Break-Even Calculator How many units you must sell to cover your costs

Enter your fixed costs, the price you sell each unit for, and what each unit costs you to make. You'll get the break-even point in units and in revenue.

Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost)

Break-even point
units to sell to cover costs
Break-even revenue
Contribution / unit

Do this in Excel or Google Sheets

Fixed costs in A1, price in B1, variable cost in C1:

ResultFormula
Contribution per unit=B1-C1
Break-even units=A1/(B1-C1)
Break-even revenue=A1/(B1-C1)*B1

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What break-even means

The break-even point is where total revenue exactly covers total costs — no profit, no loss. Each unit you sell contributes its price minus its variable cost toward the fixed costs; once those contributions add up to the fixed costs, you've broken even. Every unit after that is profit.

Frequently asked questions

Why must price be higher than variable cost?

If each unit sells for less than it costs to make, no number of sales can cover the fixed costs — there's no break-even point, and the calculator will tell you.

What counts as a fixed cost?

Costs that don't change with the number of units — rent, salaries, insurance. Variable costs change per unit, like materials and packaging.

Should I round the units up?

In practice, yes — you can't sell a fraction of a unit, so round up to be safely past break-even.