Event ROI Calculator

How Many Event Tickets to Break Even?

Put in your ticket price and what it's costing you to run. You'll get the exact break-even count and what total profit the event could garner.

Start with your numbers What to include in costs
What the event costs Loaded with example numbers — drag a slider or type your own.
What one attendee pays. Selling more than one tier? Use a blended average, or run this once per tier.
$ per ticket
The most tickets you could sell — room size or platform cap. Not sure yet? Leave it blank; you'll still get your break-even count.
max tickets
Everything fixed regardless of turnout: venue, marketing, staffing, permits, insurance. One number is fine — you can split it below if it helps.
$ fixed
For your own tracking — marketing · venue & staffing · other
Only if something costs more per extra guest — e.g. catering, badges, per-ticket fees

Your numbers stay in this browser and are restored automatically next time — nothing is sent anywhere.

What you need to sell Updates instantly as you change the numbers.
Tickets to break even
154 tickets
51% of capacity — ticket 155 is your first dollar of profit.
Profit per ticket after break-even
$75
Profit at full capacity
$11,000
Return on cost, sold out
96%
+ Show the math
Ticket price$75
− Variable cost per attendee$0
= Contribution margin per ticket$75
Total fixed costs$11,500
÷ margin = Break-even tickets154 tickets

Assumes total costs stay fixed no matter how many tickets sell, and only the per-attendee cost (if added) scales with attendance.

Profit by tickets sold

Where the line crosses zero is your break-even point.
Profit versus tickets sold A line chart showing projected profit rising as more tickets are sold, crossing from loss to profit at the break-even point.
Below break-even Above break-even Break-even point

What to put in each cost line

The calculator is only as good as what you feed it. A quick guide to what belongs where and which fields it maps to above.

Venue & staffing

Room or hall rental, security, AV and tech crew, ushers, cleaning, insurance. Usually your biggest single fixed line — put it in "Total costs," or its own field after "Split into categories."

Marketing & promotion

Paid ads, email platform, design, influencer or partner fees, printed collateral. Track it separately in the breakdown if you want to see what drove sales.

Catering & per-attendee materials

Meals, drinks, badges, gift bags, printed programs — anything that costs more the more people show up. This is what "add costs that grow with attendance" is for.

Contingency reserve

Weather, no-shows, last-minute vendor changes. Many planners hold back a slice of the budget under "Other" so a surprise doesn't quietly erase the margin.

Commonly Asked Questions

What exactly is "break even" here? +
It's the number of tickets where total ticket revenue equals total cost. Sell fewer, you're funding the event out of pocket. Sell more, every extra ticket is profit.
Why is there just one "Total costs" field? +
Most planners just want the break-even number fast. Click "Split into categories" if you want to track marketing, venue, and other spend separately — the total updates on its own from the parts.
What if I don't know my venue capacity yet? +
Leave it blank. You'll still get your break-even ticket count — you just won't see percentage-filled or full-house profit until you add it.
Should I include my own salary or team time? +
If the event needs to justify that time as a cost, add it under "Other" in the breakdown. If your time is overhead regardless of whether the event happens, most planners track it separately.
I have more than one ticket tier — how do I handle that? +
Run the calculator once per tier using that tier's price and expected quantity as "capacity," or use a blended average ticket price across all tiers for one overall number.
Does this save or send my numbers anywhere? +
No. Everything runs in your browser. On the same device, your last inputs are restored locally next time you open the page — nothing is transmitted or stored anywhere else.