Break-Even Price Calculator [Free Tool]
Find the exact exit price where your trade stops losing and starts making money, commissions and spreads included. A must-check before you enter any stock, forex, or crypto position.
Disclaimer: Trading financial instruments involves risk, and everything on this page is provided for educational purposes only. Nothing here is financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any instrument.
Break-Even Price
$100.10
Price you need to sell at to cover all costs
Total Cost
$10010.00
Required Upside
0.10%
The asset must rise 0.10% above 100 just to break even after costs.
How is this calculated?
Break-Even = (Units × Buy Price + Trading Cost) ÷ Units
Required Upside = (Break-Even ÷ Buy Price − 1) × 100
Read the full user guide
Every parameter, formula, and worked example — a complete reference for this tool.
What is the break-even price?
The break-even price is the exact exit level where a trade neither gains nor loses — every dollar of your costs has been recovered, but nothing more. With fees included, that point sits above your entry for a long position and below it for a short, and the gap between entry and break-even is the cost hurdle your trade must clear before it starts paying you. Knowing that hurdle before you commit is the difference between a trade that 'feels' easy and one that actually covers its own cost of admission.
Key concepts
Break-even price
The exit price where net profit equals zero.
Costs shift the line
Commissions move break-even away from the entry price.
Decision use
Know where you stop losing before deciding whether the setup is worth it.
A worked example with real numbers
- 1
Enter the position and costs
You buy 100 shares at $50 with $10 total round-trip costs — $5 to enter and $5 to exit.
- 2
Spread the costs across the shares
$10 ÷ 100 shares = $0.10 per share.
- 3
Compute the break-even
Break-even = $50.00 + $0.10 = $50.10. Price must rise to $50.10 before the trade stops losing.
- 4
Read the hurdle
The $0.10 gap is the cost hurdle the trade must clear. If the setup's typical move is only $0.20, half the move goes to costs.
How to use it
Enter entry, size and direction
The position details.
Enter costs
Commission and fees for the round trip.
Read break-even
The exact exit price for zero net P&L.
The formula, step by step
Break-even
Break-even = Entry + Total cost ÷ Size (long)
Costs are spread across the position.
Mistakes traders make
✗ Thinking break-even equals the entry price
✓Costs move it. Without including commission and spread, you underestimate what the trade must overcome.
✗ Forgetting the spread is a cost too
✓The bid-ask spread is paid on entry and exit, and it is often the largest line. Ignoring it flatters every break-even.
✗ Ignoring break-even when a trade 'feels' cheap to put on
✓A wide-spread or high-fee instrument can need a large move just to get to zero. Know the number before the trade.
When this tool fits — and when it does not
Use it when
- ✓Before any trade, to know how far price must move in your favor just to break even.
- ✓When comparing instruments with very different fee and spread structures.
- ✓When deciding whether a small expected move is even worth trading.
Skip it when
- ✗Using break-even as a stop loss — they are different points.
- ✗Calculating it once and reusing it for different position sizes.
- ✗Ignoring it on short positions, where the hurdle sits below entry.
Practical tips that actually help
Treat the cost hurdle as a filter
If the break-even distance is large relative to the setup's typical move, the trade is arithmetically unattractive no matter how good the idea feels.
Include the spread on both sides
Enter and exit both pay the spread. The full round-trip spread, not half, belongs in the calculation.
Compare break-even across instruments
A 0.2% hurdle on liquid names vs 1% on exotic ones changes which setups are worth pursuing — the tool makes that visible.
Related & next steps
Frequently asked questions
Why is break-even above my entry?▾
Because you must cover the cost of trading. The gap between entry and break-even is the cost hurdle the trade must clear.
Does break-even include the spread?▾
It should. The spread is a real cost you pay to enter and exit, so including it — along with commissions — gives the true level where you stop losing.
Why does a short position break even below entry?▾
A short profits as price falls, so it recovers its costs once price has fallen far enough below the entry. The logic is mirrored: the cost hurdle sits on the profitable side, which for a short is down.
Is break-even the same as my stop loss?▾
No. A stop loss is the level where you choose to exit at a planned loss. Break-even is the level where the loss reaches zero after costs — they are two different points on the price ladder.
Why should I know break-even before entering?▾
Because it quantifies how far the trade must move in your favor just to get to zero. If that distance is large relative to the setup's typical move, the trade may not be worth the cost.
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Break-even calculations depend on your actual fee schedule and position conventions.
Disclaimer: The tools and content on this site are provided for educational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice. Trading and investing involve a substantial risk of loss, and past performance does not guarantee future results.