Break-Even Calculator
Find exactly how many units you need to sell to cover all your costs. Essential analysis before launching a new product or scaling your ad spend.
FMonthly Fixed Costs
Basic=$39, Shopify=$105
All monthly subscriptions
Domain, hosting, misc
VVariable Costs Per Unit
Customer-facing price
Cost per unit from supplier
Per order shipping
Cost per acquisition from ads
Percentage + fixed fee per transaction
βοΈ Break-Even Analysis
Break-Even Units / Month
β
Increase price or reduce costs
Break-Even Revenue
β
Contribution Margin
β
How to Use the Break-Even Calculator
The Break-Even Calculator answers the most fundamental question in ecommerce: how many products do I need to sell to stop losing money? Every new product launch, ad campaign, or store should start with break-even analysis β before you spend a single dollar on inventory or advertising.
Enter your monthly fixed costs β these are expenses you pay regardless of sales volume. For a typical Shopify store, this includes your Shopify plan ($39β$399/month), app subscriptions ($50β$300/month), and any staff costs. Then enter your variable costs per unit β what you spend on each individual sale (product cost, shipping, packaging, payment processing).
The calculator instantly shows your break-even units per month, break-even revenue, contribution margin per sale, and how many daily sales you need to reach break-even. Use this alongside our profit calculators to model different pricing and cost scenarios before committing to a product or supplier.
Real-World Example: New Shopify Store Break-Even
π Example: Footwear Store β Month 1
This store only needs to sell 4 units/month to cover all fixed costs β very achievable even with minimal traffic.
This example shows why ecommerce has low barriers to profitability compared to physical retail. With only 4 sales needed to break even, this footwear store becomes profitable from the 5th sale onward β generating $37.31 in pure contribution margin per additional unit sold.
Break-Even Analysis: What the Numbers Tell You
Break-even analysis reveals whether a business model is viable before you invest significant time and money. If your break-even point requires 500 units/month and your market analysis suggests you can only realistically sell 100 units/month at that price point, you have three options: raise prices, reduce costs, or pivot to a different product.
The contribution margin percentage is equally important. A product with a 60% contribution margin ratio is far more scalable than one at 20%, because every additional dollar of revenue contributes 60 cents toward profit (versus 20 cents). High contribution margins allow you to invest more aggressively in advertising while staying profitable.
Use break-even analysis in conjunction with our ROAS Calculator to model your advertising scenarios. If your break-even point is 50 units/month and you're converting 2% of visitors, you need 2,500 targeted visitors per month β which tells you exactly how much ad spend you need based on your CPC.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about calculating ecommerce profits.
The break-even point is the number of units you must sell (or the revenue you must generate) to cover all your costs β fixed and variable β resulting in exactly zero profit or loss. Below break-even you're losing money; above it, you're profitable. For ecommerce, break-even analysis helps you set realistic sales targets, evaluate new product viability, and understand how many ad conversions you need to justify your ad spend.
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