Break-even calculator

Break-even units are fixed costs divided by contribution per unit. With 5,000 of fixed costs, a 25 price and 10 variable cost, contribution is 15 and you need 334 units — 8,350 of revenue — to break even.

The interesting output is the contribution margin rather than the break-even count. It tells you which lever moves the answer fastest. A price rise of ten per cent on a 60% contribution margin cuts the break-even volume by about a seventh; the same ten per cent cut in variable cost moves it far less. That asymmetry is why pricing is usually the highest-leverage decision available, and why businesses with thin contribution margins are so exposed — small changes in either price or cost move the break-even point dramatically.