Estimate how many units and how much sales revenue are needed before a product, service, or project covers its fixed and variable costs.
$5,000 fixed costs / $22.00 contribution
This is zero-profit planning math, not proof that the idea works. Real break-even can move when refunds, discounts, fees, taxes, inventory waste, capacity, owner pay, or mixed product sales change.
Recent break-even estimates will appear here.
Break-even estimates stay in this browser tab. They do not verify demand, taxes, owner pay, refunds, discounts, payment fees, inventory shrinkage, mixed-product sales, capacity, financing, or accounting treatment.
Inputs and recent answers stay in this browser tab and are not sent to a server.
Estimate how many items must sell before a product launch covers fixed costs.
Compare prices or variable costs before choosing a sales target.
Plan a simple event, class, booth, or small product batch.
Explain contribution margin in plain language before making a budget.
227.27 units, about $9,090.91 sales, and $22 contribution per unit
27.47 sales, about $2,719.78 revenue, and $91 contribution per sale
154.84 items, about $1,858.06 sales, and $7.75 contribution per item
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Plain-language answers about when to use the estimate, what your numbers mean, what is left out, and how privacy works.
Use it when you want to test the exact inputs on this page: Estimate how many items must sell before a product launch covers fixed costs. Compare prices or variable costs before choosing a sales target. The result is a check against your assumptions, not proof that a lender, tax app, broker, platform, or provider will use the same number.
Fixed costs means costs that do not change much with each unit sold, such as rent, setup, software, event fees, or equipment for the period you are planning. Price per unit means the selling price for one item, ticket, service package, or order. Variable cost per unit means the cost that happens for each unit sold, such as materials, packaging, payment fees, or direct labor.
Usually yes. If the answer is 227.27 units and you sell physical items, 227 units is still short. You would need 228 units to cover the fixed-cost estimate.
Only as a rough average. Mixed products need a weighted average contribution margin because a $12 item and a $99 service do not cover fixed costs at the same speed.
No. Break-even means estimated revenue covers estimated costs at zero profit. It does not include owner pay, taxes, debt timing, inventory risk, or whether enough people will buy.
In plain language: Contribution margin per unit = price per unit - variable cost per unit. Break-even units = fixed costs / contribution margin per unit. Break-even sales = break-even units x price per unit. $5,000 fixed costs with a $40 price and $18 variable cost leaves $22 per sale. $5,000 / $22 = 227.27 units, and 227.27 x $40 = about $9,090.91 in sales.
Read break-even units first, then break-even sales, then contribution per unit. If contribution is small, fixed costs take longer to cover.
This is a one-product planning estimate. It does not prove demand, profit, cash flow, taxes, owner pay, refunds, discounts, payment fees, inventory shrinkage, mixed product bundles, capacity limits, financing, or accounting treatment. Use business records, accounting software, a bookkeeper, or a financial adviser before using break-even math for funding, tax, hiring, or pricing decisions.
Check that fixed costs and sales period match, variable cost is for one unit, and fees, discounts, refunds, waste, and capacity limits are not being ignored.
Contribution margin is the money left from one sale after the variable cost for that sale is removed. If an item sells for $40 and costs $18 to make, the contribution margin is $22. That $22 helps cover fixed costs first, then becomes profit after break-even.
If price is not higher than variable cost, each sale loses money before fixed costs are even considered. In that situation, selling more units does not create a normal break-even point.
No. The calculator runs in your browser tab. Recent answers stay only on the page while you use it, and they are not sent to a server.