Fast Food Drive-Thru Break-Even Point: $25K Monthly Sales

Fixed costs $20.3K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 81% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $25.1K/mo Sales target

Break-even timing Month 2 First breakeven

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed monthly costs against break-even for a fast food drive-thru.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash coming in each month and it sets how much margin is available for fixed costs. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise with sales, like ingredients, packaging, fees, and fuel-related variable costs. $ Low direct costs High direct costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $127,500 $154,300 revenue - $26,800 variable expenses

Margin ratio

83%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

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

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which drive-thru expenses are fixed and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even gets reliable when the monthly base stays separate from costs tied to sales volume. In this model, fixed overhead starts with rent, insurance, permits, software, and the vehicle lease, while food, packaging, fees, and route costs move with revenue.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Commissary Kitchen Rent	Fixed	$2,500 monthly base from Month 1 through Month 60.	Treating signed rent as flexible after launch.
Business Insurance	Fixed	$300 monthly base included in overhead.	Leaving insurance out of the break-even base.
Vehicle Lease Payment	Fixed	$1,000 monthly base for the operating vehicle.	Excluding the vehicle from break-even math.
Website & Software Subscriptions	Fixed	$150 monthly base for recurring tools.	Ignoring small subscriptions that repeat every month.
Ingredients	Variable	13.5% of first-year sales, falling to 11.5% by Year 5.	Using menu price instead of recipe usage.
Packaging Supplies	Variable	2.5% of first-year sales, falling to 2.1% by Year 5.	Forgetting bags, cups, wrappers, and labels.
Transaction Fees	Variable	1.5% of first-year sales, falling to 1.1% by Year 5.	Pricing as if every payment is cash.
Assistant Baker	Semi-fixed	0.5 FTE in Year 1, stepping to 1.0 FTE in Year 2.	Hiring ahead of demand before volume supports it.

How do lean, base, and full sales cases change break-even for a fast food drive-thru?

Scenario table

Break-even improves as traffic and ticket size rise, while fixed costs climb with staffing. The lean case still clears break-even, but the base and full cases build a much wider cushion.

Planning cases only; actual results will move with traffic, mix, and staffing.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$874k	$166k	$203k	81.0%	$505k	Clears break-even, but traffic risk stays real.
Base operating case	$1,543k	$268k	$304k	82.6%	$971k	Healthy cushion; this is the lender review case.
Full capacity case	$2,307k	$364k	$344k	84.2%	$1,599k	Strong cushion, so staffing and throughput matter most.

What breaks the drive-thru break-even plan if traffic slips or costs rise?

Stress test

The base plan has a wide cushion, but it gets thinner fast if sales miss plan or food, packaging, and fee costs rise. The combined case still clears break-even, yet it leaves much less room for error.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$251,000	$623,000 cushion	Wide cushion, but weekend traffic still needs to hold.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 20%.	$251,000	$448,000 cushion	A 20% sales miss still clears break-even, but the buffer shrinks fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise 15% to $234,000.	$288,000	$586,000 cushion	If fixed spending climbs before traffic does, the break-even line moves up.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 19% to 24%.	$267,000	$607,000 cushion	Higher food, packaging, or fee costs trim contribution margin quickly.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 20%, variable expenses rise to 24%, and fixed costs rise 15%.	$307,000	$392,000 cushion	The plan still clears break-even, but the cushion gets much thinner.

What should the founder verify before signing the lease and launch spend?

Founder checklist

Do not lock the lease or launch spend until traffic, staffing, margin, and cash all line up with break-even. At Year 1 pricing, you need about 36 orders/day, so the site has to support that flow from day one.

1Demand Proof36/day

Verify break-even traffic against the 124/day Year 1 plan and the 250/day Saturday peak before you commit.

2Fixed Load$20.3K/mo

Check that Year 1 payroll and fixed overhead stay near $20.3K a month, because that is the base burn the drive-thru must cover.

3Contribution81% CM

Keep Year 1 contribution margin near 81% by holding ingredients at 13.5%, packaging at 2.5%, transaction fees at 1.5%, and fuel and maintenance at 1.5%.

4Staffing Ramp4.0 FTE

Verify the 1.0 owner operator, 1.0 lead baker, 0.5 assistant baker, 1.0 service staff, and 0.5 driver mix can cover peak windows without long queues.

5Cash Cushion$781K

Hold enough cash to reach the Month 2 trough, when minimum cash is $781K, or the ramp will force bad cuts.

6Launch Budget$146K

Confirm the opening budget covers the listed $146K capex, and keep the marketing coordinator out of Year 1 unless demand proves the extra payroll.