Build a sustainable subscription
SaaS pricing calculator
Find the price that makes your numbers work.
Bring your team costs, API expenses and growth assumptions. See your minimum viable price, break-even subscriber count and projected profit margin.
02 / Your pricing
Minimum viable price at your target margin
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USD per subscriber / month, rounded up to the next cent
- Break-even subscribers
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- Projected profit margin
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- Monthly revenue
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- Total monthly costs
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- Monthly profit / loss
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Break-even and projected profit use your proposed price. Minimum viable price uses your expected subscriber count and target margin.
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What is the minimum viable price?
This is the monthly subscription price needed to cover your entered costs and reach your target profit margin at your expected subscriber count. Fixed costs = other fixed costs + team size x average team cost. Variable cost = API + other cost per subscriber.
Minimum price = (fixed costs / subscribers + variable cost) / (1 - target margin / 100 - payment fee / 100). This is a cost-based estimate; customer willingness to pay and demand still need validation.
What does break-even mean?
Break-even subscribers = fixed costs / (proposed price x (1 - payment fee / 100) - variable cost), rounded up to a whole subscriber. If each subscription loses money before fixed costs, there is no break-even point at that price. Zero means no subscribers are needed to cover zero fixed costs.
How is profit margin calculated?
Profit margin = (revenue - total costs) / revenue x 100. This is margin after all costs you entered, rather than markup on costs. A negative value indicates a loss. At zero revenue, margin is undefined.
Can I use this as a startup pricing calculator?
Yes. Model one subscription tier with a constant subscriber count and constant per-subscriber expenses. Include marketing and other overhead in your costs. The estimate excludes unentered taxes, churn, growth, tier discounts and usage spikes. Calculations run in your browser.
Practical guide
What this tool helps you decide
This SaaS pricing calculator estimates the subscription price needed to cover your costs and reach a target profit margin at a planned subscriber count. It also shows break-even subscribers and projected profit at your proposed monthly price.
Use it when pricing a startup product, validating an AI SaaS idea or reviewing a subscription plan. The model covers one tier with stable per-subscriber costs, so tiered pricing, usage spikes and enterprise deals need additional scenarios.
How to use the SaaS pricing calculator
Add fixed overhead and team costs
Enter other monthly fixed costs, team size and average monthly cost per person. Include salaries, benefits and contractor expenses in team cost, and avoid counting them again in other overhead.
Estimate variable costs per subscriber
Enter monthly API cost and other serving costs per paying subscriber. Allocate free-user costs across paying users or include them in fixed costs; leaving them out would understate the required price.
Set subscribers, proposed price and target margin
Choose your expected paying subscriber count, proposed subscription price and target profit margin. Add the percentage payment processing fee. Target margin plus processing fees must stay below 100%.
Separate target pricing from break-even
Read minimum viable price at the expected subscriber count. Then read break-even and actual margin at your proposed price. Test a lower subscriber count or higher API cost to see how sensitive the plan is.
Worked example
Consider $500 monthly overhead, two team members costing $3,000 each, and $3 variable cost per subscriber. With 500 paying subscribers, a $29 monthly price, 3% payment fees and a 30% target profit margin, the model produces the following estimates.
- Minimum price at 30% target margin
- $23.89 / month
- Break-even at the $29 proposed price
- 259 subscribers
- Monthly profit at 500 subscribers
- $6,065.00
- Projected profit margin
- 41.83%
Illustrative scenario, not a forecast or service quote. Change the inputs in the calculator to match your circumstances.
How to interpret your results
Minimum viable price is a cost-based floor at your chosen subscriber count, not proof that customers will buy. Break-even uses contribution from each subscription to cover fixed costs. If the proposed price does not cover variable costs and fees, more subscribers will not create a break-even point.
Common input mistakes to avoid
- Use profit margin rather than markup when entering the target percentage.
- Count model calls and usage by customer cohort instead of relying only on a low overall API average.
- Do not omit customer support, free-tier users, refunds or acquisition spending from your planning assumptions.
Questions before you use the results
Is minimum viable price the same as the best selling price?
No. It estimates a price that reaches your target margin under the entered cost and subscriber assumptions. Customer value, competitors, demand and packaging still affect commercial pricing.
How should I include an AI free tier?
Estimate the total cost of free users and allocate it across expected paying subscribers, or include it in fixed overhead. Do not add the same cost to both fields.
Why does the calculator show no break-even point?
At the proposed price, revenue after processing fees may fail to cover per-subscriber costs. Increasing volume cannot cover fixed overhead when each additional subscription has no positive contribution.