Free tool Price increase calculator: what can you afford to lose?
A price rise pays for itself if you keep enough customers. Enter the current price and the increase (or the new price) to get the percentage change and the largest share of customers or units you can lose before revenue or gross profit drops. Add your customer count and an expected churn to see the before-and-after numbers.
- Percent increase between two prices
- Break-even customer loss
- Runs locally
How far can volume fall before the increase stops paying?
Variable cost is what each extra unit or customer costs you to serve. Without it the calculator answers the revenue question only.
Per unit, per month or per year — same basis as the cost.
In %, e.g. 10.
Lower than the current price works too: a price cut.
Cost of goods, payment fees, hosting per customer. Leave empty for the revenue view.
For the before-and-after totals.
Share of customers or units you expect to lose, in %.
You can lose up to
20.9%
Of customers or units before gross profit falls (revenue if no cost)
Share these inputs: the values go after the # in the link, so they never reach a server.
https://tapcub.com/tools/price-increase-calculator
Version v1.0Updated Update history
What the numbers tell you
The break-even loss is a threshold, not a forecast: it tells you how wrong your churn guess can be.
You can lose up to
If fewer customers than this leave, the increase earns more gross profit than before. The higher your margin, the smaller this number.
Loss that keeps revenue flat
The same idea for revenue. It is always smaller than the profit figure, because the customers who leave also take their costs with them.
Price change
The percentage between the two prices. A 20% increase followed by a 20% cut does not get you back to the start.
Gross profit change
With your expected loss filled in: the change in gross profit, which is what the price decision is really about.
We do not quote typical churn after a price increase. It depends on how you announce it, grandfathering, alternatives and what changed in the product. Measure it on your own cohorts.
Test a price increase in four steps
Start with the threshold, then compare it with your best guess.
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1
Enter the prices
The current price and either the increase in % or the new price.
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2
Add the variable cost
Per unit or per customer, on the same basis as the price.
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3
Read the break-even loss
This is how many customers can leave before the increase backfires.
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4
Compare with expected churn
Use past price changes, a test group, or win-loss notes; then check the gross profit change.
Break-even loss = 1 − (current price − cost) ÷ (new price − cost)
You break even when the smaller number of customers at the new margin earns the same gross profit as all of them at the old margin.
- Price increase % = (new price − current price) ÷ current price
- Same thing in pricing-textbook form: break-even sales change = −price change ÷ (contribution margin % + price change) (Nagle & Müller, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing)
- Without costs: revenue stays flat if you lose up to 1 − current ÷ new price
- Price cuts: extra volume needed = (current price − cost) ÷ (new price − cost) − 1
- Fixed costs do not change the threshold, because they are paid either way
Price increase %
(new − current) ÷ current
($58.80 − $49) ÷ $49 = 20%
Break-even loss, profit
1 − (P − C) ÷ (P′ − C)
1 − $37 ÷ $46.80 = 20.9%
Break-even loss, revenue
1 − P ÷ P′
1 − $49 ÷ $58.80 = 16.7%
Textbook form
−ΔP ÷ (CM% + ΔP)
−20% ÷ (75.5% + 20%) = −20.9%
Price cut
(P − C) ÷ (P′ − C) − 1
Cut $49 → $44: $37 ÷ $32 − 1 = +15.6%
A $49 plan going up 20%
A SaaS plan costs $49 a month and about $12 per customer to serve (hosting, support, payment fees). There are 1,200 paying customers. The team expects about 5% to cancel after a 20% increase.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| New price | $49 × 1.20 | $58.80 |
| Break-even loss | 1 − ($49 − $12) ÷ ($58.80 − $12) | 20.9% |
| Customers you can lose | 1,200 × 20.9% | 251 |
| Gross profit now | 1,200 × $37 | $44,400 / month |
| Gross profit after 5% loss | 1,140 × $46.80 | $53,352 / month |
| Change | $53,352 ÷ $44,400 − 1 | +20.2% |
The expected 5% loss is far below the 20.9% threshold. Even if churn came in at three times the guess, gross profit would still rise.
Where price-change math goes wrong
The usual error is to compare percentages that do not share a base.
Treating increases and cuts as symmetric
From $80 to $100 is +25%; back to $80 is −20%. Always divide by the price you start from.
Using revenue as the yardstick
Revenue break-even ignores that lost customers stop costing you. The profit threshold is higher and is the one that matters.
Counting only cancellations
Lost volume also includes customers who downgrade, buy less often or never sign up. Track new sign-ups as well as churn.
Judging it in the first week
Renewals, annual plans and notice periods spread the reaction over months. Compare cohorts over a full billing cycle.
Watch the reaction, cohort by cohort
After a price change, the question is whether the customers who stay keep buying. TapCub tracks revenue and retention from your own events.
Revenue, orders and AOV
GMV, orders, average order value, refunds and net revenue on the growth board.
Learn moreGoals and alerts
Set a revenue or retention goal and get an alert when the projection falls below it.
Learn moreRetention by cohort
Compare customers who joined before and after the change, week by week.
Learn morePrice increase questions
Still have a question?
Chat with the team behind TapCub — we usually reply within a few hours on business days.
How do I calculate a price increase percentage?
Subtract the old price from the new price and divide by the old price. From $49 to $58.80: $9.80 ÷ $49 = 20%. From $80 to $100 is 25%.
How many customers can I lose after a price increase?
Up to 1 − (old price − variable cost) ÷ (new price − variable cost) before gross profit falls. At $49 with a $12 cost, a 20% increase can lose 20.9% of customers and still break even.
Why is the profit threshold higher than the revenue threshold?
A customer who leaves takes away revenue, but also the cost of serving them. At a 20% increase, revenue stays flat with up to 16.7% fewer customers; gross profit stays flat with up to 20.9% fewer at a $12 cost.
Does a higher margin make a price increase easier?
No, harder. With a high margin each lost customer costs more profit, so the break-even loss is smaller. At 90% margin a 10% increase breaks even at a 10% loss; at 40% margin it is 20%.
How much more do I need to sell after a price cut?
Extra volume = (old price − cost) ÷ (new price − cost) − 1. A 10% cut at a 40% margin needs 33% more volume just to keep the same gross profit.
Should I include fixed costs?
Not for the threshold. Rent and salaries are paid whether the customer stays or not, so they cancel out when you compare before and after.
Update history
New features, fixes and data refreshes for this tool, newest first.
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· v1.0
LaunchedFirst release.
Missing something or found an error? Tell us — requests that come up often go into the next update. All tool updates
Measure the reaction with real cohorts
Connect your product to compare revenue, orders and retention for customers before and after a price change.