Break-Even Calculator
Find how many units you must sell to cover your fixed and variable costs.
About this calculator
The break-even point is the number of sales at which your revenue exactly covers your costs — beyond it every sale generates profit, below it you are losing money. Knowing your break-even point tells you whether a price is viable, how much room you have to discount, and how big a sales dip you can survive.
Enter your fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance — costs that don't change with volume), your selling price per unit and your variable cost per unit (materials, fees, shipping — costs incurred per sale).
The formula
Worked example
Your studio has fixed costs of £12,000 per year. You sell prints at £25 each with £10 variable cost per print.
- Contribution per unit = £25 − £10 = £15
- Break-even units = £12,000 ÷ £15 = 800 prints
- Break-even revenue = 800 × £25 = £20,000
Common mistakes
- Classifying costs wrongly — a cost that scales with sales is variable, even if it is billed monthly.
- Forgetting your own salary in fixed costs, which makes the target look easier than it is.
- Using average prices when you sell at multiple price points — model each product separately.
Frequently asked questions
Assumptions & limitations
Assumes a single product with a constant price and constant variable cost per unit, and that fixed costs genuinely do not vary with volume over the period.
Sources & verification
This calculator applies the standard formula published above to the figures you enter — it relies on no external statutory data. The formula and the worked example were checked by hand against each other.
Spotted an error or an out-of-date figure? Report it — corrections are prioritised over all other work (see our corrections policy).