Free calculator
Break-Even Calculator
Find the member count and revenue level where contribution margin covers fixed monthly costs, with an optional ramp to estimate timing.
Your inputs
Membership price or average monthly spend per customer
Costs that scale with each member, as a percentage of their revenue (staff commission, consumables, etc.)
Your results
Contribution per Member
$97
Members to Break Even
331
Monthly Revenue at Break-Even
$49,319
Projected Break-Even Month
Month 14
Ramp snapshot
Email these results
A copy of your inputs and numbers, so you can compare scenarios later.
How this is calculated
Break-even is the point where contribution from members covers your fixed monthly costs. The ramp option estimates how long that takes if you add members at a steady pace.
- Contribution per member = avg monthly revenue per member × (1 − variable cost %). This is what each member adds toward fixed costs after their own variable costs.
- Break-even members = ceil(fixed monthly costs ÷ contribution per member). Fixed costs are rent, base payroll, insurance, software, and other monthly costs that do not move with member count.
- Break-even revenue = break-even members × avg monthly revenue per member.
- If a monthly ramp is provided: members accumulate each month until the count reaches break-even. The ramp assumes net new members with no churn, so treat the projected month as optimistic.
Worked example
With $40,000 in fixed monthly costs, $140 average revenue per member, and 25% variable cost: contribution per member is $105, so you need 381 members to break even. Adding 30 net new members a month, that is roughly month 13, assuming no churn.
All outputs are planning estimates, not guarantees. Consult the brand FDD and your advisors for decisions.
Break-even is the single most important number when you underwrite a location: how many paying members it takes for revenue to cover fixed costs. Below it you are burning cash; above it every additional member drops to the bottom line at your contribution margin.
This calculator turns your rent, staffing, and other fixed costs into a member count, and lets you overlay a ramp so you can see how many months of losses to fund before the location crosses over.
The formula
Break-even members = fixed costs ÷ (average revenue per member − variable cost per member).
Related guide: Wellness studio profit margins
Frequently asked questions
- How do I calculate break-even for a fitness studio?
- Divide your total monthly fixed costs (rent, base payroll, insurance, software) by your contribution margin per member — average monthly revenue per member minus the variable cost to serve them. The result is the number of members needed to cover costs.
- How long does a new studio take to reach break-even?
- Many boutique wellness studios take 6–18 months to reach break-even membership, depending on market, pre-sale, and marketing. Fund your working capital to cover the full ramp, not just the first month or two.
- What counts as a fixed vs variable cost?
- Fixed costs don't move with membership in the short term — rent, salaried staff, insurance, software. Variable costs scale with members served, such as hourly instructor pay, payment processing, and consumables.