Bookkeeping · Close · Tax Small businesses, startups & ecommerce Updated September 2026
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Free break-even calculator, with the graph and the units you need to sell.

Excello's free break-even calculator shows how many units you need to sell, and how much revenue, before your business covers its costs.

Change the numbers and the break-even graph redraws. The Excel version adds a what-if sheet and a dropshipping sheet.

Use the calculator Download for Excel

Free. No sign-up. Works on any device.

A level seesaw with coins and boxes An ink drawing of a seesaw balanced level on its pivot, with a stack of coins on one end and two boxes on the other, and a spirit level in the middle.

Break-even calculator online, with a graph

The calculator

Enter a month's fixed costs, your price and the variable cost of one unit. The break-even calculator with graph shows where revenue catches up with total costs.

Your numbers, per month

Break-even units
500
Break-even sales
$30,000
Contribution per unit
$24.00 (40.0%)
Units for the target profit
750

Example: $12,000 of fixed costs, a $60 price and $36 of variable cost.

Break-even graph
Break-even graph Revenue rises from zero and total costs rise from $12,000 of fixed costs. The lines cross at 500 units and $30,000 of sales. Below that point the business makes a loss; above it, a profit. $0$15K$30K$45K$60K02505007501,000Units soldLossProfitRevenueTotal costsBreak-even500 units Break-even graph Revenue rises from zero and total costs rise from $12,000 of fixed costs. The lines cross at 500 units and $30,000 of sales. Below that point the business makes a loss; above it, a profit. $0$15K$30K$45K$60K05001,000Units soldRevenueTotal costsBreak-even500 units

Hover or tap the graph, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to read any point.

How do you calculate the break-even point?

The formula

  1. Step 01

    Add up fixed costs

    Costs that stay the same whatever you sell: $12,000 a month in the example.

  2. Step 02

    Find the contribution

    Price minus variable cost per unit: $60 − $36 = $24.

  3. Step 03

    Divide and round up

    $12,000 ÷ $24 = 500 units, or $30,000 of sales.

Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost per unit)

Break-even sales = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin ratio

Units for a target profit = (fixed costs + target profit) ÷ contribution per unit

Round units up, because half a unit cannot be sold. In the example, a $6,000 profit target needs 750 units, or $45,000 of sales.

Fixed costs and variable costs
Fixed, every monthVariable, with each sale
Rent and utilitiesMaterials or stock
SalariesShipping and packaging
Software subscriptionsPayment fees
InsuranceSales commissions

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, calculate your startup costs (break-even point), checked September 2026

What moves the break-even point

Levers

Price is the strongest lever. A $5 rise saves 86 units a month; a $5 discount adds 132.

What if, from the example (illustrative)
ChangePriceContribution per unitBreak-even unitsChange in units
Today$60$24500–
Raise the price by $5$65$29414−86
Cut the price by $5$55$19632+132
Cut variable cost by $3$60$27445−55
Cut fixed costs by $2,000$60$24417−83

Break-even is the floor. The margin of safety shows how far above it you are: if you expect to sell 650 units, sales could fall by 150 units, or 23.1%, before you make a loss.

At 650 units the example makes $3,600 a month. Watch the margin of safety as fixed costs grow with each hire or new subscription.

Break-even calculator dropshipping stores can use

Ads and orders

A dropshipping store pays for most sales twice: once to the supplier and once for the ad that found the buyer. So break-even works in two steps.

First, what one order leaves before ads. Then how much ad spend that can carry, and how many orders a month cover the store's fixed costs.

Break-even ROAS = price ÷ contribution before ads

Orders to break even = fixed costs ÷ (contribution before ads − ad cost per order)

In the example, any ROAS below 1.90 loses money on every order. At $14 of ad spend per order, each order leaves $7, so 200 orders a month cover $1,400 of fixed costs.

How each of those orders is recorded in the books is on the dropshipping accounting page.

One order (illustrative)
Selling price$40.00
Product cost−$12.00
Shipping−$5.00
Payment fees (3%)−$1.20
Packaging and apps−$0.80
Contribution before ads$21.00
Break-even ROAS1.90
Orders a month to break even200

Break-even analysis template XLS or XLSX? Download the Excel file

The file

The file is .xlsx, the format every version of Excel has used since 2007, and it opens in Google Sheets and Apple Numbers too.

  • Break-even. Units, sales, target profit and margin of safety.
  • What if. Test a price change, a cheaper supplier or lower fixed costs.
  • Graph. A break-even calculator in Excel, with revenue and total cost lines.
  • Dropshipping. Break-even ROAS, cost per order and orders a month.
Free

Download

Break-even

  • Units and sales
  • What-if and graph
  • Dropshipping sheet
Download for ExcelXLSX · 12 KB

Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Apple Numbers.

Fixed and variable costs you can rely on

Where Excello fits

A break-even point is only as good as the costs behind it. Excello records every cost inside your own QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo and closes each month within five business days as standard.

Your profit and loss statement comes with every close. Excello's fractional CFO work covers unit economics, scenarios and runway, so a new hire or a price change can be tested before it happens.

Frequently asked questions

What is a break-even point?

The break-even point is the level of sales where revenue exactly covers costs, so profit is zero. Below it the business makes a loss, and above it every sale adds to profit.

How do you calculate the break-even point?

Divide fixed costs by the contribution per unit, which is the price minus the variable cost. With $12,000 of monthly fixed costs and $24 of contribution per unit, break-even is 500 units.

What is contribution margin?

Contribution margin is what each sale leaves after its variable costs, to pay fixed costs and then profit. A $60 product with $36 of variable cost contributes $24, a 40% contribution margin ratio.

How do I calculate break-even sales in dollars?

Divide fixed costs by the contribution margin ratio. $12,000 ÷ 40% = $30,000 of monthly sales, the same as 500 units at $60 each. Use the ratio as a decimal, so 40% is 0.4.

What is break-even ROAS?

Break-even ROAS is the return on ad spend at which an order neither makes nor loses money. Divide the price by what the order contributes before ads: $40 ÷ $21 gives 1.90.

What if my break-even point is too high?

Raise prices, lower the variable cost of each sale, or cut fixed costs. In the example, a $5 price rise takes break-even from 500 units to 414, because each unit then contributes $29, up from $24.

Is this break-even calculator free?

Yes. The calculator and graph on this page and the Excel template are free, with no sign-up needed. The template adds a what-if sheet, margin of safety and a dropshipping sheet.

Want to know your real break-even point?

Tell us about your costs and your books. We'll come back within one business day with a time for a call and a quote.

  • Every cost recorded in your own ledger
  • Scenarios and runway from a fractional CFO
  • Books closed within five business days as standard

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