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A break-even calculator tells you exactly how many units you need to sell, or how much revenue you need to earn, before your business starts making a profit. It works by comparing your fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance, and other expenses that stay the same regardless of sales volume) against your contribution margin (the difference between your selling price and the variable cost to produce each unit). Once total contribution margin covers fixed costs, every additional sale becomes profit. This tool goes beyond the basic formula. Single-product mode shows your break-even point in both units and revenue, calculates your margin of safety (how far above break-even your current sales are), and displays a visual chart showing where revenue crosses total costs. Multi-product mode handles businesses with multiple SKUs by weighting each product's contribution margin according to its share of total sales. Sensitivity mode lets you drag sliders to see how changes in price, variable cost, or fixed costs shift the break-even point, so you can model scenarios before committing to a pricing change. Everything runs in your browser. No data leaves your device, no signup required.
Done with the Break-Even Calculator? Try this next:
Profit Margin Calculator →Use Single Product for a straightforward break-even analysis. Use Multi-Product when you sell more than one item and need a combined break-even across all SKUs. Use Sensitivity to see how changes in price, variable cost, or fixed costs affect your break-even point.
Type the total monthly (or annual) fixed costs for your business. These are costs that do not change with sales volume: rent, salaries, insurance, loan payments, and subscriptions. The break-even point rises with higher fixed costs.
Type the price you charge per unit and the variable cost to produce or acquire each unit (materials, labor per unit, shipping). The difference between these two numbers is your contribution margin per unit.
The calculator instantly shows how many units you need to sell and how much revenue you need to earn to cover all costs. It also shows your contribution margin, contribution margin ratio, and profit or loss at your current sales level.
Enter your current or expected sales volume to see how far above (or below) break-even you are. The margin of safety is shown in units, as a percentage, and as a revenue cushion, so you know how much sales can drop before you start losing money.
Switch to Sensitivity mode and drag the sliders to model what happens if you raise your price by 10%, or if material costs increase by 15%. The price sensitivity table shows break-even at nine price points from -20% to +20%, so you can compare scenarios at a glance.
Break-Even Calculator shows your break-even point in units and revenue. Includes multi-product mode, sensitivity sliders, margin of safety, and a visual chart.
Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs / (Price per Unit - Variable Cost per Unit)
A bakery pays $3,000/month in rent and other fixed costs. Each cupcake costs $2.00 to make and sells for $5.00.
A software startup has $10,000/month in fixed costs (salaries, hosting, tools). Subscriptions are $49/month with $5 in variable costs per user (support, payment processing).
A designer leaving a job has $4,500/month in personal and business expenses. They charge $150/hour with minimal variable costs (software subscriptions average $0.50/hour of work).
| Selling Price | Variable Cost | Contribution Margin | Break-Even (at $5K Fixed) | Break-Even (at $10K Fixed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $4 | $6 | 834 units | 1,667 units |
| $20 | $8 | $12 | 417 units | 834 units |
| $25 | $10 | $15 | 334 units | 667 units |
| $30 | $12 | $18 | 278 units | 556 units |
| $40 | $15 | $25 | 200 units | 400 units |
| $50 | $20 | $30 | 167 units | 334 units |
| $75 | $25 | $50 | 100 units | 200 units |
| $100 | $30 | $70 | 72 units | 143 units |
Higher prices and lower variable costs reduce the number of units needed to break even. Lowering fixed costs has the same effect.
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</p>The break-even point is the number of units you need to sell (or the total revenue you need to earn) for your total revenue to equal your total costs. At break-even, profit is exactly zero: you have covered all fixed and variable costs but have not yet made a profit. Every unit sold beyond the break-even point generates profit equal to the contribution margin per unit.
Break-even units equals fixed costs divided by contribution margin per unit. Contribution margin per unit is selling price minus variable cost per unit. For example, if fixed costs are $10,000, price is $50, and variable cost is $20, then contribution margin is $30 and break-even is 10,000 / 30 = 334 units.
Break-even revenue equals fixed costs divided by the contribution margin ratio. The contribution margin ratio is contribution margin per unit divided by the selling price. Using the same example: contribution margin ratio is 30 / 50 = 0.60, so break-even revenue is 10,000 / 0.60 = $16,667.
Contribution margin is the selling price minus the variable cost per unit. It represents how much each unit sold contributes toward covering fixed costs. Once enough units are sold to cover all fixed costs, the contribution margin on each additional unit becomes profit. A higher contribution margin means fewer units are needed to break even.
Margin of safety measures how far your current sales are above the break-even point. It is calculated as (Current Sales minus Break-Even Sales) divided by Current Sales, expressed as a percentage. A 25% margin of safety means sales could drop by 25% before you start losing money. A higher margin of safety gives you more cushion against downturns.
Fixed costs stay the same regardless of how many units you sell. Examples include rent, salaries, insurance, and loan payments. Variable costs change in direct proportion to sales volume. Examples include raw materials, per-unit labor, packaging, and shipping. The break-even formula separates these two because fixed costs are the 'hurdle' you need to clear, and contribution margin (price minus variable cost) is what clears it.
When you sell multiple products at different prices and costs, you calculate a weighted average contribution margin based on each product's share of total sales (the sales mix). The formula is the same: total fixed costs divided by the weighted average contribution margin. Each product's individual break-even allocation is then calculated by applying its sales mix percentage to the total break-even units.
There are three ways to lower your break-even point: reduce fixed costs, increase your selling price, or decrease your variable cost per unit. The sensitivity mode in this calculator lets you model all three changes using sliders, so you can see exactly how each lever affects the number of units you need to sell. A 10% price increase, for example, often has a larger impact than a 10% cost reduction.
Yes. For service businesses, think of each billable hour, project, or client engagement as a 'unit'. Your variable cost per unit is the direct cost to deliver that service (contractor pay, materials, software licenses per project). Your fixed costs are overhead (office rent, full-time salaries, tools, insurance). The break-even calculation tells you how many billable hours or projects you need each month to cover costs.
Yes. Every calculation runs entirely in your browser. No data is uploaded to any server, no cookies are set, and no account is required. You can safely enter real business numbers without any privacy concerns.
FreeToolPark. "Break-Even Calculator." FreeToolPark, 2026, www.freetoolpark.com/tools/break-even-calculator. Accessed April 14, 2026.