Pricing & margins
Required Price Calculator
Work backward from volume, costs, and a profit target to the price that makes the arithmetic close.
Decision: What price do I need to charge at this volume to hit a profit target?
This tool runs in your browser. FounderMage does not send the numbers you enter to our servers.
Result
Required price
Required price: $42.00
Implied contribution
Implied contribution: $30.00
Total cost at this volume
Total cost at this volume: $12,800.00
How to read the result
The required price is the arithmetic that hits the profit you typed at that volume. Customers may not pay it.
Calculated facts
Totals and thresholds come only from the values on this page. They describe the math, not what you should do.
Still a judgment call
Risk, timing, customers, and judgment stay outside the calculator. A stronger number can still be the wrong path.
Methodology
Required price is (fixed costs + target profit) ÷ units + variable cost. Contribution is required price minus variable cost.
Assumptions
- You sell the unit count you enter.
- Target profit is a number you chose, not a market quote.
Examples
Cover cost plus profit
$8,000 fixed, $12 variable, 400 units, $4,000 profit: required price is $42.00.
How to use this tool
- Enter fixed costs, variable cost per unit, expected units, and target profit.
- Read the required price and the implied contribution.
Limitations
- Demand, discounts, and competitive prices are outside the model.
- Not a recommendation of the correct price.
Questions
- What if expected units are zero?
- No price can recover costs with zero sales. The tool reports that instead of inventing a number.
- Does this include taxes?
- Only if you put them in fixed or variable cost. The page does not look up tax rates.