Break-Even Calculator
Find the number of customers or units per month you need before the business pays for itself.
Break-even point per month
Break-even units
667 customers
Break-even revenue
$66,667/mo
Each unit contributes $60 after variable costs. You need 667 customers (or 667 units) per month to cover $40,000 of fixed costs. Anything above that is profit. For subscriptions, treat each active customer as one unit.
Educational estimate, not legal or financial advice.
How it works
Find your break-even in 3 steps
Enter your fixed monthly costs.
Enter your price per unit or customer and your variable cost per unit.
See how many units and how much revenue you need each month to break even.
Worked example
$40K fixed costs, $60 per customer
Inputs
- Fixed costs
- $40,000/mo
- Price
- $100
- Variable cost
- $40
Result
- Break-even
- 667 customers
- Revenue
- $66,667/mo
Each customer adds $60, so you need 667 of them to cover costs.
How we got there
Your fixed costs are $40,000 a month, you charge $100 per customer and each customer costs you $40 to serve. Each customer contributes $60, so you need 667 customers, or $66,667 in monthly revenue, to break even.
Reading your result
How far are you from break-even?
Good sign
Break-even within reach at your current growth rate.
Red flag
Variable costs rising as fast as your price.
Break-even is the point where you no longer need investors to survive. Being close to it gives you real leverage in any fundraise.
If break-even feels far away, look at pricing first. A small price increase often moves it more than cutting costs.
FAQ
Break-even questions founders ask
The level of sales at which revenue covers all your costs, so you make neither a profit nor a loss.
Fixed costs divided by (price per unit minus variable cost per unit).
Fixed costs, such as rent and salaries, stay the same each month. Variable costs, such as hosting or payment fees, grow with each customer.
Not always, but being near break-even means you raise because you choose to, not because you have to.
Raise prices, lower variable costs, trim fixed costs and focus on higher-value customers.