Months to Profitability Calculator
Find the month your growing revenue overtakes your growing costs — the point your business turns cash-flow positive.
How it works
Revenueₘ = rev₀ × (1+revG)^m · Costₘ = cost₀ × (1+costG)^m · profitable when Revenueₘ ≥ Costₘ
Profitability is a race between two compounding curves. As long as revenue grows faster than costs, the gap closes and eventually flips positive — but the month it happens, and the cash you burn getting there, both depend heavily on the two growth rates. This tool projects both curves forward month by month and reports the first month revenue meets or beats cost, plus the total cash consumed until then.
Worked example
Starting at $40,000 revenue growing 10% monthly against $60,000 of costs growing 3% monthly: revenue reaches roughly $77,900 in month 7 while costs reach about $73,800, so month 7 is the first profitable month. The cumulative shortfall over those months is the cash you need on hand to survive to break-even.
Frequently asked questions
Is this operating profit or cash flow?
It compares monthly revenue against monthly costs, so it approximates operating cash flow. If your costs line excludes non-cash items like depreciation, the crossover marks when you turn cash-flow positive.
What if costs grow as fast as revenue?
If cost growth matches or exceeds revenue growth and you start in the red, the gap never closes. The calculator will report that profitability is not reached, which is a signal to change the trajectory rather than a rounding issue.
Why does cumulative burn matter?
The month you turn profitable tells you when the bleeding stops; the cumulative burn tells you how much runway you must raise or hold to survive until then. Both numbers drive the size of your next round.
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Educational estimate, not financial advice.