Break-Even Calculator 2026

Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs / (Selling Price per Unit − Variable Cost per Unit). Break-Even Revenue = Break-Even Units × Selling Price. The denominator is the contribution margin — what each unit sold leaves behind to cover fixed costs.

The buffer between expected sales and break-even sales: (Expected Sales − Break-Even Sales) / Expected Sales × 100. A margin of safety above 30% is comfortable; below 15% means a small dip in demand pushes the business into a loss.

Three levers, in order of effect: raise price, cut variable cost per unit, or cut fixed costs. A price rise works fastest because it widens the contribution margin directly — a 10% price increase usually reduces break-even volume more than a 10% fixed-cost cut.

A fixed cost does not move with the next unit sold: shop rent, staff salaries, the accountant's retainer, loan EMI, insurance. A variable cost is incurred only because you made or sold that unit: raw material, packaging, freight, sales commission, payment gateway charges. Electricity and a delivery vehicle are usually semi-variable — split them by reading two or three months of bills rather than guessing. Misclassifying a fixed cost as variable understates break-even badly.

No. Use figures excluding GST on both sides. GST you collect on a sale is not your revenue, and GST you pay on inputs comes back as input tax credit, so including either distorts the contribution margin. If your MRP is Rs 118 including 18% GST, work with Rs 100. The exception is a composition dealer, who cannot claim ITC — for them the GST paid on purchases is a genuine cost and belongs in variable cost.

Use a weighted average contribution margin based on your actual sales mix. If 60% of sales are a product contributing Rs 40 and 40% contribute Rs 25, the weighted contribution is 0.6 x 40 + 0.4 x 25 = Rs 34. With Rs 3,40,000 of fixed costs you need 10,000 units in that mix. The number is only valid while the mix holds, so recompute it whenever the product balance shifts.