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Class Break-Even Calculator
Room hire, cover, kit — it all has to be paid for before you make a penny. Work out exactly how many people need to show up before a class turns a profit, and what it takes to hit a real target.
Break-even is 0% of capacity — you need 0 of 0 seats filled just to cover your costs. Full-capacity revenue: £0.
Who this is for
PTs, gym owners, and yoga, pilates or fitness instructors who run pay-per-class or drop-in sessions and need to know how many people have to book before the class is worth running — not just how it feels once the room fills up.
What counts as a fixed cost?
Anything you pay regardless of how many people turn up — room or studio hire, your own instructor fee or time, and any kit hire. These costs don't change whether one person shows or the room is full, so they're the number you have to cover before you profit at all.
What counts as a variable cost?
Anything that scales with attendee numbers — handouts, disposable equipment, insurance loading per head, that kind of thing. Most bodyweight or mat-based classes have close to zero variable cost per person, which is why the default is 0 — but printed materials or single-use kit should go in here.
Why does the calculator warn me sometimes?
If your price per attendee is the same as or lower than what each attendee costs you, you lose a little more money every time someone books — there's no number of attendees that makes the class profitable. The warning means the pricing itself needs fixing, not the class size.
How is "attendees for target" different from break-even?
Break-even just covers your fixed costs. "Attendees for target" adds your desired profit on top of the fixed costs before dividing by the contribution per person — so it tells you how many bookings you need not just to avoid a loss, but to actually hit the profit you want from that class.
What's next once I know my break-even number?
If you sell blocks of sessions rather than pricing every class individually, our session package calculator works out a package price that still protects your margin. And if you're running a wider trade or freelance business rather than pay-per-class sessions, the general break-even calculator covers monthly overheads and job volume instead.
Please note: this tool gives a guide or estimate only. It may not be 100% accurate and is not professional advice — always check the figures before you rely on them. Everything you type stays in your browser — nothing is uploaded, saved or sent anywhere.
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