Break-even calculator
How many items do you need to sell each month to cover rent, salaries and bills? Every sale after that is profit. Free to use, no sign-up, and nothing you enter is stored.
Reviewed 22 October 2026
How it works
Some costs come every month whether you sell or not: rent, salaries, electricity, internet. Each item you sell leaves a little money after its own cost (material, packing, delivery), and that money pays those monthly costs first.
Break-even is the number of sales at which the monthly costs are fully paid. Below it the month is a loss. Above it, every sale adds to profit.
Formula
- Money kept per item = selling price − cost of the item
- Items to sell each month = monthly costs ÷ money kept per item (rounded up)
- Sales needed each month = items to sell × selling price
Worked example
A home bakery pays ₹15,000 rent, ₹12,000 salary and ₹3,000 for electricity and gas: ₹30,000 a month. A cake sells for ₹250 and its ingredients and box cost ₹150, so each cake leaves ₹100.
₹30,000 ÷ ₹100 = 300 cakes a month, about 10 a day, or ₹75,000 in sales. The 301st cake is the first one that earns a profit.
How to use these calculators well
Keep every number on the same basis. If your selling price excludes GST, your cost should exclude input GST too. Mixing a tax-inclusive price with a tax-exclusive cost is the most common reason a margin looks better than it really is.
Use real numbers from your own records. Last month's bills, purchase invoices and appointment calendar give far better answers than guesses. vkRetA keeps those records for you, so the inputs for these calculators are already in your workspace.
- Values stay in your browser and are not stored
- Results are estimates for planning, not tax or accounting advice
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a monthly cost here?
Costs you pay each month regardless of sales, such as rent, salaries, electricity, internet and software. Materials, packaging and delivery that rise with each sale belong in the item cost instead.
What if the price is lower than the item cost?
Then no number of sales can cover the monthly costs. Raise the price or lower the item cost first.
Is this calculator free to use?
Yes. It is free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser. The values you enter are not submitted or stored.
Does vkRetA do this arithmetic on my bills?
Yes. On every bill vkRetA works out GST per line with the CGST and SGST or IGST split, applies coupon rules and updates stock and customer history. The calculator is for planning before you set prices.
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