{"success":true,"version":"v1","request":{"tool":"get_calculator_schema","calculator_id":"break-even"},"result":{"entity_type":"calculator","id":"break-even","calculator_id":"break-even","canonical_url":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/break-even","name":"Break-Even Calculator","title":"Break-Even Calculator – Units and Revenue Needed to Cover Fixed Costs","category":"finance","category_name":"Finance","tool_name":"calculate_break_even","featured_mcp_tool":false,"description":"Computes the contribution margin per unit and the number of units and revenue required for total revenue to equal total costs (or to reach a target profit).","use_when":"You are planning a product, service or event and need to know how many units must be sold at a given price to cover fixed costs, or to earn a specific profit.","do_not_use_when":"Price or variable cost changes with volume (needs a stepwise or non-linear model), or you only need margin/markup on one unit (use margin-markup).","inputs":[{"name":"fixed_costs","label":"Fixed costs","type":"number","required":true,"min":0,"max":1000000000000,"description":"Total costs that do not change with volume over the period (rent, salaries, equipment).","example":10000},{"name":"price_per_unit","label":"Selling price per unit","type":"number","required":true,"max":1000000000,"exclusive_min":0,"description":"Revenue received per unit sold.","example":50},{"name":"variable_cost_per_unit","label":"Variable cost per unit","type":"number","required":true,"min":0,"max":1000000000,"description":"Cost incurred for each unit produced or sold (materials, commissions, shipping).","example":30},{"name":"target_profit","label":"Target profit","type":"number","required":false,"default":0,"min":0,"max":1000000000000,"description":"Optional profit to earn on top of covering fixed costs.","example":0}],"outputs":[{"name":"contribution_margin_per_unit","label":"Contribution margin per unit","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"price_per_unit − variable_cost_per_unit."},{"name":"contribution_margin_ratio_percent","label":"Contribution margin ratio","type":"number","unit":"%","decimals":2,"description":"contribution margin / price × 100."},{"name":"break_even_units","label":"Break-even units","type":"number","unit":"units","decimals":2,"description":"(fixed_costs + target_profit) / contribution margin per unit."},{"name":"break_even_units_rounded_up","label":"Whole units to sell","type":"integer","unit":"units","decimals":0,"description":"break_even_units rounded up to the next whole unit."},{"name":"break_even_revenue","label":"Break-even revenue","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"break_even_units × price_per_unit, equivalently (fixed_costs + target_profit) / contribution margin ratio."}],"input_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"fixed_costs":{"description":"Total costs that do not change with volume over the period (rent, salaries, equipment).","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":1000000000000,"examples":[10000]},"price_per_unit":{"description":"Revenue received per unit sold.","type":"number","maximum":1000000000,"exclusiveMinimum":0,"examples":[50]},"variable_cost_per_unit":{"description":"Cost incurred for each unit produced or sold (materials, commissions, shipping).","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":1000000000,"examples":[30]},"target_profit":{"description":"Optional profit to earn on top of covering fixed costs.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":1000000000000,"default":0,"examples":[0]}},"additionalProperties":false,"required":["fixed_costs","price_per_unit","variable_cost_per_unit"]},"output_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"contribution_margin_per_unit":{"description":"price_per_unit − variable_cost_per_unit.","type":"number"},"contribution_margin_ratio_percent":{"description":"contribution margin / price × 100. Unit: %.","type":"number","x-unit":"%"},"break_even_units":{"description":"(fixed_costs + target_profit) / contribution margin per unit. Unit: units.","type":"number","x-unit":"units"},"break_even_units_rounded_up":{"description":"break_even_units rounded up to the next whole unit. Unit: units.","type":"integer","x-unit":"units"},"break_even_revenue":{"description":"break_even_units × price_per_unit, equivalently (fixed_costs + target_profit) / contribution margin ratio.","type":"number"}}},"formula":"contribution_margin = price_per_unit − variable_cost_per_unit; break_even_units = (fixed_costs + target_profit) / contribution_margin; break_even_revenue = break_even_units × price_per_unit","method":"Linear cost-volume-profit model: constant price and variable cost per unit, fixed costs constant over the relevant range, single product.","sources":[{"name":"Investopedia – Break-Even Analysis: Definition and Formula","url":"https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/breakevenanalysis.asp","type":"reference","retrieved_at":"2026-09-23"},{"name":"Wikipedia – Break-even (economics)","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break-even_(economics)","type":"reference","retrieved_at":"2026-09-23"},{"name":"Wikipedia – Contribution margin","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contribution_margin","type":"reference","retrieved_at":"2026-09-23"}],"freshness":{"type":"static","max_age_seconds":null,"note":"Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output."},"examples":[{"name":"10,000 fixed, price 50, variable 30","inputs":{"fixed_costs":10000,"price_per_unit":50,"variable_cost_per_unit":30},"expected":{"contribution_margin_per_unit":20,"contribution_margin_ratio_percent":40,"break_even_units":500,"break_even_units_rounded_up":500,"break_even_revenue":25000},"url":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/break-even?fixed_costs=10000&price_per_unit=50&variable_cost_per_unit=30"},{"name":"60,000 fixed, price 25, variable 10, target profit 15,000","inputs":{"fixed_costs":60000,"price_per_unit":25,"variable_cost_per_unit":10,"target_profit":15000},"expected":{"contribution_margin_per_unit":15,"break_even_units":5000,"break_even_revenue":125000},"url":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/break-even?fixed_costs=60000&price_per_unit=25&variable_cost_per_unit=10&target_profit=15000"}],"faq":[{"q":"What if the variable cost is higher than the price?","a":"Every sale loses money and no volume can cover fixed costs; the calculator returns an error asking for a higher price or lower unit cost."},{"q":"Is break-even revenue the same as break-even units times price?","a":"Yes. It can also be computed directly as fixed costs divided by the contribution margin ratio, which is useful when you only know the ratio."}],"tags":["break even","break-even point","contribution margin","cost volume profit","units to sell"],"related":[{"calculator_id":"margin-markup","reason":"Set the unit price from cost and a target margin."},{"calculator_id":"roi","reason":"Evaluate the return once the project is profitable."}],"links":{"html":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/break-even","markdown":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/break-even.md","json":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/break-even.json","api":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/break-even","schema":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/break-even","openapi":"https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json","mcp":"https://tttkmbb.com/mcp"},"version":"v1","updated_at":"2026-09-23"},"timestamp":"2026-09-23T23:25:43Z","next_actions":[{"tool":"run_calculator","calculator_id":"break-even","reason":"Run Break-Even Calculator with the inputs above."}],"links":{"markdown":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/break-even.md"}}