Free tool
Break-even Calculator
Estimate how many units you need to sell each month to cover your fixed and variable costs. The break-even point is the point where your sales revenue covers your costs, so you are not making a profit or a loss.
How to use the calculator
- Enter your total monthly fixed costs.
- Enter the selling price for one unit, service, or billable unit.
- Enter the variable cost for one unit.
- Click Calculate to see your monthly break-even volume and sales.
What is the break-even point?
The break-even point tells you how much you need to sell before the business starts generating a profit. At break-even, total sales revenue equals total costs.
This is useful when setting prices, planning sales targets, preparing a business plan, or checking whether a business idea can realistically cover its costs.
Fixed costs vs. variable costs
Fixed costs are costs that generally do not change directly with the number of units sold during the period. Examples include rent, fixed salaries, insurance and some subscriptions.
Variable costs change as sales or production volume changes. Examples include materials, product purchases, packaging, transaction fees and other costs directly related to each sale.
How the calculation works
The calculator first finds the amount left from each sale after the variable cost is covered. This is the contribution margin per unit.
Break-even units = Fixed costs ÷ (Selling price − Variable cost)
For example, if monthly fixed costs are €2,000, the selling price is €50 and the variable cost is €20, each sale contributes €30 toward fixed costs. You would need about 66.7 units per month to break even, which corresponds to about €3,333.33 in monthly sales.
How to use the result
- Compare the break-even sales volume with your realistic monthly sales forecast.
- If the required sales volume is too high, review your price, variable costs and fixed costs.
- Use the result as one part of your business plan and profitability planning.
- Remember that reaching break-even means covering costs; it does not mean you are earning a profit yet.
Important limitations
This is a simple planning calculator. It does not automatically account for VAT, income taxes, YEL, financing costs, depreciation, different product prices, discounts, seasonal changes, or multiple products and services with different margins.
For a more complete profitability calculation, include your actual fixed costs, variable costs, sales forecast and target income. Suomi.fi recommends using profitability calculations to assess how much a business needs to sell at a particular price to make its operations profitable.
General information only. This calculator is intended for business planning and does not constitute legal, tax or accounting advice.
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