Break Even Calculator
Find how many units you need to sell before you start making money.
Rent, salaries, software — costs that do not change with volume.
Materials, packaging, payment fees — costs incurred per sale.
| Units | Revenue | Total cost | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ₹0 | ₹2,00,000 | ₹-2,00,000 |
| 100 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹2,70,000 | ₹-1,50,000 |
| 200 | ₹2,40,000 | ₹3,40,000 | ₹-1,00,000 |
| 300 | ₹3,60,000 | ₹4,10,000 | ₹-50,000 |
| 400 | ₹4,80,000 | ₹4,80,000 | ₹0 |
| 500 | ₹6,00,000 | ₹5,50,000 | ₹50,000 |
| 600 | ₹7,20,000 | ₹6,20,000 | ₹1,00,000 |
How to Use
- 1. Enter your total fixed costs for the period.
- 2. Enter the selling price and the variable cost of one unit.
- 3. Read the break-even point in units and revenue.
- 4. Add a target profit or expected sales volume to test the plan.
Reading a Break-Even Analysis
Break-even analysis rests on one number: the contribution margin, or price minus variable cost. That is what each sale actually contributes toward the fixed costs sitting behind the business. Divide the fixed costs by it and you have the volume at which the two finally cancel out.
The most common error is classifying costs wrongly. A salary is fixed; a commission is variable. Warehouse rent is fixed; the shipping on each order is variable. Move a large cost to the wrong side and the break-even figure shifts far enough to change the decision it was meant to inform.
A negative contribution margin is a pricing problem, not a volume problem. If each unit loses money, selling more loses more — no amount of growth rescues it. The calculator flags this case explicitly rather than printing an enormous number that looks like a target.
Margin of safety is the figure worth watching after the break-even point itself. It measures how far sales can fall before you cross back into a loss, which is a far more useful read on risk than the break-even volume alone.
Related: Profit Margin Calculator, Discount Calculator, and Percentage Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the break-even point?
The sales volume at which total revenue exactly equals total cost, so profit is zero. Below it you are losing money, above it every additional sale is profit. It is calculated as fixed costs divided by the contribution margin per unit.
What is the difference between fixed and variable costs?
Fixed costs stay the same whatever you sell - rent, salaries, software, insurance. Variable costs occur per unit sold - materials, packaging, payment fees, shipping. Misclassifying one as the other is the most common reason a break-even figure comes out wrong.
What is contribution margin?
Price minus variable cost per unit: the amount each sale contributes toward covering fixed costs. Once the accumulated contribution equals your fixed costs, you have broken even.
Why does the calculator say there is no break-even point?
Because your variable cost per unit is at or above your price, so the contribution margin is zero or negative. Each sale then loses money, and no volume ever covers the fixed costs. The fix is a higher price or a lower unit cost, not more sales.
What is margin of safety?
The gap between expected sales and the break-even point, as a percentage. A margin of safety of 30% means sales could fall by 30% before you start making a loss, which is a useful read on how much risk the plan carries.
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