Units and sales needed to cover fixed costs, with margin of safety and target profit
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Updated on 24 Oct 2026.Break-even units equal fixed costs divided by the contribution per unit, which is the price less the variable cost. With ₹60,000 of fixed costs, a ₹250 price and a ₹100 variable cost, the contribution is ₹150 and the break-even is 400 units, or ₹1,00,000 of sales.
Enter the Fixed costs for the period, such as rent and salaries.
Type the Selling price per unit and the Variable cost per unit.
Add the Units you expect to sell and a Target profit for the period if you have them.
Read Units to break even, the Contribution per unit and the Margin of safety, and open Profit by units sold; Share result copies a link.
Every business has costs that stay the same however much it sells, such as rent, salaries, a loan instalment and software subscriptions, and costs that rise with each unit, such as material, packing, delivery and sales commission. The break-even point is the volume at which the money from sales has covered both. Below it the business loses money; above it every extra unit adds its contribution to profit.
What it works out. Enter the fixed costs for a period, the selling price per unit and the variable cost per unit. The calculator shows the contribution per unit and as a share of the price, the break-even in units (exact, and rounded up to whole units, since 399.5 units still lose money) and in revenue, and the units and sales needed to reach a target profit. Add the units you expect to sell and it also shows the margin of safety: how far sales can fall before the business stops making money, in units, in rupees and as a percentage of expected sales. A table lists profit or loss from zero units to about twice the break-even.
Use the right price. If you are registered for GST, enter the price without GST, because the GST you collect is paid on to the government and is not yours. Use the same period, a month or a year, for the fixed costs, the forecast and the target profit.
What it does not do. It assumes one product, or an average across your products, with a price and a variable cost that do not change with volume, and fixed costs that stay fixed across the range shown. Real costs step up (a second shop, another employee) and discounts lower the average price, so treat the answer as a guide for the volumes near your current ones. It does not account for income tax, the timing of cash, or stock left unsold.
Break-even units equal fixed costs divided by the contribution per unit, and the contribution is the selling price less the variable cost per unit. Break-even revenue equals the break-even units times the price, or the fixed costs divided by the contribution margin ratio. Both give the same figure, and the calculator shows each step.
Fixed costs stay the same whether you sell ten units or a thousand in the period: rent, salaries, loan instalments, insurance and subscriptions. Variable costs rise with every unit sold: raw material, packing, delivery, payment gateway charges and sales commission. A cost that is partly both, such as electricity, can be split between the two boxes.
The margin of safety is how far sales can fall below your forecast before the business starts losing money. Selling 600 units against a break-even of 400 gives a margin of 200 units, one third of expected sales. A small or negative margin is a warning that the forecast leaves little room for a bad month.
A business sells whole units, and a fraction short of the break-even is still a loss. When fixed costs of ₹10,000 are divided by a ₹59 contribution, the exact answer is 169.49 units: 169 units lose money and 170 units make a small profit. The page shows both the exact figure and the whole number.
For a GST-registered seller, no. The GST collected on a sale is paid on to the government, so enter the price without GST, and enter costs without the GST you claim back as input tax credit. A seller who is not registered keeps the whole price and cannot claim GST on costs, so uses the full amounts.
Each sale then loses money before any fixed cost is counted, so selling more makes the loss larger and no volume breaks even. The calculator says so instead of showing a figure. Raise the price, lower the cost per unit, or check that a fixed cost has not been entered as a cost per unit.
Formula only: no rates or limits are read from an official source.
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Same job, other tools: Gross Profit Calculator – Gross profit per unit and in total from cost, selling price and units sold · Margin Calculator – Price needed to hit a target margin on your cost, and the markup that margin means · Amazon Seller Profit Calculator – Profit per Amazon.in order after referral, closing and shipping fees, GST and returns · Flipkart Profit Calculator – Profit per Flipkart order after commission, fixed and shipping fees, GST and returns.
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