Commerce Tally

Break-Even Calculator

Calculate how many units you need to sell to break even and cover all your fixed and variable costs.

Commerce Tally provides free educational calculators for ecommerce sellers. All results are estimates only and should not be considered financial, tax, legal, accounting, shipping, or business advice.

Calculate Break-Even Point
Enter your costs and pricing
$

Rent, salaries, equipment, etc.

$

Variable Cost Per Unit

$

Cost of goods (COGS)

$

Packaging & shipping per unit

$

Etsy, eBay, Amazon, etc.

$

Stripe, PayPal, etc.

$

Any other cost per unit

Total cost: $0.00

Cover your costs before you commit

Know your break-even? Factor in returns and turnover

Break-even tells you how many sales to cover cost — but returns, shipping, and slow-moving inventory all push that number higher. Check the full picture before you launch.

A return is a sale you already counted — model a realistic return rate into your break-even, not zero.

Last updated: July 17, 2026 | Reviewed by the Commerce Tally Editorial Team

About This Break-Even Calculator

Use the break-even calculator to estimate how many units or orders must be sold before a product, campaign, or store covers its costs. Online sellers can use it for product launches, wholesale buys, advertising tests, subscription software costs, photo shoots, packaging runs, or new marketplace channels.

How to Use the Calculator

  1. Enter fixed costs such as software, photography, setup fees, or monthly overhead.
  2. Enter the price per unit.
  3. Break the variable cost per unit into its parts — product cost, shipping, marketplace fees, payment processing, and any other per-unit costs. The calculator sums them into a total variable cost.
  4. Review the contribution margin per unit and the number of units needed to break even.
  5. Test different prices, costs, and ad spend scenarios.

How the Math Works

The calculator adds the variable cost fields into a total variable cost per unit. Break-even units equal fixed costs divided by contribution margin per unit. Contribution margin is selling price minus total variable cost. If contribution margin is too small, the required unit count rises quickly.

Calculator results are estimates, not official platform statements. Marketplace fees, processor rates, carrier charges, taxes, return costs, and discounts can change by category, region, seller account, customer location, and timing. Use the result as a planning checkpoint, then confirm important assumptions with your marketplace dashboard, accounting records, shipping software, or a qualified professional.

Interpretation Tips

  • Separate fixed costs from variable costs so the result is meaningful.
  • Use conservative assumptions for new products because early returns and ad costs can be unpredictable.
  • Break-even does not mean the product is attractive; it only means costs are covered.
  • Run best-case and worst-case scenarios before buying inventory.

Break-Even Calculator FAQ

What counts as a fixed cost?

Fixed costs are costs that do not change directly with each unit sold, such as software, setup fees, photography, and some overhead.

What is contribution margin?

Contribution margin is selling price minus variable cost per unit. It is the amount available to cover fixed costs and profit.

Should advertising be fixed or variable?

It depends on the campaign. A fixed launch budget can be treated as fixed, while per-order acquisition cost can be treated as variable.