Ecommerce & Revenue
Break-Even Units Calculator
Break-even is the least glamorous number in a business plan and the one that decides whether the plan survives. Enter fixed costs, price and variable cost to see how many units it takes before you are actually earning anything.
Result
FormulaBreak-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost per unit)
Worked example
With $25,000 of fixed costs, a $60 price and $22 of variable cost, each unit contributes $38, a 63.3 percent contribution margin. Break-even lands at roughly 658 units, or about $39,474 of revenue. Every unit after that adds $38 straight to profit, which is why the shape of a business changes so sharply just past break-even.
What to watch for
Marketing spend is the awkward cost here. Treat a fixed retainer or salary as a fixed cost, and treat performance media as variable by folding cost per acquisition into the variable cost per unit. Mixing them up understates break-even badly.
Break-even in units is more useful than break-even in revenue for operating decisions, because units are what inventory, fulfilment and support actually scale against.
Run this at three price points before launch. Contribution margin moves faster than most founders expect, and a 10 percent price increase often cuts break-even volume by a fifth without any change to the cost base.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a fixed cost?
Anything you pay regardless of how many units you sell: rent, salaries, software subscriptions, insurance and agency retainers. If the invoice arrives whether you sell one unit or a thousand, it is fixed.
How do I include advertising in break-even?
If media is scaled with sales, add your cost per acquisition to the variable cost per unit so contribution margin reflects reality. If you spend a set amount per month regardless of volume, treat it as fixed.
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This calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server, logged, or stored. Figures are for planning and do not constitute financial advice. See disclosures.