작성자 James Chae — 엑스퍼트 사피엔스 공동창업자
검토됨 6월 2026
Finance & Accounting
Break-Even Point이란 무엇인가요?
정의
The break-even point is the level of sales — in units or revenue — at which a company's total revenue exactly equals its total costs, meaning it is neither making a profit nor a loss.
Break-even is calculated by dividing total fixed costs by the contribution margin (price per unit minus variable cost per unit): Fixed Costs ÷ (Price − Variable Cost per Unit) = Break-Even Units. A business selling a product for $50 with $30 in variable costs per unit and $40,000 in monthly fixed costs needs to sell 2,000 units a month ($40,000 ÷ $20) just to cover its costs — the 2,001st unit is the first one that generates actual profit.
Break-even analysis is one of the most practical tools for pricing and cost decisions: it shows exactly how a price change, a new fixed cost (like a new hire), or a shift in variable costs (like a supplier price increase) moves the sales volume needed just to stay afloat. It's also a standard requirement in lender and investor financial models, since it demonstrates the founder understands their own unit economics.
왜 중요한가
Many small businesses set prices based on competitor benchmarks or gut feel without ever calculating their actual break-even point, and end up unknowingly selling at a loss once all costs are accounted for. An accountant or fractional CFO can build a break-even model tied to your real cost structure, so pricing, hiring, and expansion decisions are grounded in the number of sales actually required to support them.