Break-Even Point Calculator
The Break-Even Point Calculator tells you exactly how many units you need to sell before a product or business turns a profit. Enter your fixed costs, variable cost per unit, and price per unit, and it instantly returns the break-even point plus a live chart showing where your total cost and total revenue lines cross. It runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded, and there's no account or app to install.
Enter your fixed costs, variable costs, and price per unit above. The break-even point and the cost-vs-revenue chart update instantly as you type. Tap "Advanced" to relabel the unit or set a target profit goal.
Ready to find your break-even point? It takes three numbers.
Use the free Break-Even Point Calculator →What Is the Break-Even Point?
The break-even point is the sales volume at which your total revenue exactly equals your total costs — no profit, no loss. Sell fewer units than that and you're operating at a loss; sell more and every additional unit contributes to profit. It's one of the most fundamental numbers in running a product or business, and it depends on only three inputs: fixed costs, variable cost per unit, and price per unit.
How to Use the Break-Even Calculator
Enter three numbers and the result updates live — no submit button, no page reload:
- Open capsuletools.app/break-even-calculator/
- Fixed costs — total upfront or static costs that don't change with volume (rent, salaries, equipment)
- Variable costs — the cost to produce or deliver a single unit
- Price per unit — what you charge per unit
The tool shows your break-even point — the exact quantity you need to sell — and draws the cost-vs-revenue chart below the inputs so it's visible without scrolling sideways on mobile.
Variable costs: $20 per unit
Price per unit: $50
Contribution margin = 50 − 20 = $30
Break-even point = 10,000 ÷ 30 = 333.33 units
The Break-Even Point Formula
Break-Even Point (units) = Fixed Costs ÷ (Price per Unit − Variable Cost per Unit). The denominator — price minus variable cost — is called the contribution margin: the amount each sale contributes toward covering fixed costs before any profit begins. If price per unit isn't strictly greater than variable costs, a break-even point can't exist — every sale would lose money — and the calculator shows a plain-language error instead of a meaningless result.
Reading the Cost vs. Revenue Chart
The chart — also called a break-even graph — plots two straight lines from zero units out to twice your break-even point: Total Cost (fixed costs plus variable cost × quantity) and Total Revenue (price × quantity). Where the two lines cross is the break-even point itself — below the crossover, the cost line sits above revenue (a loss); above it, revenue overtakes cost (a profit).
Setting a Target Profit Goal
Breaking even isn't the real goal — profit is. Tap Advanced to enter a target profit amount, and the calculator adds it to your fixed costs before dividing by the contribution margin: Volume = (Fixed Costs + Target Profit) ÷ Contribution Margin. Using the example above, a $5,000 target profit needs (10,000 + 5,000) ÷ 30 = 500 units, not just the 333.33 needed to break even. The same panel lets you relabel the unit from "units" to "months" if you're modeling something like a subscription runway instead of physical products.
Break-Even Point for a Small Business or Restaurant
The math doesn't change for any particular industry. A small business adds up its fixed costs (rent, insurance, salaries — anything that doesn't move with sales volume), estimates a variable cost per sale (materials, packaging, per-order labor), and enters its typical price. A restaurant can use "covers served" or an average ticket price as the unit instead of a single product — the break-even point still comes out the same way: fixed costs divided by the contribution margin per sale.
Frequently asked questions
What is the break-even point?
The break-even point is the sales volume at which your total revenue exactly equals your total costs — no profit, no loss. Below that volume you're operating at a loss; above it, every additional unit sold contributes to profit. It's calculated from three numbers: your fixed costs, your variable cost per unit, and your price per unit.
How do you calculate the break-even point?
Subtract variable cost per unit from price per unit to get your contribution margin — how much each sale contributes toward fixed costs. Then divide total fixed costs by that contribution margin. The result is the number of units you need to sell to break even. This calculator does both steps instantly as you type.
What is the break-even point formula?
Break-Even Point (units) = Fixed Costs ÷ (Price per Unit − Variable Cost per Unit). The denominator, Price minus Variable Cost, is called the contribution margin. If you want the break-even point in dollars instead of units, multiply the unit result by the price per unit.
What is contribution margin?
Contribution margin is the price you charge per unit minus the variable cost of producing that unit — the amount left over from each sale to cover fixed costs and, beyond that, generate profit. A higher contribution margin means you need fewer sales to break even and every sale afterward is more profitable.
How do I calculate the break-even point for a restaurant or small business?
The math is identical to any other business: add up your fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance — costs that don't change with sales volume), estimate your variable cost per item (ingredients, packaging, per-order labor), and enter your average price per item. A restaurant might use "covers served" or "average ticket" as the unit instead of a single product.
How many units do I need to sell to break even?
That number is exactly what this calculator returns as the break-even point — divide your fixed costs by your contribution margin (price minus variable cost per unit). If you also have a specific profit target rather than just breaking even, turn on the advanced Target Profit option to see the higher volume needed to hit that goal.
What's the difference between break-even point in units and in dollars?
Break-even in units is how many individual items you need to sell. Break-even in dollars is that same point expressed as total revenue — simply multiply the break-even unit count by the price per unit. Both describe the identical point where the cost and revenue lines cross; units are more useful for production planning, dollars for revenue targets.
How do I calculate a target profit instead of just breaking even?
Add your desired profit to your fixed costs before dividing by the contribution margin: Volume = (Fixed Costs + Target Profit) ÷ Contribution Margin. This calculator's advanced toggle does this automatically — enter a target profit amount and it shows the sales volume needed to hit that specific number, not just the zero-profit break-even point.
Use the free Break-Even Point Calculator →
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