Break-Even Calculator
Find how many units or subscriptions you must sell each month to cover fixed costs, from fixed costs, price and variable cost per unit. Free, instant.
The break-even point is where revenue covers all costs, so profit is zero. Divide fixed costs by contribution margin per unit (price minus variable cost): with $12,000 of fixed costs, a $49 price and $9 variable cost per unit, you break even at 300 units a month, or $14,700 in revenue.
Runs entirely in your browser · no signup · nothing is uploaded · updated 2026-10-29
Building a startup? Launch it on RankCert free and get in front of founders this week.
How to use it
- 1.Enter your fixed costs per month - rent, salaries, software that does not scale with sales.
- 2.Enter the price you charge per unit or per subscription.
- 3.Enter the variable cost of each unit to see break-even units and revenue.
Break-even formulas
For a SaaS product, a unit is usually one paying customer per month.
| Metric | Formula | Worked example |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution margin | Price - variable cost | $49 - $9 = $40 |
| Break-even units | Fixed costs / contribution margin | $12,000 / $40 = 300 |
| Break-even revenue | Break-even units x price | 300 x $49 = $14,700 |
| Contribution margin ratio | Contribution margin / price | $40 / $49 = 81.6% |
Embed this break-even calculator on your site
Free to use on any blog, class page or wiki. Paste the snippet and keep the credit line under it.
<iframe src="https://rankcert.com/embed/break-even-calculator" title="Break-Even Calculator" width="100%" height="600" style="border:0;border-radius:12px" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p style="font-size:13px">Free <a href="https://rankcert.com/tools/break-even-calculator">break-even calculator</a> by RankCert</p>
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a fixed cost?
Anything you pay regardless of how much you sell that month: salaries, rent, base software plans, insurance. Costs that rise with each sale - payment fees, hosting per customer, shipping - are variable.
What is contribution margin?
The price of one unit minus the variable cost to deliver it. It is the amount each sale contributes toward covering fixed costs, and after break-even, toward profit.
What if my variable cost is higher than my price?
Then you never break even - every extra sale loses money. Raise the price or cut the per-unit cost before trying to grow volume.
How do I calculate break-even for a SaaS business?
Treat one paying customer per month as a unit. Price is your average monthly revenue per customer, and variable cost is what serving that customer costs you - hosting, payment fees, support time.
What is a break-even analysis used for?
Pricing decisions and planning. It tells you the minimum sales a plan needs to stop losing money, and shows how much a price change or cost cut moves that target.
Does break-even include paying back startup costs?
Not in this monthly form. To find when you recover an upfront investment, divide the investment by monthly profit after break-even.
Tools that pair with this one
Burn Rate Calculator
Work out your startup's gross burn, net burn and cash runway in months from cash in the bank, monthly expenses and monthly revenue. Free, no signup.
Growth & trackingLTV Calculator
Calculate customer lifetime value from monthly revenue per customer, gross margin and churn, plus LTV:CAC ratio and CAC payback months. Free, no signup.
Growth & trackingChurn Rate Calculator
Calculate monthly customer churn, retention, compounded annual churn and average customer lifetime from customers at the start of the month and customers lost.
Growth & trackingProfit Margin Calculator
Calculate gross profit, gross margin, net profit, net margin and markup from revenue, cost of goods sold and operating expenses. Free, instant, no signup.
Growth & tracking