Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Cups needed to break even
189
Cups needed for target profit
256
Contribution margin per drink
$4.50
Breakeven daily revenue
$1,180.56
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How to use this
- 1Enter daily fixed cost (rent, payroll, overhead ÷ days open) ($).
- 2Enter average ticket price ($).
- 3Enter average cogs as % of ticket (%).
- 4Enter target daily profit ($).
- 5Read your cups needed to break even on the right — it updates as you type.
- 6Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
New cafe owners often price drinks and estimate 'cups needed to survive' separately, when they should be the same calculation. This tool takes your daily fixed cost (rent, insurance, base payroll, subscriptions) and your average contribution margin per drink (price minus ingredient cost), and returns the number of drinks you need to sell each day just to break even, plus what daily sales volume looks like at a target profit level. It's a simplified single-product breakeven model using your average ticket, which is accurate enough for planning purposes even though a real cafe sells a mix of espresso drinks, drip coffee, and food, because average contribution margin captures that mix reasonably well if you calculate it from your actual sales data rather than guessing.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Daily fixed cost (rent, payroll, overhead ÷ days open): 850 $
- Average ticket price: 6.25 $
- Average COGS as % of ticket: 28 %
- Target daily profit: 300 $
Results
- Cups needed to break even: 189
- Cups needed for target profit: 256
- Contribution margin per drink: $4.50
- Breakeven daily revenue: $1,180.56
What each field means
Inputs
- Daily fixed cost (rent, payroll, overhead ÷ days open) ($)
- The daily fixed cost (rent, payroll, overhead ÷ days open) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 850 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Average ticket price ($)
- The average ticket price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 6.25 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Average COGS as % of ticket (%)
- The average cogs as % of ticket used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 28 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–90 %.
- Target daily profit ($)
- The target daily profit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 300 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Cups needed to break even
- Returned as a whole number and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Cups needed for target profit
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Contribution margin per drink
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Breakeven daily revenue
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What counts as daily fixed cost?
Take your monthly rent, insurance, loan payments, base salaried payroll, software subscriptions, and any other cost that doesn't change with sales volume, add them up, and divide by the number of days you're open per month. Don't include hourly barista wages tied to shifts that flex with volume — that's better treated as part of your COGS/variable cost if it scales with sales.
Is 28% COGS realistic for a coffee shop?
Coffee-forward shops with minimal food often run 25-32% COGS. Adding a real food program (pastries, sandwiches) usually pushes blended COGS to 32-38% because food margins are thinner than espresso drink margins, so if you sell significant food, adjust this input upward or the breakeven cup count will be too optimistic.
Why does this use cups instead of dollars?
Owners and staff think in terms of 'how many drinks did we do today' more naturally than a revenue target, and cups-needed is a number the whole team can see progress against on a slow Tuesday versus a busy Saturday. Convert it to revenue too since ticket size drift changes what a 'cup' is worth over time.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Coffee Shop Daily Breakeven Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cafe-daily-breakeven-cups
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cafe-daily-breakeven-cups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coffee Shop Daily Breakeven Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Coffee Shop Daily Breakeven Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cafe-daily-breakeven-cups) (2026).