Break-even production calculator

Methodology

Tooling per unit spreads the tooling cost across the units it is expected to produce, which is what makes a low-volume product look expensive even when its material cost is modest. Total variable cost per unit adds material, direct labour, other variable cost and that tooling share. Contribution per unit is selling price minus total variable cost. Break-even units = fixed cost per period ÷ contribution per unit, so the calculation collapses if contribution is zero or negative — which is itself the answer. Margin of safety = (planned volume − break-even volume) ÷ planned volume: how far demand can fall before the period loses money. Full cost per unit at the planned volume adds the fixed-cost share to the variable cost, which is the figure to compare against a quoted price from an outside manufacturer. Excluded: step-fixed costs (a second shift or an extra machine does not appear as volume rises), learning-curve effects on labour, scrap and rework, working capital and the cash timing of tooling, price and mix changes, tax, and any capacity limit. Break-even is a single-product model. A plant making several products shares fixed cost between them, and how that share is assigned changes every number here. You supply every input: this site holds no factory cost data, capacity figures, yields, cycle times or industry benchmarks, and never estimates them for you. Results are an orientation model for structuring a decision, not an industrial engineering study, a quotation, or safety, engineering or financial advice. Confirm equipment capability, staffing, process capability and cost with your own measurements before relying on them.