Break-Even Calculator
Last updated: November 4, 2026
Calculate break-even units, break-even revenue, and contribution margin for a product or service.
On this page
Quick summary: Estimate whole units needed to cover fixed costs, include a percentage sales fee, and check profit at a planned sales volume.
Read the complete guide
Updated reference sections in this guide are in English.
Use one consistent sales period
Enter the fixed costs for a period such as a month and the planned unit sales for that same period. Selling price and variable cost are per unit. An optional percentage fee is applied to gross sales revenue, which reduces the amount each sale contributes toward fixed costs. Enter 0 when no such fee is included.
Contribution pays for fixed costs
Fractional break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit
Whole units to cover costs = ceiling(fractional units)
Profit at planned volume = units × contribution per unit − fixed costs
The break-even division requires a positive contribution when fixed costs are positive. If every additional sale contributes zero or less, selling more cannot cover those fixed costs in this constant-price model. Rounding up gives a whole-unit threshold; a fraction of a unit cannot be sold when units are indivisible.
Check the threshold and a sales plan
3,000 fixed costs, a 50 price and a 20 variable cost
With no sales fee, each unit contributes 30. Covering 3,000 requires 100 units, with 5,000 of revenue at that threshold. At 150 units, revenue is 7,500, total modeled costs are 6,000, and profit is 1,500.
Add a 10% fee on revenue
The fee takes 5 from each 50 sale, so contribution falls to 25. The threshold becomes 120 units. At 150 planned units, profit is 750 under the same fixed and variable cost assumptions.
Check this scenario in the calculator:
- Fixed costs for the chosen period
- 3000
- Selling price per unit
- 50
- Variable cost per unit
- 20
- Fee charged on sales revenue (%)
- 0
- Planned whole units sold in that period
- 150
- Currency (display only)
- USD — US dollar
Keep fixed, variable and percentage costs distinct
Do not count the same fee both inside variable cost and again as a percentage of revenue. This model covers one consistent unit or a genuinely comparable unit mix. Volume discounts, capacity steps, unsold inventory, taxes, different product margins and changing prices are not modeled. With zero fixed costs, zero sales covers those fixed costs, but a nonpositive contribution still does not produce a positive contribution at greater volume.
Reference and questions
U.S. Small Business Administration: break-even calculator gives the basic fixed-cost and contribution relationship. This version also exposes a sales-fee assumption and a planned-volume profit calculation.
Why round a fractional unit upward?
The threshold represents enough whole units to cover costs. If the theoretical threshold is 100.2 units, 101 whole units are required.
Why is there no positive-sales break-even point?
With positive fixed costs and contribution of zero or less per unit, increasing sales does not recover the fixed cost in this model.
Does the tool forecast how many units I will sell?
No. Planned unit sales and all cost assumptions are entered by you.