Break Even Examples
Before you price a new product, you need one number: how many units you must sell before you stop losing money. Get it wrong and you're subsidizing every sale. These examples work through the calculation from a simple single-product baseline up to SaaS subscriptions and multi-product portfolios.
Bottom Line
Break-even analysis is a fundamental financial tool that determines the point at which total costs and total revenue are equal, meaning there is no net loss or gain.
Break-Even Units Calculator
Find break-even units, revenue, and target-profit volume fast.
On This Page
Worked Examples
See the inputs and outcome together
Each scenario keeps the starting point, the outcome, and the actual lesson in one place so the page reads like a decision notebook, not a data dump.
- 1
Baseline case
Start from the sample product: $150 price, $60 variable cost, $20,000 fixed costs, $10,000 profit goal.
Each unit contributes $90.00, a 60.0% contribution margin ratio. You need to sell 222 units to break even and 333 units to hit the $10,000 profit target.
Mode
Single
Fixed Costs
$20,000
Target Profit
$10,000
Unit Price
$150
Variable Cost Per Unit
$60
At $90 per unit, fixed costs convert to a manageable 222-unit hurdle. Anchor every later change against this baseline before judging whether a tweak helps or hurts.
- 2
Higher unit price
Raise the price to $170 and hold variable cost and fixed costs steady.
Contribution margin per unit climbs to $110.00 and the ratio to 64.71%. Break-even drops to 182 units from 222.
Mode
Single
Fixed Costs
$20,000
Target Profit
$10,000
Unit Price
$170
Variable Cost Per Unit
$60
A 13% price increase cut the break-even volume by 40 units because the whole price gain flows straight to contribution margin. Pricing power is the fastest lever on this tool.
- 3
Higher variable cost
Hold the $150 price but let variable cost per unit rise to $80.
Contribution margin per unit falls to $70.00 and the ratio to 46.67%. Break-even rises to 286 units.
Mode
Single
Fixed Costs
$20,000
Target Profit
$10,000
Unit Price
$150
Variable Cost Per Unit
$80
A $20 cost creep erased a third of your margin and added 64 units to the break-even hurdle. Supplier price rises hit profitability harder than equal-sized fixed-cost changes.
- 4
Higher fixed costs
Keep the $90 unit margin but lift fixed costs to $26,000.
Contribution margin per unit stays at $90.00, but break-even rises to 289 units and the profit-target volume to 400 units.
Mode
Single
Fixed Costs
$26,000
Target Profit
$10,000
Unit Price
$150
Variable Cost Per Unit
$60
Fixed costs leave the per-unit margin untouched yet still push the break-even point up by 67 units. Watch the unit count here, not the margin, since the margin will not move.
Patterns
Try These Tools
Run the numbers next
Sources & References
- Break-Even Analysis: Formula, Calculator, and How To Use It — Investopedia
- How to Use Break-Even Analysis to Plan for Profitability — U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
Related Content
Keep the topic connected
Break Even Formula
Master the Break-Even Formula to determine the exact sales volume needed to cover all costs and achieve profitability. Essential for business planning.
How to Use Break-Even Units Calculator
How to use Break-Even Units calculator: quickly find out how many units your business needs to sell to cover all costs. This calculator is vital for pricing.
What Is Break-Even Point? Simply Explained
Discover the Break-Even Point: the sales volume where total costs equal total revenue. Learn its formula, real-world examples, and why it's vital.