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Chart · Break-Even

Contribution and Break-Even Reference

Compare continuous and whole-unit break-even results for $4,500 fixed costs and a hypothetical $18 selling price as variable cost changes.

By PriceAndProfit Editorial Updated

The revenue column is deliberately tied to the rounded whole-unit count. At $11 variable cost, the continuous break-even revenue is $11,571.43, but selling 643 complete units produces $11,574 and $1 of operating profit. Both numbers are useful when their definitions are clear; they should not share the same unexplained label.

Exact units = 4,500 ÷ (18 − variable cost); whole units = ceil(exact units)
Hypothetical worked values; no market or statutory rates
Variable costUnit contributionExact unitsWhole unitsRevenue at whole units
$8 $10 450 450 $8,100
$10 $8 562.5 563 $10,134
$11 $7 642.8571 643 $11,574
$13 $5 900 900 $16,200
$18 $0 No positive-cost break-even Not available Not available
$20 −$2 No positive-volume recovery Not available Not available

How to read and reuse this example

Choose one fixed-cost period before using a row. Monthly fixed costs produce required monthly units; annual fixed costs produce annual units. The price and variable cost must remain valid at the required volume. If the next unit triggers another worker or warehouse, use a new cost range instead of extending this straight-line table.

Boundaries and exceptions

This illustration has positive fixed costs. With zero contribution, each sale leaves the same fixed loss; it does not increase that loss. With negative contribution, each additional sale deepens it. Zero fixed cost is a separate boundary: zero sales can already break even even when no positive-sales break-even threshold exists.

Method reference: OpenStax: Break-Even Points in Units and Dollars. Checked October 22, 2026. Contribution and cost-volume-profit relationships; examples are independently constructed.

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