Burn Rate & Runway Calculator
Free burn rate calculator for startups. Calculate gross and net burn rate, visualize expenses, and see your runway in months. No sign-up required.
How to Calculate Your Startup Burn Rate
1. Enter Your Monthly Revenue and Cash Balance
Start by entering your current monthly revenue (MRR) and total cash in the bank. If you're pre-revenue, set monthly revenue to $0. Your cash balance is the total amount available in your startup's bank accounts — this determines how long you can sustain operations.
2. Break Down Your Monthly Expenses
Add each expense category: salaries and contractors (typically 60-70% of startup burn), rent and office costs, marketing and customer acquisition spend, software and infrastructure, legal and accounting fees, and any other recurring costs. Use the sliders for quick adjustments or type exact amounts.
3. Analyze Your Burn Rate and Runway
The calculator instantly shows your gross burn rate (total monthly expenses), net burn rate (expenses minus revenue), and runway in months. A runway above 12 months is considered healthy. Between 6-12 months signals caution — start planning your next fundraise. Below 6 months is critical and requires immediate action: cut costs or accelerate fundraising.
Key Startup Financial Terms
- Gross Burn Rate
- The total amount of cash your startup spends each month, regardless of revenue. It includes all operating expenses: salaries, rent, marketing, software, legal fees, and everything else. Gross burn rate shows your total cost structure.
- Net Burn Rate
- Your monthly cash consumption after accounting for revenue. Calculated as gross burn rate minus monthly revenue. Net burn rate is the number investors care about most — it shows how fast you're actually depleting your cash reserves.
- Cash Runway
- The number of months your startup can continue operating before running out of money. Calculated by dividing your current cash balance by your net burn rate. For example, $500K in the bank with a $50K net burn gives you 10 months of runway.
- Cash Zero Date
- The projected date when your startup will run out of cash at the current burn rate. This is the deadline by which you need to either reach profitability, raise funding, or significantly reduce expenses to survive.
How to Extend Your Startup Runway
- 1.Prioritize revenue-generating activities — even small amounts of recurring revenue dramatically extend runway by reducing net burn.
- 2.Renegotiate vendor contracts and annual subscriptions. Many SaaS tools offer startup discounts of 50-90% through programs like AWS Activate or Google for Startups.
- 3.Consider remote-first operations to eliminate office rent, which typically represents 10-15% of startup expenses.
- 4.Hire contractors before full-time employees for non-core functions. This reduces commitment and keeps payroll flexible.
- 5.Start fundraising when you have 6-9 months of runway remaining. The average fundraising round takes 3-6 months to close.
- 6.Track your burn rate monthly and set alerts. Many startups fail not because of a bad product, but because they lose track of their cash position.
Frequently Asked Questions
Burn rate is the rate at which a startup spends its cash reserves. Gross burn rate is total monthly expenses, while net burn rate subtracts monthly revenue — showing how fast you're actually consuming cash.
Gross burn rate is your total monthly spending regardless of revenue. Net burn rate is gross burn minus monthly revenue. If you spend $30,000/month and earn $10,000, your gross burn is $30K and net burn is $20K.
Most investors recommend maintaining at least 12–18 months of runway. Below 6 months is considered critical — you should be actively fundraising or cutting costs. Above 18 months gives you comfortable room to experiment and grow.
Common strategies include renegotiating vendor contracts, switching to remote work to cut office costs, prioritizing high-ROI marketing channels, delaying non-essential hires, and using free or open-source tools where possible.
Start fundraising when you have 6–9 months of runway left. The average fundraising process takes 3–6 months, so starting early ensures you don't run out of cash during negotiations.
No. All calculations happen entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server, stored, or shared. Your financial information stays completely private.
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