E-commerce Break-even Calculator

Calculate the number of units your e-commerce store must sell to cover all costs. Enter fixed overhead, selling price, and variable expenses to find the sales volume where revenue equals total costs.

Include rent, salaries, software subscriptions, and any expense that does not change with sales volume
Use the advertised price before discounts or shipping collected from the customer
Sum product cost, fulfillment, payment processing, and advertising spent per unit sold

Use for planning; real-world results depend on market conditions.

Examples

  • $6,200 fixed costs, $64 price, $28 variable cost ⇒ 172.22 ⇒ round up to 173 units
  • $4,800 fixed costs, $42 price, $19 cost ⇒ 208.7 ⇒ plan for 209 units
  • $9,500 fixed costs, $120 price, $78 cost ⇒ 226.19 units to break even

FAQ

What are fixed costs?

Fixed costs are expenses that remain the same regardless of how many units you sell—rent, payroll, insurance, and software subscriptions are common examples.

What if price equals cost?

Break-even is impossible if profit per unit is zero.

Does this include taxes?

No. Add estimated sales tax or income tax separately if you want to model after-tax profitability.

How should I treat returns or refunds?

Factor expected return rates into the variable cost per unit or adjust the selling price to reflect average net revenue.

Can I run this for multiple products?

Yes. Calculate the break-even units for each SKU, or aggregate by using weighted averages for price and cost.

Additional Information

  • If price equals variable cost, contribution margin is zero and breaking even becomes impossible without adjusting pricing or costs.
  • Divide the break-even units by your average monthly traffic-to-purchase conversion rate to estimate how many visitors you need.
  • Test scenarios by adjusting ad spend or shipping rates to see how each lever affects the break-even point.
  • Use the result as a baseline—profit goals require sales above this threshold.

Related calculators