Break-Even Calculator

See how many units you need to sell, and how much revenue you need, before you start making a profit.

CurrencyChoose the currency for your figures.Fixed costsCosts that stay the same, such as rent.Cost per unitWhat it costs you to make or sell one item.Selling price per unitWhat you charge for one item.Target profit (optional)Extra profit you want to make above breaking even.

Sell 286 units, worth £17,160.00 in total sales, to cover all your costs.

Left after cost per unit

Contribution / unit

£35.00

After the £25.00 cost of each unit. This amount pays fixed costs first, then becomes profit.

Units you must sell to break even

Break-even units

286

At this point your total sales have covered all costs.

Sales value needed to break even

Break-even revenue

£17,160.00

The total value of sales needed to cover all costs.

Percentage left after unit cost

Contribution margin

58.3%

58.3% of each sale remains after the direct unit cost.

Useful tips

•Contribution per unit is selling price minus variable cost per unit. It is the amount each sale contributes toward fixed costs and then profit.

•The calculator rounds required units up to a whole unit, because selling part of a unit is usually not practical.

•Use the same currency for every monetary input. The currency selector changes display symbols only and does not convert exchange rates.

Frequently asked questions

What is the break-even formula?

Break-even units equal fixed costs divided by contribution per unit. Contribution per unit equals selling price minus variable cost per unit.

Why must selling price be higher than variable cost?

If each unit costs as much as or more than its selling price, each sale contributes nothing toward fixed costs, so a conventional break-even point cannot be reached.

What is contribution margin?

Contribution margin is contribution per unit divided by selling price, shown as a percentage. It indicates the share of each sale available to cover fixed costs and profit.

Does this include tax, financing or changing costs?

No. This is a planning model using the fixed costs, variable cost and selling price you enter. Real businesses can have taxes, tiered pricing, changing costs, returns and other factors that need separate modelling.

Does Wid9et store my figures?

No. The calculation runs directly in your browser.