Break-Even Calculator

Numbers stay in your browser. The default is 10,000 of fixed costs, a price of 50, and a variable cost of 30, which breaks even at 500 units and 25,000 of revenue.

Quick answer: with fixed costs in B2, price in C2, and variable cost in D2:

=B2/(C2-D2)
=B2/(1-D2/C2)

The first is the number of units; the second is break-even revenue. You can also multiply the units by the price.

10,000 fixed, 50 price, 30 variable

Contribution per unit is 50 − 30 = 20. Units to break even are 10,000 ÷ 20 = 500. Revenue at that point is 500 × 50 = 25,000. In Google Sheets on 12 November 2026, =50-30, =10000/(50-30), and =B46*50 returned 20, 500, and 25000. The margin-ratio form =10000/(1-30/50) also returned 25000.

After 500 units, each extra unit adds 20 to profit. At 600 units, profit is (600 − 500) × 20 = 2,000, or 600 × 20 − 10,000. Below 500, the shortfall is a loss of the same 20 per missing unit.

If you only sell whole items, you cannot ship 500.4 units: round up to the next whole unit when the formula is not an integer. 500 happened to come out exactly here.

What counts as fixed or variable

Fixed costs do not change with the next unit in the range you are planning for: rent, salaried staff, a software subscription. Variable costs scale with units: materials, a per-unit shipping fee, a sales commission. A cost that steps up after 1,000 units (a second machine, a new shift) is fixed only inside one step; past that point you have to rerun the numbers with the new fixed total.

Price here is the amount you actually collect per unit, after a discount if you sell below list. If price equals variable cost, the spreadsheet will return a divide-by-zero error, and this calculator will refuse the inputs rather than invent a unit count. Tax on the sale, and inventory you already paid for, are outside this one-product model.

Questions that come up

What is the break-even formula in Excel or Google Sheets?

With fixed costs in B2, price in C2, and variable cost per unit in D2, units are =B2/(C2-D2) and break-even revenue is =that result*C2, or in one step =B2/(1-D2/C2). In the test workbook, 10,000 of fixed costs at a 50 price and a 30 variable cost broke even at 500 units and 25,000 of revenue.

What is contribution margin?

It is price minus variable cost per unit — the amount of each sale that is left to cover fixed costs and then profit. At 50 minus 30, the contribution is 20, so you need 10,000 ÷ 20 = 500 units to cover 10,000 of fixed costs.

What if price equals variable cost?

The contribution is zero and the formula divides by zero. There is no finite break-even: extra units do not chip away at the fixed costs. If price is below variable cost, each unit makes the loss larger.