Break-Even Calculator

Find how many units you must sell to cover fixed and variable costs. Free, instant, no signup.

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Fixed costs

Price per unit

Variable cost per unit

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

How to use the Break-Even Calculator

Enter your values. Fill in the fields with your numbers.
Calculate. Press Calculate to run the break-even calculator.
Use the result. Copy the result or try a related tool next.

Why use our Break-Even Calculator

Instant results. Enter your figures and the break-even calculator returns an answer in seconds.

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Accurate. Uses standard formulas so you can rely on the numbers.

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About the Break-Even Calculator

The Break-Even Calculator tells you exactly how many units you need to sell, and how much revenue that represents, before your business stops losing money and starts earning a profit. It works from three numbers you already track: your fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance, software, and other expenses that stay the same regardless of volume), your selling price per unit, and your variable cost per unit (materials, packaging, shipping, transaction fees, and per-sale labor). Enter those figures and the tool returns your break-even point in both units and sales dollars, plus the contribution margin behind the result.

Use it whenever a money decision hinges on volume. The U.S. Small Business Administration treats the break-even point as a core part of any business plan because it shows lenders and investors when their money starts to pay back, and it forces you to surface expenses you might have overlooked. It is just as useful for everyday calls: testing a new price, deciding whether a product line can ever be profitable, setting a realistic monthly sales target, or sizing how much fixed cost a launch can absorb. Run a few scenarios side by side to see which lever, price, cost, or volume, moves the needle most.

The math is straightforward. Your contribution margin per unit is the selling price minus the variable cost, which is the slice of every sale left over to cover fixed costs. Break-even in units equals fixed costs divided by that contribution margin; break-even in revenue equals fixed costs divided by the contribution margin ratio (contribution margin expressed as a percentage of price). For example, with $10,000 in monthly fixed costs, a $100 price, and $20 variable cost, the $80 margin means you break even at 125 units, or $12,500 in sales. A higher margin means fewer units are needed to cover the same fixed costs.

Treat the output as a planning estimate, not a precise forecast. Break-even analysis assumes price, variable cost, and fixed cost stay constant across the volume you are projecting, which rarely holds perfectly once bulk discounts, overtime, or tiered pricing kick in, so the SBA suggests padding fixed costs by around 10% for surprises. The calculator runs entirely in your browser: the cost and price figures you enter are never uploaded, stored, or shared, so you can safely model real numbers from your own books.

Frequently asked questions

What is the formula for the break-even point?

Break-even point in units = fixed costs divided by (selling price per unit minus variable cost per unit). To get break-even in revenue, divide fixed costs by the contribution margin ratio, which is the contribution margin as a percentage of the selling price.

What is the difference between fixed costs and variable costs?

Fixed costs stay the same no matter how much you sell, such as rent, salaries, and insurance. Variable costs rise and fall with each unit sold, such as raw materials, shipping, and payment-processing fees.

What is contribution margin and why does it matter here?

Contribution margin is the selling price per unit minus the variable cost per unit, the amount each sale contributes toward covering fixed costs. A higher contribution margin lowers your break-even point because each sale does more work toward covering overhead.

Should I calculate break-even in units or in dollars?

Use units when you sell a single, countable product and want a clear sales target. Use the revenue figure when you sell many items at different prices, since the contribution margin ratio lets you express break-even as total sales dollars instead.

What are the limits of a break-even calculation?

It assumes your price, variable cost, and fixed costs are constant across the volume you model, which ignores bulk discounts, price changes, and cost steps. Treat the result as a planning estimate and consider padding fixed costs by about 10% for unexpected expenses.

From our blog

Time and a Half, Explained: How to Check Your Overtime Pay in Under a Minute

By the Super Simple Digital Tools Team · Updated June 2026

Overtime is one of the most commonly miscalculated parts of a paycheck, partly because the rules sound simpler than they are. The core idea is that hours beyond a threshold are worth more, but the threshold, the multiplier, and the definition of your pay rate all matter. Before trusting any number, it helps to separate three things: how many hours are regular, how many are overtime, and what hourly rate the premium is built on. Get those three inputs right and the rest is arithmetic the calculator handles for you.

The federal baseline is the 40-hour workweek. Once a non-exempt worker passes 40 hours in a single seven-day workweek, every additional hour must be paid at no less than 1.5 times the regular rate. A crucial detail people miss is that overtime is measured by the workweek, not the pay period. If you work 30 hours one week and 50 the next, you are owed 10 hours of overtime even though your two-week total is exactly 80. Employers cannot legally average the two weeks to avoid the premium.

Many states layer extra protection on top of the federal floor. California is the best-known example: it requires overtime after 8 hours in a single day, not just after 40 in a week, and it adds double time once you cross 12 hours in a day or work beyond 8 hours on a seventh consecutive workday. That is why a single long shift can earn overtime even in a short week. When you model these situations, switch the multiplier to 2x for the double-time portion and 1.5x for the rest, then add the results together.

The 'regular rate' is the input most likely to trip people up. Federal rules define it as more than your base wage; it can fold in nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and certain other earnings, then divide by total hours to find the true hourly figure the premium is based on. If you only worked a flat hourly job with no bonuses, your base rate is your regular rate. If your pay is more complex, treat the calculator's result as a close estimate and compare it against your pay stub line by line.

Finally, remember the number you see is gross pay. Overtime is still subject to income tax and payroll withholding, so your take-home increase is smaller than the headline figure. A temporary federal provision starting with the 2025 tax year lets eligible workers deduct a portion of qualified overtime premium pay at tax time, but that is a filing benefit, not something deducted from each check. Use the calculator to confirm you were paid correctly first, then plan around the after-tax amount.

Always calculate overtime per workweek, never across a two-week pay period, since the FLSA prohibits averaging two weeks to dodge the premium.
If you earn nondiscretionary bonuses or shift differentials, recompute your true regular rate before entering it, as your base wage alone may understate what you are owed.
Check your state's rules: in places like California, use the double-time (2x) option for hours past 12 in a day or beyond 8 on a seventh straight workday.
Compare the calculator's gross result against the overtime line on your pay stub, and if they differ, raise it with payroll with your hours and rate written down.

Read the full guide →

Tool by the Super Simple Digital Tools Team. Reviewed by our editorial team. Free to use, no signup required.