SellersCalc

Pricing math

Break-even Units Calculator

How many sales until the month stops costing you money — the first number a new product or store must know.

Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost per unit). Each sale's contribution — its price minus its variable costs — goes toward the fixed bills; break-even is when those contributions add up to the bills. With $2,000 of monthly fixed costs, a $50 product carrying $30 of variable cost contributes $20 per sale — so 100 sales ($5,000 revenue) break the month even. Enter your numbers to get the unit count and the revenue it represents.

Break-even Units Calculator — your numbers

Break-even units

100

Break-even revenue

$5,000.00

Contribution per unit

$20.00

Estimate only. Results reflect exactly the numbers you enter — verify against your own accounting before making pricing decisions.

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Worked examples

Small store, one hero product

Fixed costs $2,000.00
Selling price $50.00
Variable cost $30.00
Break-even units 100
Break-even revenue $5,000.00
Contribution per unit $20.00

100 sales a month keeps the lights on; sale 101 is the first profitable one.

Adding a $500/mo tool stack

Fixed costs $2,500.00
Selling price $50.00
Variable cost $30.00
Break-even units 125
Break-even revenue $6,250.00
Contribution per unit $20.00

Every $500 of new fixed cost demands 25 more sales at a $20 contribution.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a fixed vs variable cost?

Fixed costs arrive whether you sell or not: subscriptions, salaries, rent, insurance. Variable costs scale with each unit: product cost, shipping, payment and marketplace fees, packaging. Ad spend is variable if you buy per-sale; a fixed retainer or brand campaign belongs in fixed.

Where does advertising fit into break-even?

Per-order ad spend belongs in variable cost — and dramatically moves the answer. The $20-contribution example drops to $8 per unit with $12 of ad cost per sale, pushing break-even from 100 to 250 units. Run the calculator both with and without ad cost to see your organic vs paid break-even.

What happens to break-even if I raise my price?

Every extra dollar of price is an extra dollar of contribution. Raising the example price from $50 to $55 cuts break-even from 100 to 80 units — a 20% reduction from a 10% price move. Price is the most leveraged input in this formula.

Is break-even the same as profitability?

It is the doorway to it. Break-even covers the costs you entered — but not your own salary if you left it out, taxes, or a buffer for returns. Add the profit you need to fixed costs ("$2,000 costs + $3,000 owner pay") and the calculator returns the units for that target instead.

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Part of the Pricing & Margins collection.