers, or transactions) you must sell each month to cover your costs — the point where revenue equals total costs and the business stops losing money. This free break-even calculator (also called a break-even point calculator) uses the standard formula: fixed costs ÷ (price per unit − variable cost per unit). Along with break-even units, it surfaces your contribution margin per unit, contribution margin percentage, and break-even revenue — three numbers any founder pricing a product or evaluating a channel needs to know.
The break-even formula this calculator uses
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price per unit − variable cost per unit). The denominator is your contribution margin per unit — the amount each sold unit contributes to covering fixed costs before it generates a single dollar of profit. If your fixed monthly costs are $12,000, you charge $29 per unit, and the variable cost per unit is $4, your contribution margin is $25 and your break-even point is 480 units per month. The break-even calculator computes all of this instantly and rounds up — because you can't sell a fractional customer.
When to use a break-even calculator
Three moments demand a break-even calculator. Pricing decisions: when raising or lowering a tier price, you immediately want to know how many fewer (or more) customers you need at the new price. Channel evaluation: before signing a partnership or committing to a paid channel, run the break-even calculator with the channel's expected monthly fixed cost (slotting fees, retainers, content production) and see whether realistic volume covers it. Investor diligence: investors routinely ask 'How many customers do you need to break even at this gross margin?' — the answer comes from this exact calculator.
Why contribution margin matters more than total margin
The contribution margin percentage (CM% = contribution margin per unit ÷ price per unit) is the single most important pricing-strategy number, and it's surfaced by the break-even calculator alongside the units answer. A 70% contribution margin means every additional dollar of revenue contributes 70 cents toward fixed costs (and after break-even, 70 cents of profit). A 20% contribution margin means most of every incremental dollar goes back into variable costs — the business is volume-dependent and fragile. SaaS businesses typically run 70-90% contribution margins; marketplaces and physical-goods businesses run 10-30%.
Frequently asked questions
What is break-even point?
Break-even point is the level of sales at which total revenue equals total costs — neither profit nor loss. It's measured in units (the break-even calculator's primary output), revenue dollars, or sometimes time. Above break-even, every additional unit sold contributes profit; below break-even, the business is losing money on its operations.
What's the difference between break-even units and break-even revenue?
Break-even units is the count of items (or paying customers) needed per month to cover costs. Break-even revenue is that unit count multiplied by price per unit — the dollar amount of monthly revenue required. The break-even calculator surfaces both because different audiences want different numbers (operations cares about units; finance and investors care about revenue).
Does the break-even calculator work for SaaS businesses?
Yes. For SaaS, treat 'units' as paying customers and 'variable cost per unit' as the cost of serving one customer per month (hosting, payment processor fees, third-party APIs, support cost). 'Fixed costs' is everything that doesn't scale with the customer count — salaries, rent, fixed software, marketing baseline. The break-even calculator then returns the number of paying customers needed each month to break even.
Why does the break-even calculator require price greater than variable cost?
Because if variable cost per unit is greater than price per unit, every additional sale loses money — you can never break even on operations no matter how many units you sell. The break-even calculator warns you instead of returning a misleading number. The fix: raise price, lower variable cost, or pivot the model.
Related free resources: Pricing & Margin calculator · Burn Rate & Runway calculator
Want this metric in context, not in isolation?
The Unbuilt Lab app runs your idea through a 6-document Blueprint Pack — and the Market Validation doc covers Break-Even Point Calculator against your specific market data, competitors, and unit-economics targets. Not a generic calculator: tailored analysis.