Burn Rate & Runway Calculator United States

What the burn rate runway calculator does

The burn rate and runway calculator tells a cash-consuming business how long it can keep operating before the money runs out. It measures how fast you spend cash each month and turns your current balance into months of runway. For a startup, that number shapes decisions on hiring, marketing and when to start the next fundraise.

The tool reports gross monthly burn and net monthly burn, then divides available cash by the net figure to give runway in months and years.

Gross burn versus net burn

Gross burn is your total monthly operating spend: payroll, rent, software, marketing and everything else that leaves the bank each month. It measures the size of your cost base regardless of income.

Net burn subtracts monthly revenue from monthly expenses, so it shows how much cash you lose each month after customers pay you. A company spending $80,000 a month and earning $30,000 has a gross burn of $80,000 but a net burn of $50,000, and the net figure determines how fast the bank balance falls.

As revenue grows, net burn shrinks even if spending stays the same, and runway gets longer. Once revenue exceeds expenses, net burn turns negative and the company is cash-flow positive. The calculator reports that case as zero months of burn, meaning the balance is no longer shrinking.

How runway is calculated

• Net burn = monthly operating expenses − monthly revenue
• Runway (months) = (cash balance + planned new funding) ÷ net burn

You can include planned new funding, such as a round you expect to close, to see how a raise extends your timeline. The calculator also converts months to years. It assumes net burn stays steady, so it gives a baseline, not a forecast; rerun it when spending or revenue changes.

Worked example

You hold $500,000 in cash, spend $80,000 a month and earn $30,000 in monthly revenue. Gross burn is $80,000 and net burn is $50,000, so $500,000 divided by $50,000 gives ten months of runway. In that time you need to raise more money, cut costs, or grow revenue enough to close the gap.

If you expect to close a $300,000 round, available capital rises to $800,000 and runway stretches to sixteen months at the same net burn.

Why runway matters

With a comfortable runway, a founder can invest in growth, get through a slow quarter, and approach investors when results are strong. With a short runway, hiring freezes, marketing is cut, and fundraising happens under pressure, often on worse terms. Knowing the number early lets you act before it becomes critical.

Many operators aim for at least twelve to eighteen months of runway, because a round typically takes several months to raise and it is far better to negotiate with a year of cash in the bank than a few weeks. The right cushion depends on your stage, market and how predictable your revenue is, but track runway continuously, not only when cash feels tight.

What you need to enter

• Your current cash balance.
• Your total monthly operating expenses.
• Your monthly revenue, if any.
• Any planned new funding you want to include.

Use current figures instead of optimistic projections. If expenses are rising or revenue is uneven, run a few scenarios.

Reading your result

The output gives net monthly burn, gross monthly burn, runway in months and years, and the share of your spending that revenue already covers. A rising revenue-coverage percentage is the clearest sign of progress toward being self-sustaining. If runway is shorter than the time you expect to need before your next raise or before profitability, cut costs, grow revenue faster, or start fundraising sooner. Recalculate whenever you hire, change marketing spend, land a major customer or close new funding.

Common mistakes when tracking burn

One is mixing up gross and net burn. Quoting gross burn makes things look worse than they are if you already earn meaningful revenue, while looking only at net burn can hide how large your fixed costs have grown. Watch both.

Another is letting lumpy or one-time expenses distort a month. Annual insurance premiums, tax payments or a large equipment purchase can make one month look unusual, so average spending over several months.

A third is treating runway as fixed. It assumes today’s net burn holds, but hiring plans, seasonal revenue and price changes all move it. Run an optimistic, a base and a conservative case, and plan against the conservative one so a short runway does not come as a surprise.

This is general information only and not financial advice.

About This Burn Rate Runway Calculator

Use this burn rate runway calculator to get an instant estimate based on the figures you enter. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.