Chartered Financial Analyst specializing in digital media and creator economy finance.
Find out how many paid subscribers your podcast needs to cover its costs. Enter any three variables—Monthly Fixed Costs, Subscription Price, Variable Cost per Subscriber, or Breakeven Subscribers—to solve for the fourth.
Podcast Breakeven Calculator
Podcast Breakeven Formula
The breakeven formula for a paid podcast finds the number of subscribers (Q) you must have for your total revenue to equal all fixed and variable costs.
Q = F / (P – V)
Solve for Monthly Fixed Costs (F):
F = Q * (P – V)
Solve for Subscription Price (P):
P = (F / Q) + V
Solve for Variable Cost per Subscriber (V):
V = P – (F / Q)
Variables Explained
- Monthly Fixed Costs (F): Your total, recurring monthly overhead (e.g., podcast hosting fees, editing software, marketing, website costs).
- Subscription Price (P): The price you charge one subscriber per month (e.g., $5/mo).
- Variable Cost per Subscriber (V): The average cost of serving one subscriber. This includes payment processing fees and any per-subscriber fees your platform (like Patreon or Supercast) charges.
- Breakeven Subscribers (Q): The total number of paid subscribers you need to reach $0 in monthly profit.
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What is a Podcast Breakeven Point?
A **Podcast Breakeven Point** is the minimum number of paid subscribers (Q) you must acquire to cover all your monthly production and marketing costs. This calculation is essential for podcasters who rely on a subscription model rather than just ad revenue.
**Fixed Costs (F)** are your “cost of doing business” each month. This includes all the expenses you pay regardless of how many subscribers you have. Common examples are podcast hosting platform fees, audio editing software subscriptions, website hosting, and any marketing or ad budget.
**Variable Costs (V)** are the costs tied *directly* to each paid subscriber. The most common variable costs are payment processing fees (e.g., Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30) and platform fees from services like Patreon or Supercast, which often take a percentage of your revenue (e.g., 5%-12%).
The **Contribution Margin** (P – V) is the profit from a single subscriber that goes toward paying off your fixed costs. If you charge $5/mo (P) and your platform/processing fees are $0.50/mo (V), your contribution margin is $4.50. This $4.50 is what you use to pay for your hosting, software, etc.
How to Calculate Podcast Breakeven (Example)
Let’s calculate the breakeven point for a paid podcast with a $5/mo subscription.
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Identify Monthly Fixed Costs (F):
Your podcast hosting is $20/mo, editing software is $30/mo, and you have a $100/mo marketing budget. Your (F) is $150.
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Identify Subscription Price (P):
You charge $5 per month.
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Identify Variable Cost (V):
Your platform (e.g., Patreon) and payment processor (e.g., Stripe) take a combined 10% of revenue. 10% of $5 is $0.50.
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Apply the Formula: Q = F / (P – V)
First, calculate the contribution margin per subscriber: $5 (P) – $0.50 (V) = $4.50.
Next, divide the fixed costs by this margin:
Q = $150 / $4.50 = 33.33 -
Conclusion:
You must have 34 paid subscribers (you must round up) to cover all your monthly costs and start making a profit.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This calculator is designed for a per-unit (subscriber) model. For ad revenue, you would set (P) as your CPM (Cost Per Mille, or revenue per 1,000 downloads) and (Q) as the number of “thousands of downloads” you need to break even. (V) would likely be $0.
If your platform takes 8% and Stripe takes 2.9% + $0.30, your total percentage is 10.9%. Calculate `V = (P * 0.109) + 0.30`. For a $5 price: `V = ($5 * 0.109) + 0.30 = $0.545 + $0.30 = $0.845`.
To calculate your *true* breakeven, you should pay yourself a “salary” for your time and include it in your **Fixed Costs (F)**. This ensures your business is truly self-sustaining.
Enter your (F) (e.g., $150), (V) (e.g., $0.50), and your target number of subscribers (Q) (e.g., 50). Solve for (P): `P = ($150 / 50) + $0.50 = $3.00 + $0.50 = $3.50`. Your price must be at least $3.50/mo to break even with 50 subscribers.