Break-Even Calculator
Find exactly how many units you need to sell to cover your costs — and where profit begins. Enter your fixed costs, price, and per-unit variable cost.
Cookie 51 is profit.
How to calculate the break-even point
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost). The bottom half — price minus variable cost — is your contribution margin: what each sale contributes toward covering fixed costs.
Break-even in units vs. dollars
This tool gives break-even in units. To get break-even in revenue, multiply the break-even units by your price. The first unit past break-even is pure profit.
Why it matters
Break-even turns a vague 'will this work?' into a concrete target. If your break-even is 200 units a month and your market is 50, the model needs to change before you build.
Frequently asked
How do you calculate the break-even point?+
Divide total fixed costs by the contribution margin per unit (selling price minus variable cost per unit). The result is the number of units you must sell to cover all costs.
What is contribution margin?+
Contribution margin is the selling price minus the variable cost of one unit — the amount each sale contributes toward covering your fixed costs and, after break-even, profit.
What happens after the break-even point?+
Every unit sold beyond break-even adds its full contribution margin straight to profit, because your fixed costs are already covered.
This is one module inside Playbook
Playbook is an entrepreneurship simulation where students use tools like this to build a real business. Launching for 2026–27.