Break-Even Calculator
Find the units and revenue you need each month to cover fixed costs, with ecommerce costs like shipping and payment fees built in.
Your numbers
Your result · updates as you type
Break-even point
187 units / month
That's $8,415 in sales. Each unit contributes $21.40 (47.5%) towards $4,000 of monthly fixed costs.
- Break-even revenue
- $8,415
- Profit at current sales
- $1,349
- Units for $2,000 profit
- 281
Sales could fall 25.2% before you start losing money. That's your margin of safety.
Breakdown
- Selling price
- $45.00
- Variable cost per unit (product, shipping, fees)
- −$23.61
- Contribution per unit
- $21.40
- Fixed costs + marketing
- $4,000
- Break-even units (exact)
- 187
- Margin of safety
- 25.2%
The break-even formula
Each unit you sell earns a contribution: the price minus everything that unit costs (product, shipping, packaging, payment fees). Break-even is where those contributions add up to your fixed costs.
Example: the default numbers
- Fixed costs + marketing
- $2,500 + $1,500 = $4,000
- Price
- $45.00
- Variable cost
- $16 + $6 + (45 × 2.9% + $0.30) = $23.605
- Contribution per unit
- $21.395
4,000 ÷ 21.395 = 186.96, so 187 units a month, or $8,415 in sales. Selling 250 units, you make 250 × 21.395 − 4,000 = $1,349, and sales could fall 25.2% before you'd lose money.
Using the result
- Margin of safety is how far sales can fall before you lose money. Under 10% means one slow month hurts.
- Raise contribution first. A higher price or a lower shipping cost cuts break-even faster than a smaller fixed cost, because it applies to every unit.
- Ads that scale with orders belong in the per-unit cost, not in the monthly budget. Treat them as a fixed budget only if you spend the same amount whatever you sell.
Where to find the numbers
- 01
Fixed costs
Add up your platform plan, apps, software, rent and any salaries from last month's bank statement.
- 02
Average price
Use revenue divided by units sold over the last few months, from your Shopify Analytics or WooCommerce Analytics → Orders reports.
- 03
Payment fees
Use your processor's rate. Shopify Payments on the US Basic plan is 2.9% + 30¢ online.
Questions people ask
How do you calculate break-even in units?
Divide fixed costs by the contribution per unit (price minus variable cost per unit). With $4,000 of fixed costs and $21.40 per unit, that's 187 units.
What costs are fixed and which are variable?
Fixed costs stay the same whatever you sell: rent, software, salaries. Variable costs come with each sale: product, shipping, packaging and payment fees.
What is margin of safety?
How far your current sales can drop before you reach break-even, as a percentage of current sales.
Is break-even the same as break-even ROAS?
No. Break-even ROAS is the ad return where one order stops losing money. Use the break-even ROAS calculator for that.
Related tools
Want this builtinto your store?
I'm Emmanuel, a Shopify and WooCommerce developer. If this tool pointed at something you'd rather have fixed for you (a faster store, cleaner product data, a migration, a custom feature), send me a note.
Emmanuel Asika
Shopify & WooCommerce developer, Dublin
I build and fix online stores: new builds, migrations, speed, SEO and the custom bits apps can't do.
Last reviewed 30 September 2026.
Sources: Shopify: Pricing (US)