Break-Even Calculator
Find how many units you must sell to break even from fixed costs, price and variable cost per unit.
Formula last reviewed 4 August 2026 · How we verify our calculators
Units to break even
- Contribution margin / unit
- ₹200
- Revenue at break-even
- ₹1,25,000
Updates live as you type
Frequently asked questions
It is the sales level at which total revenue equals total cost, so profit is zero. Beyond it, each additional unit adds profit; below it, you make a loss.
It is the selling price minus the variable cost per unit — the amount each sale contributes toward covering fixed costs. Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin.
A higher price increases the contribution margin per unit, so fewer units are needed to cover the same fixed costs.
Then you can never break even — each sale fails to cover its own variable cost. You must raise the price or cut variable costs first.
Unit 249 loses money. Unit 250 doesn't. Unit 251 is pure profit.
₹50,000 in fixed costs, a ₹500 selling price, a ₹300 variable cost per unit — the contribution margin is ₹200 a unit (500 − 300), and dividing fixed costs by that margin gives 250 units needed to break even, representing ₹1,25,000 in revenue. Sell 249 units and the business is still in the red. Sell the 250th and the books finally balance. Sell one more after that, and its full ₹200 contribution margin becomes pure profit, because fixed costs are already fully covered by that point.
Why contribution margin is the number that decides everything
Contribution margin — selling price minus variable cost — is what every single sale puts toward covering fixed costs before any of it becomes profit. Raise the price or cut variable costs, and the margin grows, which mechanically pulls the break-even point lower and gets the venture to profitability sooner on the same fixed-cost base.
The scenario this calculator is built to catch before it happens
If the contribution margin is zero or negative — variable cost already meets or exceeds price — no volume of sales will ever break even, because every additional unit sold loses money rather than contributing toward fixed costs. In that situation, selling more units doesn't get you closer to profitability, it accelerates the loss. The unit economics have to be fixed first — a higher price, a cheaper input, a leaner variable cost — before volume can do any useful work at all.
Use this to set sales targets, test pricing scenarios, and judge whether a venture is viable before committing real money to it. Pair it with the selling price calculator to find a price that hits both a target margin and a break-even point that's actually achievable in your market.