Break-Even Calculator
Find how many units you need to sell to cover all costs. Calculate your break-even point in units and revenue.
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Break-Even Units
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Break-Even Revenue —
Contribution Margin / Unit —
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your Fixed Costs — costs that don't change with production volume.
- Enter the Variable Cost per Unit — what it costs to produce each item.
- Enter the Selling Price per Unit — the price you charge customers.
- The calculator shows how many units you must sell to break even.
Formula
Contribution Margin = Selling Price − Variable Cost per Unit
Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs / Contribution Margin
Break-Even Revenue = Break-Even Units × Selling Price
Example
Fixed costs are $5,000/month, variable cost is $10/unit, selling price is $25/unit.
- Contribution Margin = $25 − $10 = $15
- Break-Even Units = $5,000 / $15 = 334 units
- Break-Even Revenue = 334 × $25 = $8,350
Frequently Asked Questions
- The break-even point is the number of units you must sell so that total revenue equals total costs — meaning you neither make a profit nor a loss.
- Contribution margin is the selling price per unit minus the variable cost per unit. It represents how much each sale contributes to covering fixed costs.
- Break-even analysis helps business owners understand the minimum sales needed to stay viable, set pricing strategies, and evaluate the risk of new ventures.
- If your price is lower than or equal to the variable cost per unit, there is no positive contribution margin and you can never break even regardless of how many units you sell.