What to enter
Fixed costs stay the same when you add a paying account. Use one line per cost, up to 20. A name is optional. A blank name shows as Fixed cost 1, Fixed cost 2, and so on in the breakdown.
A monthly line is what you pay each month. A yearly line is the bill for the whole year, and the breakdown divides it by 12.
Add your own pay only when this answer should cover it. Leave it off when you want the other bills only.
Split a bill that has a minimum plus usage. The minimum is fixed. The part that grows with accounts or revenue is variable. Don't type the whole bill in both places.
Per account is a dollar cost for each paying account, such as usage-based hosting or a per-seat tool. It can be higher than the revenue from that account. Share of MRR is a percent of recurring revenue, from 0 to 100, such as a payment fee. Only the field for the method you picked counts.
Monthly ARPA is average revenue per account for one month. With Per account, ARPA must be above 0. With Share of MRR, it's optional. A blank ARPA means the account count is unknown, not that revenue is zero.
Current MRR is optional. Use the recurring monthly amount, and count a yearly plan as one twelfth. Leave it blank if you don't know it. Type 0 only when today's recurring revenue really is zero.
Type digits with up to two decimals. A $, comma, or % sign is rejected. Currency changes the symbol only.
How to read the result
The main result is the smallest monthly recurring revenue that covers your fixed costs after variable costs.
Paying accounts needed rounds up to a whole account. MRR at N accounts is the revenue those accounts bring in, which can be a little higher than the main result. Left after fixed costs is what those accounts leave after variable and fixed costs.
Monthly result now shows after you enter current MRR. It is that revenue after variable costs, minus fixed costs. A minus sign is a shortfall on this cost list. Cash in the bank can differ.
How is break-even MRR calculated?
Break-even MRR is your fixed monthly cost divided by the share of each revenue dollar left after variable costs. The account count divides the same fixed cost by what one account contributes, then rounds up to a whole account.
Contribution is monthly ARPA minus the variable cost of one account. ARPA means average revenue per account. The contribution ratio is contribution divided by ARPA.
Per account
Break-even MRR = fixed costs ÷ contribution ratio
Accounts = fixed costs ÷ contribution per account, rounded up
The SBA's break-even guidance uses the same division. You can't sell part of an account, so the count rounds up. The revenue figure rounds up to the next cent, so it never falls short.
$25,000 fixed, $49 a month, $8 variable cost
Contribution is $41.00 per account. The ratio shows 83.67%, which is $41 ÷ $49 rounded to a hundredth of a percent. The math uses the exact ratio.
$25,000 × $49 ÷ $41 comes to $29,878.048..., so break-even MRR is $29,878.05.
$25,000 ÷ $41 is 609.76 accounts, so you need 610. Those accounts bring $29,890.00 of MRR, which leaves $10.00 after fixed costs.
$29,878.05 is the smallest monthly revenue that covers the costs. $29,890.00 is what 610 whole accounts bring in. The page shows both.
Which costs are fixed, and which grow?
Fixed costs stay put as the account count changes. Variable costs grow with accounts or with revenue. The SBA guidance says to split a cost that has both parts, and to turn a yearly bill into a monthly amount.
| Cost | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Rent, salaries, and software you pay with no new accounts | Fixed, per month or per year |
| A hosting minimum you pay even with no usage | Fixed |
| Hosting or support that rises with accounts or usage | Variable, per account |
| Payment fees that are a percent of revenue | Variable, as a share of MRR |
| Your own pay, when this result should cover it | Fixed |
| A bill with a fixed part and a growing part | Split it. Don't enter the same dollars twice. |
A yearly line of $100 shows $8.33 a month, because $100 ÷ 12 doesn't land on a whole cent. The math keeps the exact twelfth.
Stripe's gross margin guide puts hosting, support, and payment processing in the cost to serve. Some of that cost is fixed, and some of it grows. If your gross margin already subtracts a fixed hosting minimum or a support salary, don't use that whole margin as the variable share. Enter the fixed part on a fixed line and only the growing part as variable.
A steady sales payroll can sit on a fixed line when you want the result to cover it. Ad spend that grows with each new customer is the cost of winning customers, and this page leaves it out. Use the CAC payback calculator for that.
Should your own pay be included?
Include it when you want the revenue that covers your pay and the other fixed costs. Leave it off when you want the other bills only. The breakdown shows the lines you included.
What if variable costs are a share of MRR?
Use Share of MRR when the variable cost is a percent of recurring revenue. Break-even MRR is then fixed monthly cost divided by the share you keep.
Share of MRR
Break-even MRR = fixed costs ÷ (1 - variable share)
$4,500 of fixed costs and a 20% variable share leave 80 cents of each revenue dollar, so break-even MRR is $5,625.00. Leave ARPA blank and the revenue answer is still complete, but there's no account count.
Add an ARPA of $29 and contribution is $23.20 per account. You need 194 accounts. Those bring $5,626.00, which leaves $0.80 after fixed costs.
The share stops at 100%, so this mode can't show an account that loses money. Use Per account with a variable cost above ARPA for that case.
What does current MRR change?
Current MRR shows where today's recurring revenue sits against break-even. It doesn't change break-even MRR.
Take $1,000 of fixed costs, $50 of ARPA, and $10 of variable cost. Contribution is $40.00 and break-even MRR is $1,250.00. 25 accounts bring exactly $1,250.00, so the two revenue figures match here.
| Current MRR | Monthly result now | Gap | More accounts at $50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | -$600.00 | MRR still needed: $750.00 | 15 |
| $5,000 | $3,000.00 | Above break-even by $3,750.00 | 0 |
At $500 of current MRR, variable costs leave $400.00, which is $600.00 short of the $1,000 fixed cost. Each extra account adds $40.00, so 15 accounts close that $600.00 gap.
When the main result isn't a dollar amount, Monthly result now still shows. The revenue gap and the extra accounts stay blank.
When is there no break-even point?
There's no break-even point when each account contributes nothing or loses money. More accounts can't close a fixed-cost gap then.
| Contribution | Fixed costs | Main result |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | Above 0 | The dollar amount |
| Positive | 0 | $0.00. Any paying account adds profit. |
| Zero | Above 0 | No break-even point. More accounts never cover the fixed costs. |
| Negative | Above 0 | No break-even point. More accounts widen the gap. |
| Zero | 0 | Breaks even at any MRR |
| Negative | 0 | Only at $0 MRR. Each added account loses money. |
ARPA of $29 and a variable cost of $29, with $4,500 fixed, leaves $0.00 per account, so more accounts never cover that $4,500. A variable cost of $30 loses $1.00 per account, so more accounts widen the gap. At a current MRR of $2,900, monthly result now is -$4,600.00.
Is break-even MRR cash, or a date?
Neither. It is the monthly rate of recurring revenue that covers this cost list. ChartMogul's MRR definition spreads each subscription across its billing interval and leaves one-time charges out, so MRR is not the cash you collect this month.
Stripe's guide to subscription revenue recognition also counts revenue as the service is delivered. A customer can pay for a year up front and still add one twelfth to MRR. This page doesn't predict the month you'll reach break-even, and it isn't an income statement.
One ARPA is an average, and several plans can drift from it. The SBA notes that one average can misstate a mix of products. Use a weighted average, or run the calculator once per plan.
Next, the CAC payback calculator shows how many months of gross profit repay the cost of one new customer. Build that cost in the customer acquisition cost calculator when it needs its own lines. The customer lifetime value calculator and the LTV:CAC calculator compare what a customer is worth with what they cost. The SaaS metrics calculator gives the wider picture for one month.