Canonical formula calculator
BREAK-EVEN VOLUME
How many units you need to sell before you stop losing money — the question every priced product eventually has to answer.
Worked example
How the number is worked out
The same candle maker, with a stall booked for the month.
Starting from
Working
One hundred jars before the month costs nothing. Jar 101 is the first that pays anybody — and a discount to $25 a jar moves that line to 120, because the fixed costs did not move with the price.
What this tells you
Break-even volume tells you the exact number of units you have to sell to cover your fixed costs at your current pricing. Above that number, every unit is contributing to profit. Below it, every unit is contributing to a loss. It is the simplest test for whether a price point is viable given your cost structure.
When to use it
Calculate break-even before launching a new product, before changing prices, before adding fixed costs like a new lease or hire. Use it to evaluate whether the volume implied is realistic — if your break-even is 10,000 units a month and your current run rate is 100, you have a structural problem, not a marketing problem.
What it doesn’t tell you
Break-even volume assumes prices and variable costs stay constant, which they often do not at scale. It also says nothing about whether the unit volume is achievable in your market. A break-even of 200 units a month is great if you can realistically sell 1,000; it is a death sentence if your TAM is 150.
Reckon it, don’t just calc it
A calculator gives you today’s number. Reckon takes your plan to make your own money and checks it against what’s real — your margin, your price, what it takes to hit the take-home you want. No AI, no guessing — the same input always gives the same answer.