Break-Even Analysis Calculator — Units, Revenue & Months
Find your break-even point — the exact number of units (or revenue) where your business starts making profit. Enter monthly fixed costs, variable cost per unit, and selling price per unit. Get break-even in units and revenue, contribution margin, contribution ratio, margin of safety, months to break even, and a visual chart comparing revenue vs total cost at different volumes.
Calculate Break-Even Point
How to Use the Break-Even Calculator
This tool helps entrepreneurs, startups, and established businesses find the exact point where revenue covers all costs — the foundation of sound business planning.
Step 1 — Enter Fixed Costs
Enter your total monthly fixed costs including rent, salaries, loan EMIs, insurance premiums, depreciation, and recurring subscriptions. These remain constant regardless of sales volume.
Step 2 — Enter Price and Variable Cost
Set your selling price per unit and variable cost per unit. Variable costs include raw materials, packaging, shipping, sales commissions, and any cost that changes with each unit produced or sold.
Step 3 — View Analysis
Get break-even units, break-even revenue, contribution margin, contribution ratio, margin of safety, and months to profitability. The visual chart shows revenue vs cost curves at different volumes.
CA Tip: For GST-registered businesses, use GST-exclusive figures since GST is a pass-through. For composition dealers, include GST as variable cost since ITC is not available. Review your break-even monthly as costs and prices change. The ICAI recommends break-even analysis as part of annual business planning.
Break-Even Formulas
BE Units = Fixed Costs ÷ (Selling Price − Variable Cost)
Break-Even Revenue:
BE Revenue = Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution Margin Ratio
Contribution Margin:
CM per Unit = Selling Price − Variable Cost
CM Ratio = CM per Unit ÷ Selling Price × 100
Example (₹5L fixed, ₹1,000 price, ₹600 variable):
CM = 1,000 − 600 = ₹400/unit
CM Ratio = 400/1,000 = 40%
BE Units = 5,00,000 ÷ 400 = 1,250 units
BE Revenue = 5,00,000 ÷ 0.40 = ₹12,50,000
Break-Even Examples by Business Type
| Business | Fixed Costs/mo | Price | Variable | CM | BE Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | ₹3L | ₹300 | ₹120 | ₹180 | 1,667 |
| E-commerce (apparel) | ₹2L | ₹800 | ₹400 | ₹400 | 500 |
| SaaS startup | ₹10L | ₹2,000 | ₹200 | ₹1,800 | 556 |
| Manufacturing | ₹8L | ₹500 | ₹300 | ₹200 | 4,000 |
| Consulting firm | ₹5L | ₹5,000/hr | ₹500 | ₹4,500 | 111 hrs |
Tips to Reach Break-Even Faster
- Cut fixed costs: Negotiate rent, use co-working spaces initially, outsource non-core functions, use cloud tools instead of full-time hires.
- Increase contribution margin: Negotiate better supplier rates, reduce packaging costs, optimise logistics. Every ₹10 improvement per unit compounds across all sales.
- Focus on high-margin products: If you sell multiple products, push the ones with higher contribution margins to reach break-even faster.
- Price strategically: Don’t just compete on price. A 10% price increase with 5% volume drop can improve profits significantly if contribution margin is high.
- Track weekly: Monitor actual vs break-even weekly, not just monthly. Early detection of shortfalls allows quick corrective action.
Expert Tip: For startups, calculate “cash break-even” separately from accounting break-even. Cash break-even excludes non-cash charges like depreciation but includes loan principal repayments and capex. This tells you when you stop burning cash. Talk to our CA team →
Need business planning help? Our CAs assist with financial projections, break-even analysis, startup advisory, and business loan preparation. Talk to a CA today →
