FREE CALCULATOR
How many sales do you need each month to cover your costs — and to actually make the profit you're after?
Your fixed costs (rent, insurance, software, loan payments) stay the same whether you sell one thing or a hundred. Your variable cost (materials, shipping, card fees) rises with each sale. What is left from each sale after variable cost is the contribution, and it is what pays down your fixed costs. Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit, rounded up to a whole sale. Below that number you lose money; above it, each extra sale is profit.
Breaking even means working for free. The “units for target profit” result adds the monthly profit you want to your fixed costs, so you can see whether the goal is realistic at your current price. If the number of sales looks out of reach, the fastest levers are usually a slightly higher price or a lower variable cost — a small change in contribution moves the break-even point a lot.
Log income and expenses as you go and see your real monthly profit against your break-even point, with a live dashboard and charts. Excel and Google Sheets.
The number of sales at which your total revenue equals your total costs, so profit is zero. Every sale beyond it adds profit.
Fixed costs stay the same regardless of sales volume, like rent, insurance and software subscriptions. Variable costs change with each sale, like materials, packaging, shipping and payment-processing fees.
Raise your price, reduce the variable cost per sale, or cut fixed costs. Because contribution per unit sits in the denominator, even a small price increase can lower your break-even point noticeably.
Free to use, no sign-up. Built by Gragg Robotics, LLC in Waterville, Maine. More free tools: all calculators.