BUSINESS
Break-Even Calculator
Find out how many units you need to sell to cover your costs, and estimate the sales revenue required to break even.
Break-even units are rounded up because you normally cannot sell a fraction of a unit. Break-even sales is based on the exact break-even point.
How the calculation works
Contribution per unit = selling price − variable cost.
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit.
Break-even sales = break-even units × selling price.
Profit at target volume = (selling price − variable cost) × target units − fixed costs.
Why break-even matters
Break-even analysis helps a business understand the minimum sales needed to cover fixed and variable costs. It can also help when setting prices, planning sales targets and evaluating whether a product is commercially viable.
This calculator is a general business planning tool. It assumes a constant selling price and variable cost per unit and does not account for taxes, changing prices, tiered costs, multiple products or other complex factors.
Frequently asked questions
What is a break-even point?
The break-even point is the sales level where total revenue equals total costs, so the business has neither profit nor loss.
What if my selling price equals my variable cost?
There is no positive contribution to cover fixed costs, so a normal break-even point cannot be reached through unit sales at that price.
Why are break-even units rounded up?
If the calculation gives a fraction, rounding up gives the smallest whole number of units that reaches or exceeds the break-even point.