BREAK-EVEN SALES & UNIT VOLUME CALCULATOR
Find out exactly how many units you need to sell each month to cover your fixed overhead — then track progress toward it.
Shopify plan, software, ad budget, domain, etc.
Base cost + shipping + fees
🔒 All calculations run in your browser — no data is stored or sent to our servers.
The Break-Even Formula
Break-Even Units = Total Fixed Costs ÷ (Selling Price − Variable Cost Per Unit)
Worked Example — $30 POD product, $500/mo fixed costs:
- 1. Fixed Costs: $500/month (Shopify plan + software + ad retainer)
- 2. Selling Price: $30
- 3. Variable Cost/Unit: $12 (base cost + shipping + fees)
- 4. Contribution Margin: $30 − $12 = $18
- 5. Break-Even Units: $500 ÷ $18 = 27.8 → 28 units/month
- 6. Break-Even Revenue: 28 × $30 = $840/month
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a fixed cost for an online store?
Fixed costs are expenses that stay the same regardless of how many units you sell in a month — your Shopify or Etsy Plus subscription, design software licenses, a baseline ad retainer, domain and app fees. Variable costs (product cost, shipping, per-sale fees) scale with volume and are handled separately in the break-even formula.
What is a good break-even unit volume for a new store?
There's no universal number — it depends entirely on your fixed cost base and contribution margin per unit. A store with $200/month in overhead and a $15 contribution margin per sale breaks even at just ~14 units; a store with $2,000/month in overhead and a $5 margin needs 400 units. Lowering fixed costs or raising your per-unit margin both reduce the volume you need.
Why is contribution margin more important than gross revenue here?
Contribution margin (price minus variable cost) is what actually pays down your fixed costs. A store doing $10,000/month in revenue but with thin per-unit margins can still be losing money, while a smaller-revenue store with a healthy contribution margin per unit breaks even faster.
About This Calculator
Built for solo and small-team e-commerce sellers who need a fast, honest read on monthly viability — not a full accounting model.
Last reviewed: 2026
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