Maritime Cybersecurity Break-Even Analysis: ~$94K/Month

Fixed costs $19.7K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 92% After delivery costs

Break-even revenue $21.4K/mo Revenue target

Break-even timing Month 7 Launch ramp

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue, direct costs, and fixed costs against break-even for a maritime cybersecurity service.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the pool that covers direct costs and fixed overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses These rise with revenue, mainly threat feeds and cloud hosting. $ Low direct High direct

Money available to cover fixed costs $305,350 $328,333 revenue - $22,983 variable expenses

Margin ratio

93%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base break-even must cover. $ Low overhead High overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in a maritime cyber service?

Cost classification

Break-even is only useful if fixed overhead, usage costs, and staffing steps are kept separate. In the first year, fixed non-payroll overhead is $19,700 per month, while threat feeds and hosting move at 4.5% and 3.5% of revenue.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent and Facilities	Fixed	Include $6,500 per month from Month 1 through Month 60 in fixed overhead.	Treating facilities as client-driven when the lease does not move with sales.
Software Licensing and Development Tools	Fixed	Include $4,200 per month as base tooling inside the $19,700 monthly non-payroll overhead.	Pushing all software into delivery margin and understating the fixed base.
Insurance and Compliance Certifications	Fixed	Include $3,500 per month from Month 1 through Month 60 before calculating break-even revenue.	Leaving required certifications out until after revenue starts.
Third-Party Threat Intelligence and Data Feeds	Variable	Apply 4.5% of first-year revenue, then use the forecast rate for each later year.	Ignoring that feeds scale with monitored assets and client coverage.
Cloud Infrastructure and SOC Platform Hosting	Variable	Apply 3.5% of first-year revenue, with lower forecast rates as scale improves.	Treating hosting as flat while usage rises with active clients.
Senior Cybersecurity Analyst payroll	Semi-fixed	Model staffing in capacity steps: 2.0 FTE in the first year at $120,000 annual salary each.	Hiring ahead of signed contract volume and pushing break-even too far out.
Incident Response Manager payroll	Semi-fixed	Add this role from Month 13 at $130,000 annual salary, tied to retainer demand.	Adding 24-hour response coverage before retainer revenue supports it.

How does break-even shift from a lean launch to a base case and a full maritime cyber setup?

Scenario table

Break-even moves as revenue mix and staffing scale together. Higher-margin contracts help, but each step up adds fixed payroll and overhead, so the cushion depends on keeping the team fully loaded.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with contract timing, staffing load, and deal mix.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$101k	$8k	$72k	92.0%	$21k	Above break-even, but the cushion is still thin.
Base operating case	$215k	$16k	$111k	92.6%	$88k	Comfortable cushion if contract starts stay on track.
Full scaled case	$692k	$38k	$192k	94.5%	$461k	Wide cushion, but only if the larger team stays busy.

What breaks the break-even plan for this maritime cybersecurity service?

Stress test

Year 1 has only a small cushion: about $68k above break-even on $1,011k average monthly revenue. A 15% sales miss, a 10% fixed-cost jump, or a 4-point margin squeeze can flip the plan fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$943k	$68k cushion	Small cushion; delayed contract wins matter.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue drops 15% to about $859k.	$943k	$78k gap	A slower close rate pushes the month below break-even.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed monthly costs rise 10% to about $955k.	$1,038k	$27k gap	Extra headcount or overhead removes most of the cushion.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 8% to 12% of revenue.	$986k	$25k cushion	Higher feed, hosting, or compliance costs narrow the spread.
Combined pressure	Revenue drops 15%, fixed costs rise 10%, and variable expenses rise to 12% of revenue.	$1,085k	$199k gap	This is the clearest break-even miss.

Is this maritime cybersecurity launch ready to break even before you lock in the build and hiring?

Founder checklist

Only commit once pipeline, pricing, staffing, and cash all line up with the model. Year 1 revenue is $1.213M, EBITDA is -$22K, and the plan still needs $259K of cash through Month 8 before the Month 7 break-even point is real.

1Demand proof$101K/mo

Verify booked contracts can support the Year 1 run rate of about $101K a month, because break-even only lands in Month 7.

2Scope pricing$2.5K-$8.0K

Verify the contract splits monitoring, onboarding, compliance audits, and incident response, so each line holds the Year 1 price instead of one vague bundle.

3Fixed burn$71.8K/mo

Verify office, tools, insurance, and Year 1 payroll stay inside this burn, because $625K of wages and $19.7K of nonpayroll overhead set the floor.

4Contribution mix92.0%

Verify direct service costs stay near 8% of sales from threat feeds and cloud hosting, or the margin disappears before fixed costs are covered.

5Headcount ramp5 to 18 FTE

Verify the team can grow from 5 FTE in Year 1 to 18 FTE in Year 5 without missing response windows or compliance work.

6Cash runwayMonth 8

Verify you can fund the $560K setup capex, keep Year 1 marketing near $180K, and still hold $259K of cash in Month 8 while CAC stays near $3,600.