Burn Rate Calculator

Input accuracy

Are you using real, current numbers — not rough guesses that flatter the result?

Benchmark fit

Is your result healthy for your specific business model, not just positive?

Sensitivity

Which single input, if wrong, would change the result most?

Time horizon

Does this hold up over 12 months, or only at today's volume?

Next decision

What should change in the business because of this number?

Burn rate is the denominator of survival. Paired with cash in the bank it produces runway, which is the deadline every other decision at an early-stage company has to fit inside.

This calculator separates gross burn from net burn and shows both the runway you have now and the runway you would have if revenue disappeared — which is the risk worth understanding.

Free calculator

Calculate gross and net burn, and see how many months of runway your current cash position buys.

Monthly operating expenses£/mo

Monthly revenue£/mo

Cash in the bank£

Results

Gross burn£80.0k/mo

Net burn£30.0k/mo

Runway13.3 months

Runway if revenue stopped5 months

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Gross burn versus net burn

Gross burn is everything leaving the account. Net burn subtracts the revenue coming in. A company spending £80,000 a month against £50,000 of revenue has a £30,000 net burn, and that is the figure governing runway.

But quoting only net burn hides how exposed you are. If that revenue is concentrated in two customers, your real risk profile is closer to the gross figure — which is why this calculator shows both.

Why average burn misleads

Burn is rarely flat. Planned hires, annual software renewals and marketing pushes create step changes that a single average conceals. A month-by-month projection almost always shows cash running out earlier than the headline division suggests.

Treat the runway number here as a starting point, then model the months where costs step up.

Not all burn is equal

There is no universally correct burn rate — what matters is what the spending buys. Burn producing compounding progress in retention or distribution is investment. Burn merely sustaining headcount is decay. The useful question is the learning per pound, not the pound itself.

How this calculator works

Enter total monthly operating expenses — everything leaving the account.
Enter monthly revenue actually collected, not invoiced or committed.
Enter available cash in the bank today.
The calculator returns gross burn, net burn, runway, and runway if revenue stopped.

Direct answer — Burn Rate Calculator

Calculate gross burn, net burn and how many months of runway your cash buys. Free burn rate calculator, no signup.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gross and net burn?

Gross burn is total monthly spending. Net burn subtracts revenue from it. Net burn determines runway, but gross burn shows how exposed you would be if revenue disappeared.

What is a healthy burn rate?

There is no universal figure — it depends entirely on what the spending achieves. The practical test is whether burn is buying compounding progress and whether runway stays above roughly twelve months.

Should founder salaries be included in burn?

Yes, if you are drawing one. Excluding founder pay produces a runway figure that only holds while you can afford to work unpaid, which is rarely the plan you want to depend on.

Last reviewed 8 August 2026