Deal Aggregator Website Break-Even: $189K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $94.1K/mo Base cost load

Contribution margin 84% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $112.1K/mo Revenue at parity

Break-even timing Month 6 Base-case month

Break-even calculator

Use this to test if monthly revenue clears variable costs and the fixed cost base.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash engine that has to cover direct costs first, then overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses These rise with sales and include direct fees and support tied to deal flow. $ Low direct costs High direct costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $1,140,562 $1,303,500 revenue - $162,938 variable expenses

Margin ratio

87%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead the contribution margin has to cover. $ Lean overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales for a deal platform?

Cost classification

Break-even is reliable only when stable overhead stays fixed and usage-linked spend moves with volume. In the first year, fixed overhead is $25,800/month, while acquisition, hosting, payment fees, commissions, and support rise with growth.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office lease	Fixed	Include $12,000/month in fixed operating overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Spreading rent across orders and making break-even look easier at low volume.
Software subscriptions and CRM	Fixed	Include $2,500/month as fixed overhead for the relevant monthly planning range.	Treating core tools as optional even though the team needs them before scale.
Buyer and seller acquisition budgets	Semi-variable	Model first-year spend at $650,000/year, then tie added spend to buyer CAC and seller CAC.	Treating paid acquisition as fully fixed when CAC moves with growth targets.
Server hosting and cloud infrastructure	Semi-variable	Use 4.5% of revenue in the first year, with the rate declining to 2.5% by Year 5.	Budgeting one flat hosting bill while traffic, tracking, and deal feeds expand.
Payment gateway transaction fees	Variable	Apply 3.5% of revenue in the first year because fees move with transaction volume.	Leaving gateway fees below the contribution line and overstating margin per order.
Affiliate partner commissions	Variable	Apply 5.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 3.0% by Year 5.	Counting gross commission revenue without subtracting partner payouts tied to sales.
Customer support outsourcing	Variable	Apply 3.0% of revenue in the first year as support tickets rise with buyers and orders.	Treating moderation and support as fixed even when ticket volume follows usage.
Payroll	Semi-fixed	Use $820,000/year in the first year, then step up as senior developers, marketing, and sales headcount grow.	Scaling revenue without adding people, which understates the break-even revenue needed.

How does break-even shift from a lean launch to full-scale operations for this deal aggregator?

Scenario table

Break-even moves fast because revenue scales faster than the cost base. In the lean case, fixed load still eats most gross profit, while the base and full cases spread overhead better and leave much larger operating cushions.

Planning case numbers are model assumptions, not a forecast guarantee.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$206.5K	$33.0K	$158.9K	84.0%	$14.6K	Break-even lands in Month 6, so the launch has little room for slippage.
Base growth case	$1,303.5K	$163.0K	$301.0K	87.5%	$839.6K	Past break-even with a strong cushion, so expansion can absorb more spend.
Full scale case	$4,509.0K	$405.8K	$510.6K	91.0%	$3,592.5K	Deep cushion, so paid growth and a larger team are easier to support.

What breaks the break-even plan if traffic drops or costs climb?

Stress test

The base plan has a $146K monthly cushion, so it clears break-even but not by much. A 20% revenue miss, a 10% fixed-cost lift, or weaker margins can erase that cushion and push the model back into loss.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change to the base plan.	$1,919K	$146K cushion	There is only a modest cushion before losses start.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue drops 20% from the base plan.	$1,919K	$267K gap	A deeper traffic miss pushes EBITDA well below zero.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed monthly operating load rises 10% to about $1,748K.	$2,081K	$16K gap	A small overhead bump nearly wipes out the cushion.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise to 210%, pulling contribution margin to 790%.	$2,011K	$54K cushion	Higher payouts or weaker ad rates cut the safety buffer fast.
Combined pressure	Revenue drops 10%, variable expenses rise to 210%, and fixed costs rise 10%.	$2,213K	$354K gap	This combo misses break-even by a wide margin.

Can you prove Month 6 break-even before you add paid traffic, hires, and wider category coverage?

Founder checklist

Don't scale paid traffic, hiring, or category coverage until seller supply, buyer CAC, and cash through Month 6 are proven. The model reaches break-even in Month 6, so the real test is whether you can hold costs and keep enough deal flow live to hit the $189K monthly revenue target.

1Seller supplyMonth 6

Verify you can keep fresh deals live from local retailers, DTC brands, and service providers, with SEO category pages, moderation, expired-deal cleanup, and tracking links ready before you buy more traffic.

2Buyer CAC$4.50

Keep Year 1 buyer CAC near $4.50 so traffic stays cheap enough to feed repeat visits and support the Month 6 break-even path.

3Seller CAC$150

Hold Year 1 seller CAC near $150 so each seller can be covered by the subscription and listing mix instead of being acquired at a loss.

4Take rate0.50 + 5%

Track the Year 1 commission at $0.50 per order plus 5% of order value, and confirm seller subscriptions average about $48 per month with premium members at $9.99 per month.

5Cost gate$189K/mo

Use the $189K monthly break-even target as the trigger for more office space and hires; if revenue is below it, keep overhead flat.

6Cash cushion$390K

Keep at least $390K of cash through Month 6, and skip inventory planning because this platform lives on deal flow, not stock.