Break Even Calculator
Units and sales needed to cover your costs.
Rent, salaries, software, loan EMIs, insurance.
Materials, packaging, shipping, payment fees.
Optional
Optional
Your result
—
Enter your numbers to see the result.
This break even calculator shows how many units you must sell, and how much revenue you need, before your business stops losing money. Enter your monthly fixed costs, selling price and variable cost per unit. It also shows your contribution margin and the sales you need for a target profit.
What is a Break Even Calculator?
The break-even point is the level of sales at which total revenue equals total costs: you make neither a profit nor a loss. Below it you lose money; above it every extra sale adds to profit.
Knowing your break-even point helps you set prices, plan sales targets and judge whether a new product or shop can work. A break even calculator works it out from three numbers: fixed costs, selling price and variable cost per unit.
How does the Break Even Calculator work?
Each unit sold brings in the selling price but adds its variable cost. The difference, the contribution per unit, goes towards covering fixed costs. The calculator divides fixed costs by the contribution per unit and rounds up.
For a target profit, it adds the target to fixed costs before dividing. Margin of safety shows how far current sales could fall before you reach break-even.
How to use the Break Even Calculator step by step
- Enter your monthly fixed costs.
- Enter the selling price per unit (excluding GST if registered).
- Enter the variable cost per unit.
- Optionally enter a target profit.
- Optionally enter the units you sell now.
- Read the break-even units, revenue and margins.
Break Even Calculator example with real numbers
You run a small online store with ₹1,50,000 of fixed monthly costs. Each product sells for ₹500 and costs ₹300 in materials, packing and shipping. You currently sell 900 units a month.
| Example input | Value |
|---|---|
| Fixed costs per month | ₹1,50,000 |
| Selling price per unit | ₹500.00 |
| Variable cost per unit | ₹300.00 |
| Target monthly profit (optional) | ₹50,000 |
| Units you sell now (optional) | 900 |
| Example output | Value |
|---|---|
| Break-even units per month | 750 |
| Break-even revenue | ₹3,75,000 |
| Contribution per unit | ₹200.00 |
| Contribution margin | 40.0% |
| Units for target profit | 1,000 |
| Sales for target profit | ₹5,00,000 |
| Profit at current sales | ₹30,000 |
| Margin of safety | 16.7% |
Each sale contributes ₹200 towards fixed costs, so the break even calculator says you need 750 units a month, or ₹3,75,000 of sales. At 900 units you make ₹30,000, with a margin of safety of 16.7%. To earn ₹50,000 a month you need 1,000 units.
Key features of this Break Even Calculator
- Break-even units and revenue
- Contribution per unit and margin
- Units and sales for a target profit
- Profit and margin of safety at current sales
- Daily unit target
Who should use the Break Even Calculator?
Who is this Break Even Calculator for?
- Small business owners and shopkeepers
- Online sellers and D2C brands
- Startup founders
- Commerce and MBA students
Practical use cases
- Checking if a new product can cover its costs
- Setting monthly sales targets
- Testing a price increase
- Deciding whether to take on more rent or staff
Key benefits
- Clarity: one target number for the team.
- Pricing insight: see how price changes move break-even.
- Risk check: margin of safety shows cushion.
- Simple: three inputs.
Tips for better results
- Include every fixed cost, including your own salary if you need one.
- Raising price often lowers break-even more than cutting costs.
- Review break-even whenever rent, salaries or supplier prices change.
- For marketplaces, include commission and returns in variable cost.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving out costs like software, accounting fees or loan EMIs.
- Treating marketing as fixed when it rises with sales.
- Using a price that includes GST you pass on to the government.
- Assuming you will sell at full price with no discounts.
Limitations of this Break Even Calculator
- It assumes one product or an average product.
- It assumes costs and prices stay constant.
- Capacity limits and step costs are not modelled.
Break Even Calculator vs other ways to calculate
| Measure | Answers |
|---|---|
| Break-even units | How many units cover all costs |
| Contribution margin | How much of each sale covers fixed costs |
| Margin of safety | How far sales can fall before a loss |
| Profit margin | How much of revenue is profit |
To set prices, use the markup calculator. For per-order profit on marketplaces, see the profit margin calculator.
Privacy and data handling
This Break Even Calculator runs entirely in your browser. The numbers you type are not sent to Qorico or stored on any server, and nothing is saved after you close the page. The Copy and Download buttons create the result on your own device. If the page has analytics turned on, it may count that a calculation happened, but it does not record the values you entered.
Break Even Calculator FAQs
What is the break-even point?
The sales level where revenue equals total costs, so profit is zero.
How do I calculate break-even units?
Divide fixed costs by the contribution per unit (selling price minus variable cost per unit).
What are fixed vs variable costs?
Fixed costs stay the same regardless of sales, like rent. Variable costs rise with each unit sold, like materials and shipping.
What is contribution margin?
The share of each sale left after variable costs, available to cover fixed costs and profit.
How can I lower my break-even point?
Raise prices, reduce variable costs or cut fixed costs.
Should GST be included?
If you are GST-registered, use prices and costs without GST, since GST is passed on to the government.
Related tools
Sources and references
We checked the method and the current figures used in this Break Even Calculator against these official and primary sources:
Written and reviewed by the Qorico Team
