Calculators / Break-even

Break-even calculator

Put in what the store costs to run each month, your price and what each sale costs you. It tells you how many sales it takes to cover it all.

Your numbers

$
Plan, apps, software, salaries. Not product cost.
$
$
Product, packaging, shipping you pay, fees, ad cost per sale.
$

Per month

Left from each sale
Break-even units
Break-even revenue
Units for your profit goal
Revenue for your profit goal

The formula

Left from each sale = price − cost per unit
Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ left from each sale
Units for a goal = (fixed costs + profit goal) ÷ left from each sale

The amount left from each sale is often called the contribution margin. It is the money each sale adds towards the bills. Until those add up to your fixed costs, the store is running at a loss, however busy it feels.

Worked example

A store selling a $45 skincare set. Each sale costs$27 once the product, box, label, card fee and the average ad cost per order are added up. The monthly bills (store plan, apps, email tool, a part-time bookkeeper) come to $1,200.

Left from each sale45 − 27 = $18
Break-even1,200 ÷ 18 = 66.7, so 67 sets
Break-even revenue67 × 45 = $3,015
For $1,000 profit(1,200 + 1,000) ÷ 18 = 122.2, so 123 sets

That is about two sales a day just to stand still, and four a day to make $1,000. Seeing it as a daily number makes it easier to judge against your real order count.

Ways to move the break-even point

Raise the price a little

Every dollar on the price goes straight into what is left from each sale. In the example, a$3 price rise takes the amount per sale from $18 to $21 and break-even from 67 sets to 58.

Cut a cost per unit

Cheaper packaging or a better shipping rate works the same way as a price rise, without the customer seeing it.

Drop a fixed cost

Go through the apps and subscriptions once a quarter. A $50 app in this example is three sets a month you have to sell just to pay for it.

Read more

Formula and examples last checked October 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

What counts as a fixed cost for an online store?

Anything you pay each month whether you sell one unit or a thousand: the store plan, paid apps, email software, your domain and hosting, bookkeeping, a virtual assistant, rent if you have it. If you pay yourself a set amount, include it, or the break-even point will be the point where the business pays for itself but not for you.

What goes in the cost per unit?

Everything that happens because one more unit sold: the product, inbound freight per unit, packaging, the shipping label you pay, payment and platform fees, and the ad cost per sale if most sales come from ads. Leaving ad cost out is the most common reason a store that "should" break even does not.

Why is the break-even number rounded up?

You cannot sell two-thirds of a unit. If the math says 66.7, you have not covered your costs until the 67th sale.

My price is lower than my cost per unit. What does that mean?

Each sale loses money, so selling more makes the loss bigger and there is no break-even point. The price has to go up or the cost per unit has to come down first.

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