How to Use the Membership Breakeven Calculator
Your membership business becomes profitable when the margin per member (subscription price minus variable cost) covers your total fixed monthly costs. The breakeven member count = Monthly fixed costs ÷ (Subscription price − Variable cost per member).
For example, if fixed costs are $500/month, subscription price is $10, and variable cost per member is $1, the breakeven point is 56 members ($500 ÷ $9).
Member LTV (Lifetime Value) is the expected total revenue from one member before they cancel: Subscription price ÷ Monthly churn rate. With a 5% monthly churn, LTV equals 20× the monthly subscription price. Reducing churn directly increases LTV and the budget available for customer acquisition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Enter 0 for variable cost if your service is entirely digital with no per-user costs. However, payment processing fees (typically 2.9–3.5%) should be included as variable costs for accuracy.
You may be underestimating variable costs or fixed costs. Make sure to include payment fees, customer support, infrastructure scaling, and any other cost that fluctuates with membership size.