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Break-Even Calculator

Find the unit volume needed to cover fixed overhead costs, solve for required pricing, or solve allowed overhead budgets.

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How this calculator works

Find out exactly how many units you need to sell to cover all your costs. Enter your fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance), variable cost per unit (materials, packaging, commissions), and selling price to instantly calculate your break-even point in both units and revenue.

Method
Single-product cost-volume-profit analysis using contribution margin per unit
Source
U.S. Small Business Administration break-even guidance; OpenStax Principles of Managerial Accounting, sections 3.1–3.3
Last reviewed
2026-08-25
Method limitations
  • Models one product or service and assumes fixed costs, selling price, and variable cost per unit remain constant within the relevant range.
  • Excludes taxes, financing costs, stepped capacity costs, inventory changes, quantity discounts, and multi-product sales-mix effects.
  • A selling price less than or equal to variable cost has no finite break-even point.
  • This calculator estimates unit and revenue break-even or target-profit requirements; it does not calculate time-to-payback.
  • Outputs support planning and are not accounting, tax, investment, or financing advice.

Engine-backed example

Single-product break-even: worked example

How many units must a business sell with $50,000 in fixed costs, a $35 selling price, and $15 variable cost per unit?

Fixed costs
$50,000 for the selected period
Selling price
$35 per unit
Variable cost
$15 per unit
Break-Even Units (rounded up)2,500 Units
Break-Even Revenue
$87,500
Contribution Margin / Unit
$20.00
Contribution Margin Ratio
57.1%

Each unit contributes $20 toward fixed costs. Dividing $50,000 by $20 gives a break-even volume of 2,500 units and $87,500 in revenue.

Trust and review

Who created and reviewed this calculator?

Author
CalcOS Editorial TeamResponsible for calculator explanations, examples, assumptions, and business-planning clarity.
Reviewed by
CalcOS Scientific ReviewTechnical review of single-product cost-volume-profit arithmetic, contribution margin, solver rearrangements, boundaries, engine parity, and narrative examples; not accounting advice.
Substantive review date
2026-08-25Break-even units and revenue, target-profit volume, required-price and allowed-fixed-cost solvers, invalid contribution margins, rounding, sensitivity outputs, and stated limitations.

Sources

Assumptions used by this calculator
  • The model covers one product or service and one consistent time period.
  • Fixed costs remain fixed and variable cost per unit remains constant within the relevant operating range.
  • Selling price per unit remains constant and all units produced are sold.
  • Taxes, financing costs, capacity steps, inventory changes, discounts, and multi-product sales mix are excluded.
  • Whole-unit operating targets are rounded up; displayed revenue uses the unrounded mathematical break-even quantity.