What price do you need just to get your money back? Enter your buy price, share count and fees to find the exact break-even price — the line between losing money and making it on the trade.
Answer first: the break-even price is the share price you must sell at to walk away even — every dollar above it is profit, every dollar below it is a loss. This break-even calculator adds your purchase cost to both the buy and sell fees, then divides by your shares, so the figure already includes the round-trip cost of trading.
Break-even price = (Buy price × Shares + Buy fee + Sell fee) ÷ Shares
Example: 100 shares bought at $50, with a $5 buy fee and a $5 sell fee, cost $5,010 in total. Your break-even price is $5,010 ÷ 100 = $50.10 — the stock must rise 0.2% just to cover fees.
Most beginners assume they're profitable the moment a stock ticks above their purchase price. They're not. Fees on the way in and out mean the price has to clear a slightly higher bar first. On small trades or with high commissions, that bar can be meaningful — and it's exactly why frequent trading quietly erodes returns. Knowing your break-even keeps you honest about when a position is actually in the green.
This tool covers trading fees and commissions. It doesn't model the bid-ask spread (an extra hidden cost on entry and exit), slippage on fast-moving stocks, or capital gains tax — tax only applies to profit above break-even, so it changes your take-home, not the break-even line itself. For options, break-even also depends on the premium and strike, which a dedicated options tool handles.
Reality check: Break-even here reflects buy and sell fees only — not the bid-ask spread, slippage or taxes. Real fills can be worse than quoted prices. This is an educational calculator, not financial advice — verify your own numbers and see the U.S. SEC at investor.gov.
Pair it with the stock profit calculator, size trades with the position size calculator, weigh trades with the risk/reward ratio calculator, and read the bid-ask spread explained.
Last updated 25 June 2026 · Written by Mustafa Bilgic. Educational only — not financial advice.
The break-even price is the share price you must sell at to recover exactly what you paid, including all buying and selling fees. Sell above it and you profit; sell below it and you lose money.
Add your total purchase cost and all fees, then divide by the number of shares. Break-even price = (buy price × shares + buy fee + sell fee) ÷ shares. The fees push the break-even price above what you originally paid per share.
Because of fees and commissions. You pay to buy and pay again to sell, so the price has to rise enough to cover both round-trip costs before you are back to even. The wider the spread or commission, the higher the break-even.
This calculator covers trading fees, not capital gains tax. Tax applies only when you have a gain, so it affects profit above break-even rather than break-even itself. Use a capital gains calculator to estimate tax on the profit.