Find out how many sales it takes to break even.

The break-even point is the number of units you need to sell for your total revenue to exactly equal your total costs — fixed costs plus variable costs. Sell fewer than that and you're operating at a loss; sell more and every additional unit adds profit.

Because you cannot sell a fraction of a unit. If the exact arithmetic works out to 166.4 units, you are not break-even at 166 units — you are still short. This calculator always rounds break-even units up to the next whole number so the figure you get is the point you have actually covered your costs.

Fixed costs stay the same regardless of how much you sell — rent, salaries, software subscriptions. Variable costs scale with each unit sold — materials, packaging, a per-unit commission. Break-even analysis needs both split out separately.

Contribution margin is what's left from a single sale after variable costs are covered — price minus variable cost per unit. That leftover amount is what actually pays down your fixed costs and, once they're covered, becomes profit. The contribution margin ratio expresses the same thing as a percentage of price.