Startups & Small Business
Break-even Calculator — Break-even Point Analysis (2026)
Find exactly how many units you need to sell — and how much revenue you need — before your business starts turning a profit. Built for startups, ecommerce sellers, freelancers, and small business owners.
Break-even Point Calculator
Enter your fixed costs, variable cost per unit, and selling price per unit.
Rent, salaries, software, and other costs that don't change with sales volume
Cost that scales with each unit sold — materials, packaging, shipping
The price you charge customers per unit
Results
Break-even Units
1,000 units
Break-even Revenue
₹500,000
Contribution Margin per Unit
₹200
Contribution Margin %
40.00%
You need to sell 1,000 units (₹500,000 in revenue) to cover ₹200,000 in fixed costs at a ₹200 contribution margin per unit.
Now that you have your break-even point, here's what to do next:
What is Break-even?
The break-even point is the exact level of sales — in units or in revenue — at which a business's total income equals its total costs. At that point there's no profit and no loss; every rupee coming in has just covered what went out.
Below break-even, each sale still leaves the business short of covering fixed and variable costs combined. Above it, every additional unit sold contributes directly to profit, since fixed costs are already covered. That's why break-even is one of the first numbers any founder, freelancer, or small business owner should know before setting prices or committing to a launch.
Use the Break-even Calculator above to find your break-even units and revenue instantly. If you also want to check your pricing separately, see our Profit Margin Calculator.
Break-even Formula
Two formulas — one for units, one for revenue.
Break-even Units
Break-even Units = Fixed Costs / (Price − Variable Cost)
Contribution Margin = Selling Price − Variable Cost per Unit
The number of units you must sell to fully cover fixed costs.
Break-even Revenue
Break-even Revenue = Break-even Units × Selling Price
Alternatively: Fixed Costs / Contribution Margin %
The total sales figure at which the business covers all its costs.
Example: fixed costs of ₹200,000, a selling price of ₹500 per unit, and a variable cost of ₹300 per unit. Contribution Margin = ₹500 − ₹300 = ₹200. Break-even Units = 200,000 / 200 = 1,000 units. Break-even Revenue = 1,000 × ₹500 = ₹500,000.
Why Break-even Matters
Break-even isn't just an accounting exercise — it drives everyday business decisions.
Pricing Decisions
Knowing your break-even point shows immediately whether a proposed price is realistic given your expected sales volume — before you commit to it publicly.
Realistic Sales Targets
Break-even converts abstract goals like "be profitable" into a concrete number of units or revenue your sales and marketing teams can plan around.
Fundraising & Runway
Investors and lenders often ask when a business expects to break even. Having the number ready — and knowing what drives it — builds credibility in those conversations.
Cost Sensitivity
Recalculating break-even after a cost or price change instantly shows how sensitive profitability is to that change, before it plays out in real sales data.
Business Examples
How break-even plays out for different types of established businesses.
Ecommerce Store
A store has ₹150,000 in monthly fixed costs (platform fees, ads retainer, staff), sells a product at ₹800, and pays ₹500 per unit in production and shipping.
Contribution Margin = 800 − 500 = ₹300
Break-even = 150,000 / 300 = 500 units/month
Small Cafe
A cafe has ₹300,000 in monthly fixed costs (rent, staff, utilities). Average order value is ₹250 with ₹90 in ingredient cost per order.
Contribution Margin = 250 − 90 = ₹160
Break-even = 300,000 / 160 ≈ 1,875 orders/month
Freelance Consultant
A freelancer has ₹60,000 in monthly fixed costs (software, coworking desk, insurance), charges ₹5,000 per project, with ₹500 in per-project subcontracting cost.
Contribution Margin = 5,000 − 500 = ₹4,500
Break-even = 60,000 / 4,500 ≈ 14 projects/month
Small Manufacturer
A workshop has ₹500,000 in monthly fixed costs, sells units at ₹1,200, with ₹700 in raw material and labor cost per unit.
Contribution Margin = 1,200 − 700 = ₹500
Break-even = 500,000 / 500 = 1,000 units/month
Startup Examples
Break-even scenarios for early-stage and pre-revenue businesses planning a launch.
SaaS Startup (Pre-Launch)
A SaaS founder projects ₹400,000 in monthly fixed costs (salaries, hosting, tools), plans to charge ₹2,000/month per customer, with ₹200 in per-customer support and infrastructure cost.
Contribution Margin = 2,000 − 200 = ₹1,800
Break-even = 400,000 / 1,800 ≈ 223 customers
D2C Product Launch
A founder launching a new D2C brand has ₹250,000 in fixed costs (branding, initial ads, tooling), sells at ₹999, and pays ₹550 per unit in production and fulfillment.
Contribution Margin = 999 − 550 = ₹449
Break-even = 250,000 / 449 ≈ 557 units
Startups often discover their break-even point requires more customers or units than initially expected. Running the numbers before launch — not after — is what lets founders adjust pricing, cut fixed costs, or reset expectations with investors early.
Improving Profitability
Practical levers for lowering break-even and reaching profit sooner.
Cut Fixed Costs First
Renegotiating rent, switching to leaner software plans, or trimming overhead lowers break-even instantly, without touching a single sale.
Lower Variable Costs per Unit
Better supplier terms, bulk purchasing, or more efficient production processes widen the contribution margin on every unit sold.
Raise Prices Strategically
A modest price increase can lower break-even units meaningfully, as long as demand doesn't fall by more than the price gain — test carefully before rolling out widely.
Focus on High-Margin Products
When selling multiple products, shifting sales mix toward higher contribution-margin items lowers the overall break-even point for the business as a whole.
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Markup Calculator
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Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about calculating and using break-even.
Know your break-even point in seconds
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