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A break-even chart, also called a cost-volume-profit (CVP) graph, puts the break-even calculation on one picture. Two straight lines — total revenue and total cost — cross at the break-even point. To the left of the crossing the cost line is higher and the gap between the lines is the loss; to the right the revenue line is higher and the gap is the profit. The chart needs only three numbers: fixed costs for a period, the price per unit and the variable cost per unit.
What the chart shows
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Axes
Units sold along the horizontal axis, dollars up the vertical axis.
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Total revenue line
Starts at zero and rises by the price for every unit.
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Total cost line
Starts at the fixed cost on the dollar axis and rises by the variable cost per unit — more slowly than revenue when contribution is positive.
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Break-even point
Where the two lines cross; read the units below it and the revenue beside it.
Plot points for a worked example
Use fixed costs of $10,000 a month, a price of $50 and a variable cost of $30. Because both lines are straight, two points each would be enough; a few more make the profit and loss gaps easy to see. Put these values in a spreadsheet, select the three dollar columns and insert a line chart with units as the horizontal axis.
| Units | Total revenue | Total cost | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $0 | $10,000 | −$10,000 |
| 250 | $12,500 | $17,500 | −$5,000 |
| 500 | $25,000 | $25,000 | $0 |
| 750 | $37,500 | $32,500 | +$5,000 |
| 1,000 | $50,000 | $40,000 | +$10,000 |
Reading the chart
The lines cross at 500 units and $25,000 — the same answer as $10,000 ÷ ($50 − $30). Each unit beyond 500 widens the profit gap by the $20 contribution; each unit short of it widens the loss gap by the same amount. If the plan for the month is 700 units, the horizontal distance from 500 to 700 is the margin of safety: 200 units, or 200 ÷ 700 = 28.6% of planned sales could disappear before the month makes a loss.
Changes are easy to test by redrawing one line. Raise the price to $55 and the revenue line gets steeper; the contribution becomes $25 and the crossing moves left to 400 units. Add $2,000 of fixed cost and the cost line shifts up in parallel; the crossing moves right to 600 units. A higher variable cost tilts the cost line up and also moves the crossing right. A profit-volume chart is a compact variant: it plots only profit, starting at −$10,000 at zero units and crossing zero at 500.
Where the straight lines stop being true
The chart assumes one price, one variable cost per unit and one level of fixed cost across the whole width of the graph. In practice volume discounts bend the cost line, a second shift or larger space adds a step to fixed costs, and discounts change the revenue line. Draw the chart only across the range of volumes you can actually reach with today's cost structure, and use a weighted contribution if you sell several products in a stable mix.
Method references: OpenStax: Break-Even Point in Units and Dollars; OpenStax: Margin of Safety and Operating Leverage. Checked October 26, 2026. All figures are hypothetical.
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