Break-Even Point Calculator for Units, Revenue and Target Profit
How to Calculate Units, Revenue and Target Profit with the Break-Even Point Calculator
Calculate break-even units and revenue from fixed costs, variable cost, and selling price. Add target profit and margin of safety for sales planning.
Formula
Break-even units = fixed costs / (price - variable cost per unit)
How to use the result
Use the safety margin to see how far forecast sales can fall before the business loses money.
No finite break-even point exists when contribution margin is zero or negative. Inputs and calculations stay in this browser.
Calculate the sales volume needed to cover all your costs. Understand when your business starts making profit and set realistic sales targets.
Calculate Break-Even Units
Calculate Break-Even Revenue
Sales for Target Profit
Margin of Safety
Industry Contribution Margin Benchmarks
Retail
15-25%
Manufacturing
20-30%
E-commerce
10-20%
SaaS/Software
70-85%
Restaurants
55-65%
Services
40-60%
How Break-Even Analysis Works
Break-Even Point Formula
Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs ÷ (Selling Price - Variable Cost per Unit)
Contribution Margin
The amount from each sale that contributes to covering fixed costs. Calculated as: Selling Price - Variable Cost.
Margin of Safety
Measures how much sales can drop before reaching break-even. A higher margin of safety indicates lower risk.
Use Cases
- Setting sales targets and quotas
- Pricing decisions and product launches
- Evaluating business viability
- Planning marketing budgets
- Assessing financial risk
What is a break-even point?
The break-even point is the sales level where total revenue equals total costs. At break-even you are not making a profit yet, but you are no longer losing money. Break-even analysis is a practical way to plan pricing, set sales targets, and understand how fixed and variable costs affect risk.
How to Calculate Break-Even Units and Sales Revenue
Units
- Enter Fixed Costs, Selling Price per Unit, and Variable Cost per Unit.
- Use the break-even units result to set minimum sales targets for a product.
Revenue
- Provide fixed costs and your contribution margin (price minus variable cost).
- Use the revenue break-even to understand the minimum top-line required.
Target Profit
- Enter a desired profit amount along with your cost structure.
- Use the output to translate a profit target into required unit sales.
Safety Margin
- Enter your Current Sales and your calculated Break-Even Sales.
- Use the margin of safety to gauge how much demand could drop before you hit break-even.
How to interpret results
- Lower break-even units generally means lower risk, but consider demand, pricing pressure, and capacity limits.
- If break-even looks unreachable, focus on improving contribution margin (raise price or reduce variable costs) or reducing fixed costs.
- Use this analysis alongside cash flow; break-even does not guarantee you have sufficient working capital.