# How to calculate the break-even point in Excel

Divide fixed costs by the margin on each unit and round up: `=ROUNDUP(B2/(B3-B4),0)` is the number of units you must sell.

**Excel:** `=ROUNDUP(B2/(B3-B4),0)` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B |
| --- | --- |
| Product | Value |
| Fixed costs per month | 18500 |
| Price per unit | 45 |
| Variable cost per unit | 27 |
| Break-even units |  |

Formula in B5: `=ROUNDUP(B2/(B3-B4),0)`

Result: 1028

## How it works

Each unit sold contributes its price minus its variable cost, $18, toward the fixed costs. Dividing $18,500 by $18 gives 1,027.8 units, and since you can't sell part of a unit, ROUNDUP makes it 1,028. Beyond that, each unit adds $18 of profit.

## Other ways

- `=B2/(B3-B4)`: The exact figure, for use in further calculations. (1,027.8 units, unrounded.)
- `=B2/(1-B4/B3)`: Break-even in sales dollars: fixed costs divided by the contribution margin ratio. (In dollars: $46,250.)

## Common mistakes

- If the price is no higher than the variable cost, every sale loses money and the formula returns a negative number or #DIV/0!.
- Rounding down would leave you just short of break-even. Use ROUNDUP.

## Questions

**How many units for a target profit?**

Add the target to the fixed costs: `=ROUNDUP((B2+B6)/(B3-B4),0)`.

**How do I show it on a chart?**

Chart total revenue and total cost against units; break-even is where the two lines cross.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/calculate-the-break-even-point