Break-Even Calculator
A fast, interactive calculator to help you work out how many units you need to sell — and how much revenue you need to generate — before your business covers its fixed costs and starts making a profit.
Use this interactive calculator to help you check whether your pricing covers your true costs — and what margin you’re actually making.
1. How this calculator works
This tool uses your inputs to instantly calculate:
- Contribution per unit
- Break‑even units
- Break‑even revenue
It’s designed for quick, real‑world decision‑making — no spreadsheets, no downloads, no fuss.
Break‑even analysis helps you understand:
- the minimum sales needed to cover your fixed costs
- How pricing protects your survival point
- How discounts change your break-even
- How cost increases impact your profitability
- Whether a product or service is commercially viable
2. Enter your numbers into the calculator below:
Use the calculator to test:
- different selling prices
- different variable costs
- changes in fixed costs
- pricing scenarios
- discount impacts
- contribution targets
The results update instantly as you type.
3. Worked Example
Let’s say you enter:
- Fixed Costs: £1000
- Selling Price: £100
- Variable Cost: £40
Your results will show:
- Contribution per Unit: £60
- Break-even units: 167
- Break-even revenue: £16700
Now test a discount
- Selling Price: £80
Your results update to:
- Contribution per Unit: £40
- Break-even Units: 250
- Break-even revenue: £20000
This shows how “just knocking £20 off” dramatically increases the number of units you must sell before you break even.
4. Why this matters
Most SMEs under price without realising it. This calculator helps you:
- avoid accidental discounting
- understand the difference between margin and markup
- stop guessing
- price with confidence
- protect your profit
- make better decisions
It’s one of the core tools in the SGA Pricing & Profitability discipline.