Free tool
Break-even calculator
How many paying users a month cover your costs? Enter your monthly fixed costs, what a user pays and what each one costs you to serve. Free, no sign-up, nothing leaves your browser.
Software, base hosting, salaries or contractors, marketing, insurance.
What a user pays you each month, excluding VAT.
Payment fees, extra hosting, AI and API usage, support.
Leave at 0 if everyone pays. With a free plan, the share who upgrade.
Enter your price to see your break-even point.
The formula
Paying users needed = fixed costs ÷ (price − cost to serve each user)
What each paying user leaves after the cost of serving them is their contribution. Break-even is the number of contributions it takes to pay the month’s fixed costs. The calculator rounds up to whole users.
A calculation from your own figures, not financial advice.
Break-even questions
What is the break-even point?
The number of paying users at which your monthly revenue exactly covers your monthly costs, so you make neither a profit nor a loss. Every paying user above it adds to profit; below it, you are spending your runway.
What are fixed costs and costs per user?
Fixed costs stay about the same whatever the number of users: software subscriptions, base hosting, salaries or contractors, marketing, insurance, an accountant. Costs per user rise with each paying user: payment fees, extra hosting or storage, AI and API usage, support time. Break-even depends on the gap between your price and the cost of serving each user.
I have several plans. What price do I use?
Use the average a paying user pays you each month, and the average cost of serving them. If you sell yearly plans, divide the yearly price by 12. The runway calculator works with each plan separately.
What if most users are on a free plan?
Enter the share of users who pay. The calculator then shows how many active users, free and paying, you need to reach break-even, which tells you how big the audience has to be.
How do I lower my break-even point?
Charge more, cut the cost of serving each user, or reduce fixed costs. The table on this page shows how much a 10% change in price moves the number.