Your numbers
Rent, salaries, software — costs that do not move with volume.
Break-even units
445
Break-even revenue
$20,000
Contribution margin
$27
Margin %
60.0%
Revenue vs total costs
To make $5,000 profit
You need to sell 630 units, which is $28,333 in revenue.
What this break-even calculator does and who it is for
Enter three numbers — your total fixed costs for the period, your variable cost per unit and your selling price per unit — and the calculator immediately shows the break-even point in units and in revenue, plus the contribution margin in dollars and as a percentage of price. The chart plots total revenue against total costs so you can see exactly where the two lines cross.
Contribution margin is the part of each sale left over after the direct cost of producing it, and it is the number that actually pays your rent, salaries and software. Break-even units are simply fixed costs divided by that margin. The profit target slider extends the same arithmetic: move it and the tool tells you the units and revenue needed to clear a specific profit, not just to survive.
It suits owners pricing a new service, F&B operators sanity-checking a menu item, event and catering businesses sizing a minimum booking, and anyone preparing a simple forecast for a landlord, lender or partner. Everything is calculated in your browser, so no figures are sent anywhere.
If your selling price is at or below your variable cost, the tool says so plainly — in that case no volume of sales will ever reach break-even and the price or the cost has to change first.
Privacy first: this tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing leaves your device, nothing is uploaded, and there is no account to create.
Frequently asked questions
What is the break-even formula?
- Break-even units = total fixed costs divided by contribution margin per unit, where contribution margin per unit = selling price minus variable cost per unit. Break-even revenue is those units multiplied by the selling price.
What counts as a fixed cost?
- Anything that does not change with how much you sell in the period: rent, permanent salaries, insurance, software subscriptions, loan repayments and equipment leases. Costs that rise with each sale — materials, packaging, delivery, payment fees, hourly casual labour — are variable.
What is a healthy contribution margin?
- It varies widely by industry. Service businesses often run above 60 percent, retail and food much lower. What matters more than the benchmark is whether the margin, multiplied by realistic volume, comfortably clears your fixed costs.
Does it handle multiple products?
- It works one product or service at a time. For a mixed range, run it on your average selling price and average variable cost, or on your main line, and treat the result as an indicative figure.
Are my figures stored?
- No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent to a server or saved. Closing the tab clears it.
Rebuilding this in a spreadsheet every quarter?
A calculator answers the question once. We build the dashboard that keeps margin, break-even and monthly performance live from your real invoices — a one-time build, no retainers.