Domain Name Brokerage Break-Even: $115K Monthly Revenue Needed

Fixed costs $12.1K Monthly burn base

Contribution margin 63% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $19.2K Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 1 Launch month

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test how monthly revenue, direct costs, and overhead stack up against break-even in a domain brokerage.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool that pays direct and fixed costs. $ Lower sales Higher sales Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise as deal flow grows. $ Lower fees Higher fees

Money available to cover fixed costs $2,679,626 $2,835,583 revenue - $155,957 variable expenses

Margin ratio

95%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead the margin must cover. $ Lower overhead Higher overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed, and which move with sales in a domain brokerage?

Cost classification

Break-even is reliable only when recurring burn is kept separate from deal-driven fees. Here’s the quick math: Year 1 revenue is $4.673 million, so 4.0% escrow fees equal about $186,920.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Include $4,000 per month from Month 1 through Month 60.	Flexing rent with deal volume instead of treating it as baseline burn.
Cloud Hosting and Infrastructure	Fixed	Include $2,500 per month in the fixed monthly overhead base.	Assuming hosting falls when transaction volume is slow.
Software Licensing	Fixed	Include $1,200 per month before calculating contribution margin.	Bundling software with transaction verification fees.
Legal Retainer	Fixed	Include $2,000 per month as recurring operating burn.	Treating the retainer like a per-deal legal fee.
CRM Tools	Fixed	Include $600 per month as stable sales infrastructure overhead.	Hiding sales tooling inside marketing spend.
Escrow and Payment Processing Fees	Variable	Model at 4.0% of Year 1 revenue, or about $186,920.	Putting payment fees in fixed overhead and overstating margin.
Transaction Verification Costs	Variable	Model at 2.5% of Year 1 revenue, or about $116,825.	Treating verification as admin work instead of deal-linked expense.
Seller and Buyer Acquisition Spend	Semi-variable	Start with first-year budgets of $100,000 for sellers and $200,000 for buyers, then test CAC volume.	Treating commissions, retainers, and paid outreach as one fixed bucket.

How does break-even shift from lean to base to full brokerage in this domain name model?

Scenario table

As deal volume scales, fixed overhead gets spread over more commission revenue, so the break-even cushion grows fast. Seller and buyer CAC still set the pace, especially in the opening month.

Planning assumptions only: close rate is a user input, and realized break-even can move if acquisition costs or deal mix change.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$389,417	$25,312	$107,933	93.5%	$245,250	Tight cushion, but already above break-even.
Base year 2 case	$1,197,000	$73,017	$154,600	93.9%	$951,833	Clear break-even coverage and stronger operating room.
Full year 3 case	$2,836,000	$155,980	$215,433	94.5%	$2,438,000	High cushion; break-even risk is low if CAC stays controlled.

What breaks the break-even plan for this brokerage?

Stress test

Year 1 has a wide cushion, but the model is sensitive to commission margin and paid outreach. With variable deal costs at 65%, even a small margin slip or added support payroll pushes break-even up fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$115,436/mo	$273,981 cushion	Healthy cushion in the opening month.
Revenue shortfall	Year 1 monthly revenue falls to $115,436.	$115,436/mo	$0 gap	No cushion if deal flow drops further.
Fixed-cost increase	Customer Support adds $70,000 annual payroll from Year 2.	$132,103/mo	$257,314 cushion	Support hiring trims the cushion fast.
Margin pressure	Variable deal costs rise from 65% to 70%.	$134,676/mo	$254,741 cushion	Each commission point matters.
Combined pressure	In Year 2, buyer acquisition spend rises to $600,000 a year, Customer Support adds $70,000 annual payroll, and variable deal costs rise to 70%.	$265,231/mo	$124,186 cushion	Higher outreach and staffing leave far less room for error.

What should a founder verify before locking in the first big spend for a domain brokerage?

Founder checklist

Do not spend the Year 1 seller and buyer marketing budgets until both sides show real pipeline, the fee math still clears escrow and verification costs, and the fixed burn fits the early revenue path. This model works when you stay brokerage-only and protect cash in Month 2.

1Seller supply$100K

Verify enough sellers are ready before you spend the Year 1 seller marketing budget, because a brokerage has no inventory if supply does not show up.

2Buyer demand$200K

Verify startup, brand, and investor demand before the Year 1 buyer marketing budget, so paid demand gen does not outrun closed-deal revenue.

3Fee math$250 + 12.5%

Confirm each deal still earns the fixed commission plus the variable commission on order value, because this is the core revenue engine.

4Deal friction6.5%

Confirm escrow and verification costs stay near 4.0% and 2.5% of order value in Year 1, so transaction friction does not eat contribution.

5Fixed load$82.9K/mo

Verify the monthly fixed stack, about $82.9K before deal costs, still leaves room for the $600 CRM tools fee and the $30,000 implementation.

6Cash runway$828K

Keep the minimum cash cushion through Month 2 and delay extra hires if closed-deal revenue stays under the $115,436 monthly break-even line.