Break-Even Calculator

Find how many units you need to sell to cover your costs, and how many to reach a profit goal.

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Rent, salaries, insurance: costs that don’t change with sales.
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Materials, shipping, commissions per unit.
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Fractions and decimals both work.
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Units to Break Even
Contribution margin
Contribution margin ratio
Break-even sales
Units for target profit
Profit at expected sales
Margin of safety
Per Unit Covers

Scenarios

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ScenarioFixedPriceVariableBreak-Even UnitsRemove

How to Calculate the Break-Even Point

Each unit sold contributes its price minus its variable cost toward covering fixed costs. The break-even point is the number of units where those contributions add up to the fixed costs exactly: no profit, no loss.

Contribution margin = price − variable cost
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin   Break-even sales = units × price
Units for a target profit = (fixed costs + target profit) ÷ contribution margin

Worked Example

Tips

Use the same period for fixed costs and sales (both monthly, or both yearly). Raising the price or cutting variable cost lowers the break-even point faster than most people expect, because both widen the contribution margin.