break-even analysis spreadsheet
Work out break-even and unit economics
Calculate contribution margin, customer acquisition cost and lifetime value so you know how many sales cover your costs.
Opening the template uses no credits. Building from a prompt uses credits; the Free plan includes 25.
Pricing and marketing decisions depend on what one customer is worth after costs. Tabstra lays out the unit economics so you can see what has to be true to break even.
What the spreadsheet looks like
| Row | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Input | Value |
| 2 | Marketing spend | 50,000 |
| 3 | New customers | 125 |
| 4 | Revenue per customer / month | 60 |
| 5 | Gross margin | 0.8 |
| 6 | Monthly churn | 0.03 |
| 7 | CAC | =B2/B3 |
| 8 | LTV | =B4*B5/B6 |
| 9 | LTV / CAC | =B8/B7 |
| 10 | Payback (months) | =B7/(B4*B5) |
This is the real first sheet of the Unit Economics (CAC and LTV) template. Every total is a formula.
Who it's for
- Founders setting prices
- Marketers judging ad spend
- E-commerce and subscription businesses
What you get
- Contribution margin per unit
- CAC, LTV and LTV:CAC ratio
- Break-even volume as a formula
- Assumptions you can change
How it works
- 1
Enter price and costs
Separate variable costs from fixed costs.
- 2
Read the ratio
LTV:CAC shows if acquisition pays back.
- 3
Test prices
Change the price cell and see break-even move.
Prompts to try
Tips from practice
- Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost).
- Use gross-margin LTV, not revenue LTV.
- Recheck churn assumptions with real data after a few months.
Good to know: Results depend on your cost and churn assumptions.
Formulas used here: ROUND, IF, Percentage change