Break-Even Calculator
Calculate how many units you must sell to cover all your costs and start making a profit.
25,000
Total costs = revenueFixed costs
40%
Variable costs
60%
- 1
Contribution margin per unit
50 − 30 = 20The slice of each sale available to cover fixed costs after variable costs. - 2
Break-even units
10,000 ÷ 20 = 500
Formula
How this is calculated
The calculator takes three figures, all in the same currency: total fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance and other expenses that stay the same no matter how much you sell), the selling price per unit, and the variable cost per unit (materials, packaging, shipping and other costs that rise with each unit produced).
First it works out the contribution margin per unit by subtracting the variable cost from the price. This is the slice of each sale left over to cover fixed costs once that unit's own variable cost is paid. Dividing total fixed costs by this margin gives the number of units you must sell to fully absorb the fixed costs — the break-even point. Multiplying that quantity by the price gives the break-even revenue, the sales income at which profit is exactly zero.
The model assumes price and per-unit variable cost are constant at every volume and ignores taxes, financing, inventory timing and step changes in fixed costs. If the price does not exceed the variable cost the contribution margin is zero or negative, so no volume can ever break even and the calculator flags this.
Examples
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| Fixed $10,000, price $50, variable $30 | Break-even = 500 units, revenue = $25,000 |
About this calculator
The break-even point is the sales volume at which total revenue exactly covers total costs, leaving zero profit and zero loss. Each unit sold contributes its price minus its variable cost toward covering the fixed costs; this difference is the contribution margin per unit. Dividing fixed costs by the contribution margin gives the number of units needed to break even.
Break-even analysis helps you set prices, plan production and assess whether a product is viable. If the price per unit does not exceed the variable cost per unit, the contribution margin is zero or negative and no volume can ever cover fixed costs, so the calculator warns you when that happens.
Frequently asked questions
It is the price per unit minus the variable cost per unit, i.e. the amount each sale contributes toward fixed costs and profit. Higher contribution margins mean fewer units are needed to break even.
If price is at or below variable cost, every sale fails to cover its own costs, so increasing volume only deepens losses and there is no break-even point.
Break-even revenue is the total sales income at the break-even point. It tells you the minimum turnover required before the business becomes profitable.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Break-Even Calculator [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/break-even-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Break-Even Calculator." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/break-even-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Break-Even Calculator," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/break-even-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_break_even_calculator, title = {Break-Even Calculator}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/break-even-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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