Break Even Calculator — Find Your Break Even Point Instantly

Profit Calculators

⚖️ Break Even Calculator — Units, Revenue & Profit Chart

Enter your fixed costs, variable cost per unit, and selling price to instantly find your break even point — in units, in revenue, and by time period. Includes sensitivity analysis and profit/loss chart.

⚖️ Break Even Calculator

Two modes — calculate from unit economics, or from revenue and margin %

Fixed Costs (monthly)

Rent / Premises

Staff / Payroll

Other Fixed Costs

Unit Economics

Selling Price per Unit

What you charge the customer

Variable Cost per Unit

COGS + direct per-unit costs

Current Monthly Units (optional)

For margin of safety calculation

Fixed Costs (monthly)

Total Fixed Costs

All costs that don't vary with sales

Gross Margin %

% of revenue kept after COGS

Average Order / Ticket Value (optional)

Used to show break even in orders

Current Monthly Revenue (optional)

For margin of safety calculation

Break Even Point

—

units per month

—

Break Even Revenue

—

monthly revenue needed

Contribution Margin

—

per unit sold

Daily Sales Needed

—

to break even (30-day month)

Annual Break Even

—

total yearly fixed costs

📈 Profit / Loss by Volume

Profit

Loss

Break Even

📊 Sensitivity Analysis — Price vs Break Even Units

How price changes affect your break even

Selling Price	Contribution Margin	Break Even Units	Break Even Revenue	vs Current

💡—

The Formula

How Break Even is Calculated

Break even analysis finds the exact point where total revenue equals total costs — zero profit, zero loss. Below it you are losing money. Every unit above it generates pure profit.

Break Even Formulas

Contribution Margin = Selling Price − Variable Cost Per Unit
Break Even Units = Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution Margin
Break Even Revenue = Fixed Costs ÷ Gross Margin %
Margin of Safety = (Current Sales − Break Even Sales) ÷ Current Sales × 100

$8,000 fixed costs, $50 price, $20 variable cost → CM = $30 → BEP = 8,000 ÷ 30 = 267 units/month
Same business: BEP Revenue = $50 × 267 = $13,333/month

Key Concepts

Contribution Margin: The Heart of Break Even Analysis

Contribution margin (CM) is the amount each unit sold contributes toward covering fixed costs and — once fixed costs are covered — generating profit. It is selling price minus variable cost, and it is the most important single number in break even analysis.

A higher contribution margin means you need fewer units to cover fixed costs. A lower CM means you need more volume to break even. When evaluating whether to lower prices (to increase volume) or raise them (to increase margin), the CM is the number that shows you the trade-off.

Fixed Costs	Contribution Margin	Break Even Units	What it means
$5,000	$10	500 units	Low CM — high volume required
$5,000	$25	200 units	Average CM — manageable volume
$5,000	$50	100 units	Strong CM — low volume needed
$5,000	$100	50 units	Premium CM — minimal volume to profit

Margin of Safety

How Far Above Break Even Are You?

The margin of safety measures how much your current sales can fall before you hit break even — your buffer against downturns. It is expressed as a percentage of current sales.

Margin of Safety

Margin of Safety % = (Current Sales − Break Even Sales) ÷ Current Sales × 100

Current revenue $20,000, break even $13,333 → MoS = ($20,000 − $13,333) ÷ $20,000 = 33.3%
You can absorb a 33% revenue drop before losing money

A margin of safety above 25% is generally considered healthy. Below 10% means any small downturn — a quiet month, a lost client, a supply disruption — could push you into loss.

Strategy

3 Ways to Lower Your Break Even Point

Reduce fixed costs. Every dollar removed from fixed costs reduces your break even by 1 ÷ CM units. If your CM is $30 and you cut $3,000 in fixed costs, you lower break even by 100 units per month.
Increase selling price. A higher price increases contribution margin directly. Raising price from $50 to $55 on a $20 variable cost lifts CM from $30 to $35 — a 17% improvement that reduces break even by 14%.
Reduce variable cost per unit. Better supplier terms, volume discounts, or production efficiencies all improve CM and reduce break even. Even a $2 reduction per unit on $30 CM is a 7% improvement.

FAQ

Break Even — Common Questions

What is the break even point?+

The break even point is the exact sales volume at which total revenue equals total costs — you make neither profit nor loss. Every unit sold above break even generates pure contribution margin as profit. Every unit below means you are covering costs with reserves or capital.

What are fixed costs vs variable costs?+

Fixed costs stay the same regardless of sales volume — rent, salaried staff, insurance, software subscriptions, loan repayments. Variable costs change with each unit sold — raw materials, direct labor per unit, payment processing fees, outbound shipping, packaging. The separation of these two cost types is the foundation of break even analysis.

What is a good break even point?+

There is no universal "good" break even — it depends entirely on your industry, margin structure, and growth trajectory. What matters is that your break even is achievable given your realistic sales capacity and that you can reach it within a timeframe your capital can sustain. A break even point that requires 90% of maximum theoretical capacity is risky; one that requires 30–50% of capacity gives healthy buffer.

How does break even analysis help with pricing decisions?+

Break even analysis shows you the exact trade-off between price and volume. If you lower price by 10%, your contribution margin drops — so you need more units to break even. The break even analysis tells you exactly how many more. If the market can realistically deliver that additional volume, the price reduction might make sense. If not, you are reducing margin without sufficient volume compensation.

What is the difference between break even units and break even revenue?+

Break even units = the number of individual items you need to sell. Break even revenue = the dollar value of sales needed. They are related: Break Even Revenue = Break Even Units × Selling Price. For businesses that sell multiple products at different prices, break even revenue (using average gross margin %) is more practical than tracking units of every SKU.

Can a business have a negative break even point?+

No — break even can never be negative because fixed costs are always positive. However, if your selling price is lower than your variable cost (negative contribution margin), there is no break even point — you lose money on every unit sold and no volume of sales can make the business profitable. This is a fundamental pricing error that requires immediate correction.

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