Break-Even Calculator

Enter your fixed costs for a period, the selling price per unit and the variable cost per unit. The calculator finds how many units you must sell to cover costs.

Break-even point

Break-even point500 units
Exact break-even volume
500
Break-even revenue
25,000.00
Contribution margin per unit
20.00
Contribution margin ratio
40%

Working

  1. Contribution per unit = price − variable cost = 50.00 − 30.00 = 20.00
  2. Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution = 10,000.00 ÷ 20.00 = 500 → 500 whole units

Formulas

contribution margin per unit = price − variable cost

break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin

break-even revenue = fixed costs ÷ (contribution margin ÷ price)

units for a target profit = (fixed costs + target profit) ÷ contribution margin

Worked example

Fixed costs 10,000; price 50; variable cost 30

  1. Contribution per unit: 50 − 30 = 20
  2. Break-even: 10,000 ÷ 20 = 500 units
  3. Revenue: 500 × 50 = 25,000

Sell 500 units (25,000 in revenue) to break even.

Fixed vs variable costs

  • Fixed costs stay the same regardless of how much you sell in the period — rent, salaries, insurance, software subscriptions.
  • Variable costs rise with each unit — materials, packaging, per-sale payment and shipping fees.
  • Keep all figures for the same period (for example one month), and round the break-even units up — you cannot sell part of a unit.