Enter your one-off fixed cost, your unit selling price and your per-unit variable cost to see exactly how many pieces you must sell to break even — plus the revenue that reaches and the contribution each garment makes. The formula is fixed arithmetic; every number is yours, so nothing here is a made-up price.
⚠️ The formula is exact; the figures are yours. Break-even = fixed cost ÷ (price − variable cost), and the arithmetic carries no error margin. But Kiwi Giyim doesn't pre-fill your numbers — fixed cost, selling price and variable cost all come from your own quote and pricing, so nothing here is an invented figure. Enter your three numbers to see the break-even point.
Fixed costs — tooling, sampling, set-up — are paid once. Variable costs — yarn, knitting, freight — repeat on every piece. Only the variable cost is subtracted from your price.
Each unit's contribution (price − variable) chips away at the fixed cost. The bigger the contribution, the sooner the style pays for its set-up.
You can't sell a fraction of a garment, so break-even units are rounded up to the next whole piece — the real number you must ship to clear zero.
There's no honest fixed price for knitwear without a tech pack. Fixed cost, price and variable cost are all yours; the arithmetic on top is exact.
No black box. The calculator runs exactly these lines:
Contribution / unit = selling price − variable cost / unit Break-even units = fixed cost ÷ contribution / unit (rounded up) Break-even revenue = break-even units × selling price Rule: if price ≤ variable cost → no break-even The arithmetic is exact — no error margin. Worked example: a $5,000 fixed cost, a $40 selling price and a $22 variable cost give an $18 contribution, so 5,000 ÷ 18 = 278 pieces to break even, and 278 × $40 = $11,120 in break-even revenue. The only numbers that need real values are yours, from a quote against your tech pack and your own retail or wholesale price.
Pricing the pieces behind these numbers? Pair this with the knitwear cost calculator for an indicative per-piece cost that feeds your variable cost, and the MOQ & order value calculator to size the full run against our 250-per-colour minimum. Browse every tool on the free tools page, or start with our knitwear manufacturer overview.
Break-even units = fixed cost ÷ (unit selling price − unit variable cost). The denominator is your contribution per unit — what each garment adds toward covering fixed costs. For example, $5,000 in fixed costs, a $40 selling price and a $22 variable cost give an $18 contribution, so 5,000 ÷ 18 = 278 units (rounded up). Break-even revenue is those units × price. Every figure comes from your own numbers — nothing here is a Kiwi Giyim price.
Fixed costs are the one-off outlays that don't change with volume — tooling or programming a WHOLEGARMENT or flat-knit style, sampling rounds, artwork and set-up. Variable costs are per-garment: yarn, knitting, linking, finishing, labels and freight per piece. This calculator keeps them separate because only the variable cost is subtracted from your selling price to find contribution; fixed costs sit on top and are exactly what the break-even units must recover.
Contribution per unit = selling price − variable cost per unit. It is the amount each garment contributes toward your fixed costs and, once you pass break-even, toward profit. A thin contribution means you must sell many units before a style pays back its set-up; a healthy contribution reaches break-even faster. It is the single most important lever — raising the price or trimming the variable cost both widen it.
If price is less than or equal to variable cost, contribution is zero or negative and there is no break-even — every unit sold loses money, so no volume can ever recover the fixed cost. The calculator flags this instead of showing a number. The fix is to raise the selling price, lower the variable cost through larger runs, yarn choice or simpler construction, or both, until the price clears the per-unit variable cost with room to spare.
Send your tech pack (or use our free template) and we'll reply within one business day with real per-piece pricing, a sample timeline and an honest read on whether your target price clears the variable cost with room to spare.