Price Increase Calculator

See your new price, the extra profit, and how many sales you could lose before a price rise stops paying

Updated 2026-09-30

Current selling price

Price increase

Variable cost per unit

Units sold per month

New price: $44.00
Price change per unit: $4.00
Gross profit now (per month): $8,000.00
Gross profit if volume holds: $10,000.00
Margin before → after: 40.0% → 45.5%
Extra sales needed to earn the same: 20.0% (100 units)
Break-even volume at the new price: 400 units

Break-even volume change = −price change ÷ (contribution margin + price change), both as a share of the old price. Use variable cost only — rent and other fixed costs do not change with a small shift in volume.

Your numbers stay on this device. The page link keeps your inputs, so a bookmark or shared link reopens these results.

Most owners put off a price rise because they fear losing customers. The useful question is not whether some customers will leave, but how many can leave before you are worse off. That number is usually larger than it feels. Enter your current price, the increase, your variable cost per unit and your monthly volume, and the calculator shows the new price, the profit if nobody leaves, and the break-even volume at the new price.

The formulas

New price = current price × (1 + increase %). Percentage change between any two prices = (new − old) ÷ old × 100.

The break-even volume change comes from contribution-margin analysis, as set out in Nagle, Müller and Gijsbrechts, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: break-even % change in units = −ΔP ÷ (CM + ΔP), where ΔP is the price change and CM is the contribution margin, both as a share of the old price. Contribution margin is (price − variable cost) ÷ price.

Equivalently, break-even units at the new price = current gross profit ÷ new profit per unit.

Worked example

A product sells for $40, costs $24 a unit to make and ship, and moves 500 units a month. Profit is $16 a unit (a 40% contribution margin), or $8,000 a month.

Raise the price 10% to $44. Profit per unit rises to $20, so if volume holds, monthly profit is $10,000 — up 25% from a 10% price change. To fall back to $8,000 you would have to drop to 8,000 ÷ 20 = 400 units: you can lose 100 units, or 20% of sales, before the increase costs you anything. By the formula: 0.10 ÷ (0.40 + 0.10) = 20%.

Sales you can lose before a price rise stops paying (break-even volume change)
Increase	20% margin	30% margin	40% margin	50% margin
3%	13.0%	9.1%	7.0%	5.7%
5%	20.0%	14.3%	11.1%	9.1%
10%	33.3%	25.0%	20.0%	16.7%
15%	42.9%	33.3%	27.3%	23.1%

Why thin margins make price rises safer, not riskier

The table surprises most people: the lower your margin, the more volume a price rise can absorb. At a 20% margin a 5% increase adds a quarter to your profit per unit, so you could lose a fifth of sales and break even. It works in reverse for discounts — the discount break-even calculator shows how many extra sales a price cut needs, and at thin margins that number gets very large very quickly.

Raising prices without losing the customers you want

A price rise that is explained and well-timed loses fewer customers than one that just appears.

Give regular customers notice and a date, and say what changed (materials, freight, wages)
Raise new-customer prices first and grandfather existing customers for a set period if relationships matter
Round to a clean new price rather than repeated small increases
Add a cheaper option below the old price for the most price-sensitive buyers
Update prices on every product and open quote at once so invoices stay consistent

What counts as variable cost

Use only costs that rise and fall with each sale: the product or materials, inbound freight, packaging, card processing fees and sales commission. Rent, software and salaried wages are fixed over a small change in volume and should be left out, or the calculator will understate how much volume you can lose. The cost of goods sold calculator helps pin down the per-unit figure.

Keep the numbers in a spreadsheet

Ready-made Excel and Google Sheets templates that pick up where this calculator stops. One-off purchase, instant download.

Simple Profit & Loss (P&L) Statement Spreadsheet
Log transactions; get a monthly and yearly P&L with margins.
$9See template
Quote / Estimate Template Spreadsheet
Professional quote with validity date, tax, deposit and acceptance signature.
$7See template

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate a percentage price increase?

Subtract the old price from the new price, divide by the old price and multiply by 100. From $40 to $44 is (44 − 40) ÷ 40 = 10%.

How many customers can I lose after raising prices?

Break-even volume change = price increase ÷ (contribution margin + price increase). With a 40% margin and a 10% rise that is 0.10 ÷ 0.50 = 20% of unit sales before profit falls below where it started.

Why does a small price increase raise profit so much?

The whole increase drops to profit because your cost per unit does not change. On a $40 item with $16 of profit, a $4 increase adds 25% to profit per unit.

Should I include fixed costs?

No. Fixed costs like rent stay the same whether you sell 400 or 500 units, so they do not change the break-even comparison. Use variable cost per unit only.

Does this calculator store my numbers?

No. It runs in your browser. The inputs are kept only in the page address so you can bookmark or share a scenario.

Stop calculating one number at a time

ExpressBizTools tracks cost, price, margin, stock levels, and tax on every product and invoice automatically — free, in your browser.

Start free

As an Amazon Associate, ExpressBizTools earns from qualifying purchases. Product links are affiliate links. Calculations are for general planning and are not tax, legal, or financial advice.