How many units do I need to sell to break even?
You're starting a business or launching a product. You know what rent, payroll, and marketing cost you each month. You know the price you want to charge. The question: how many units must you sell to start making any money.
You enter fixed costs (the ones you pay regardless of sales) and variable costs (the ones that grow with each unit sold). The tool shows the break-even point: where you stop losing and start earning.
You can also set a profit target: "how many units do I need to actually EARN $5,000 a month". The chart shows revenue and total cost as two lines, you see exactly where they cross.
How to use it
- Enter monthly fixed costs: rent, payroll, insurance, leases, software, marketing, anything independent of sales volume.
- Enter the price per unit: what you charge for one product or service.
- Enter the variable cost per unit: what it costs to PRODUCE one unit (materials, commissions, packaging, delivery).
- Optional: add a profit target, how much you want to earn ABOVE break-even.
- The result is the units sold and the revenue value at break-even plus profit per each additional unit sold above that point.
When this is useful
Six common scenarios:
- Restaurant or coffee shop. "How many burgers per day to cover rent, payroll, marketing?". You enter $7,500/month fixed costs, burger price $9, ingredient cost $3. Tool shows ~1,250 burgers a month, i.e. 41 a day.
- E-commerce store. "How many monthly orders to cover platform fees, packaging, ad spend?". Get a concrete number and know whether your marketing plan actually makes sense.
- SaaS startup. How many subscriptions to cover the team payroll? Will 1,000 customers at $30/month do it? Type and see.
- Consulting and services. How many billable hours do I need to invoice to cover the office, tools, and a salary for myself? The classic question every freelancer asks before quitting their day job.
- New product decision. You're considering adding a new product. Compute fixed costs (tooling, design) and variable costs (materials). Will you actually sell enough to recover the setup?
- Pricing, "what if I raise prices 10%". See how the break-even shifts. A small price change usually causes a big shift in the units needed.
After running the break-even, it helps to know what typical margins in your industry look like. See the margin and markup calculator with its industry reference table.