Planning
Break-Even Calculator for Small Business
Break-even math tells you the sales volume needed before a product, service, or campaign starts contributing profit.
Calculate with Break-even
Start with the calculation you need
Break-even calculator
Find how many units or jobs you need to cover fixed costs.
Try a scenario
Load common starting numbers, then edit any field to match your own business.
Break-even units
334
Break-even revenue
$40,080.00
Contribution per unit
$72.00
Formula used
- Contribution per unit
$120.00 - $48.00 = $72.00- Break-even units
$24,000.00 / $72.00 = 334Break-even units round up when contribution is positive.
Assumptions used
- Contribution
- Contribution is price per unit minus variable cost per unit, before fixed costs are recovered.
- Unit rounding
- Break-even units round up to the next whole unit because partial units usually cannot be sold.
If contribution is zero or negative, every sale loses money before fixed costs.
Questions people usually check before using this result
What counts as a fixed cost?
Rent, software subscriptions, salaries, insurance, and other costs that do not change directly with each unit sold are typical fixed costs.
What if contribution margin is negative?
Then each sale loses money before overhead. Raise price, reduce variable cost, or change the offer before scaling.
Contribution margin is the lever
Subtract variable cost from selling price to find contribution per unit. Divide fixed costs by that contribution to estimate how many units you need to sell.
Use it before launching
Break-even estimates help decide whether a promotion, new product, or extra hire needs too much volume to make sense.
Use the number responsibly
What to verify before you act on the result.
BizCalcKit is designed for planning and comparison. Treat the result as a working estimate, then confirm the details that depend on your location, client, platform, or tax situation.
Good use cases
- Estimating the sales volume needed before a product, service, campaign, or hire pays for itself.
- Checking whether price and variable cost leave a positive contribution per sale.
- Comparing launch scenarios before you spend on fixed costs.
Check before sending
- Fixed costs that truly stay fixed across the sales range you are modeling.
- Variable costs per unit, including materials, labor, packaging, platform fees, and fulfillment.
- Capacity limits, refund rates, seasonality, and whether demand can support the break-even volume.
Quick workflow
- 1.Enter the fixed costs the offer must cover before it starts producing profit.
- 2.Enter the selling price and variable cost per unit, job, or order.
- 3.Check the contribution per sale before trusting the break-even unit count.
- 4.Compare the result with realistic demand, capacity, and cash timing before launching.
Questions to check before you decide
What counts as a fixed cost?
Rent, software subscriptions, salaries, insurance, and other costs that do not change directly with each unit sold are typical fixed costs.
What if contribution margin is negative?
Then each sale loses money before overhead. Raise price, reduce variable cost, or change the offer before scaling.