Choose one measurement period
Use inputs from the same weekly, monthly, quarterly, or customer-cohort period so the comparison remains meaningful.
Free small-business finance calculator
Find the sales volume required to cover your monthly costs.
Use fixed cost, selling price, variable cost, and expected sales to estimate break-even units and revenue, contribution margin, expected profit, and safety margin.
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Break-even sales calculator
Fixed costs · Contribution · Break-even sales · Safety margin
Runs entirely in your browser
Interactive planning tool
Use your numbers. Inspect the assumptions.
Your entries stay in this browser. Results update immediately and are planning estimates—not forecasts or guarantees.
23 sales
Estimated whole sales required to cover fixed and variable costs.
$18,400break-even revenue
$540contribution per sale
67.5%contribution margin
5.1/wkaverage weekly sales
Expected result: $3,120 · Safety margin: 20.6%
5.8 sales above break-even. Separate mixed costs carefully for a useful estimate.
Five-minute workflow
How to use the Break-even sales calculator.
Consistent periods and clearly labeled assumptions make the output easier to compare, explain, and improve.
Enter evidence and run a scenario
Start with actual business data where available, then use clearly labeled assumptions for values you do not yet know.
Compare, validate, and update
Run conservative, expected, and optimistic cases. Replace estimates with measured sales, margin, customer, and campaign data over time.
Use the result well
A number becomes useful when the decision behind it is clear.
Separate mixed costs
Split expenses with both fixed and variable portions when practical; otherwise the break-even estimate can move materially.
Use realized price
Discounts, refunds, payment fees, and sales mix can make list price an unreliable input. Use the average price actually collected.
Plan above break-even
Break-even is not a profit target. Add a safety margin for demand volatility, capacity changes, rework, late payment, and unexpected costs.
Method and limitations
Transparent arithmetic, cautious interpretation.
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (selling price per unit − variable cost per unit). Break-even sales revenue = break-even units × selling price. The calculation assumes one representative product or service and one consistent period.
Review the U.S. Small Business Administration break-even guidanceQuestions, answered
Definitions and decisions behind the estimate.
It is the sales level where total revenue equals total fixed and variable cost, producing neither profit nor loss in the model.
It is selling price minus the variable cost directly associated with one additional sale. That contribution first covers fixed costs; sales beyond break-even contribute to operating profit before other unmodeled items.
Fixed costs generally remain for the modeled capacity and period. Variable costs change with each sale. Mixed costs should be separated into fixed and variable portions where practical.
This version is designed for one representative offer. A multi-offer business needs a weighted average contribution margin based on a realistic sales mix.
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