Break-Even Calculator

How many units must you sell before you start making a profit?

Your costs and price

Fixed costs ($)

Rent, salaries, insurance: costs that do not change with sales.

Variable cost per unit ($)

Price per unit ($)

Target profit (optional, $)

Expected units sold (optional)

Enter your costs and price to find your break-even point.

Error

Enter fixed costs, variable cost and price.

Units and Sales

Get the break-even point in whole units and in sales revenue, plus the exact fractional figure.

Target Profit

Enter the profit you want and see how many units and how much in sales it takes.

Margin of Safety

Compare expected sales with the break-even point to see how far sales can fall before you make a loss.

Full Privacy

Everything is calculated in your browser.

The Break-Even Formula

Each unit you sell brings in its price and costs its variable cost to make, leaving a contribution that goes towards covering fixed costs. Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit. With $10,000 of fixed costs, a $10 price and $6 variable cost, each unit contributes $4, so you break even at 2,500 units, or $25,000 in sales.

If the price is not above the variable cost, no volume can ever cover the fixed costs, and the calculator says so. Break-even is a planning tool: it assumes price and costs stay constant, which real businesses only approximate. The margin of safety is the share of expected sales you could lose before profit hits zero.

Key Takeaways

Whole units: Rounded up, because you cannot sell part of a unit.
Clear warnings: Explains when the price is too low ever to break even.
Optional inputs: Target profit and expected sales are only used if you fill them in.

Break-Even Calculator - Break-Even Units, Sales & Margin of Safety