Find out how much you need to sell to turn a profit. This free break-even calculator shows your break-even point in units and revenue, plus the contribution margin on every sale.
Results update automatically as you type. The break-even point is where total revenue equals total costs.
How the Break-Even Calculator Works
Your break-even point is the exact sales volume where total revenue stops falling short of total costs. This calculator uses your fixed costs, price, and variable cost per unit to find that point in both units and dollars, plus the contribution margin each sale earns.
Formula: Contribution Margin = Price per Unit − Variable Cost per Unit. Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution Margin (rounded up to the next whole unit). Break-Even Revenue = Break-Even Units × Price per Unit. Contribution Margin % = (Contribution Margin ÷ Price per Unit) × 100.
- Fixed costs — total costs that don't change with sales volume, such as rent, salaries, and insurance
- Price per unit — what you charge for one unit of your product or service
- Variable cost per unit — the cost that scales directly with each unit sold, such as materials or commission
Example Scenarios
| Fixed Costs | Price/Unit | Variable Cost/Unit | Break-Even Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $50 | $30 | 500 units ($25,000) |
| $8,000 | $40 | $25 | 534 units ($21,360) |
| $15,000 | $75 | $45 | 500 units ($37,500) |
| $3,000 | $20 | $12 | 375 units ($7,500) |
| $25,000 | $60 | $45 | 1,667 units ($100,020) |
Break-Even Calculator FAQ
What counts as a fixed cost versus a variable cost?
Fixed costs stay the same regardless of how much you sell, like rent, insurance, and salaried wages. Variable costs rise and fall with each unit sold, like raw materials, packaging, or sales commission. Getting this split right is essential to an accurate break-even point.Why is my break-even point rounded up to a whole number of units?
You can't sell a fraction of a unit in most businesses, so the calculator rounds the raw division result up to the next whole unit. That guarantees you've covered fixed costs completely rather than falling just short.What does the contribution margin percentage actually tell me?
It shows what share of each sale is left over after variable costs, before fixed costs are considered. A higher percentage means more of every dollar in revenue goes toward covering fixed costs and eventually profit.What happens if my variable cost is higher than my price?
The calculator will flag that price must exceed variable cost. Selling below your variable cost means you lose money on every single unit, so no sales volume, however high, could ever reach break-even.How can I lower my break-even point?
You can raise your price, cut variable cost per unit, or reduce fixed costs — any of the three shrinks the number of units you need to sell before covering all your costs.Does the break-even point include any profit, or just covering costs?
Just covering costs. At the break-even point, revenue exactly equals total costs and profit is zero. Every unit sold beyond that point contributes its full margin toward actual profit.Related Calculators
Once you know your break-even point, the ROI calculator can help you evaluate how profitable sales beyond that point really are, while the NPV calculator is useful for weighing a larger investment against its future cash flows. Freelancers and consultants pricing their own services may also find the freelance rate calculator helpful for setting a price that clears their own break-even point.