Free Tool

Event Break-Even Calculator

Find out exactly how many tickets you need to sell to cover your costs and start making profit.

100% Free
No Signup
Instant Results
Data Stays Private

How It Works

1

Costs & Prices

Enter your event costs and ticket prices

2

Break-Even Point

See exactly how many tickets you need to sell

3

Get Your Report

Download or email your calculation report

Enter Your Event Details

Step 1: Your Costs

$
$

Step 2: Ticket Tiers

Tip: Add multiple tiers if you have different ticket prices (e.g., VIP, Early Bird)

Step 3: Profit Goal (optional)

$

Your Results

Enter your event details and click calculate to see your break-even point

How the Break-Even Calculator Works

1

Enter Your Costs

Add your fixed costs (venue, marketing) and variable costs per attendee (food, materials).

2

Set Ticket Prices

Add your ticket tiers with different prices. We'll calculate the average automatically.

3

See Your Results

Instantly see how many tickets you need to sell and your profit at various attendance levels.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a break-even point for events?

The break-even point is the number of tickets you need to sell to cover all your event costs. At this point, your revenue equals your expenses - you're not making a profit, but you're not losing money either.

How do I calculate break-even for multiple ticket types?

When you have multiple ticket tiers (like VIP and General Admission), we calculate an average price across all your tiers. This gives you a realistic break-even number assuming you sell a mix of ticket types.

What costs should I include?

Fixed costs include venue rental, equipment, marketing, staff wages, insurance, and permits. Variable costs are expenses that increase with each attendee, like catering, printed materials, swag bags, or per-person service fees.

Should I include ticketing platform fees?

Yes! Platform fees (like credit card processing and ticketing service fees) can significantly impact your break-even point. Toggle "Include ticketing platform fees" to see how different platforms affect your costs. SwarmTix offers one of the lowest fee structures in the industry.

What is "Profit Per Ticket"?

Profit Per Ticket shows how much each ticket sale contributes toward covering your fixed costs, after accounting for variable costs. It's calculated as: Ticket Price - Variable Cost Per Attendee. A higher profit per ticket means you need fewer tickets to break even.

Why Use Our Free Tools?

Manual Planning
Spreadsheets & Guesswork
Swarmtix Tools
Free & Instant
Time to complete 30-60 minutes Under 2 minutes
Accuracy Prone to errors Precise calculations
Formula setup Build from scratch Ready to use
Visual reports
Platform fee comparison
Cost Your time = money 100% Free
See what you'll get

Sample Break-Even Analysis

Try It Now - It's Free

Takes less than 2 minutes

Break-Even Point
127 tickets
Revenue at Break-Even
$6,350
Profit Margin
28%

Continue Planning Your Event

Use our other free tools to plan every aspect of your event

Ready to Start Selling Tickets?

SwarmTix makes it easy to sell tickets with the lowest fees in the industry. Get started in minutes.

Create Your Free Event