Burn Rate Calculator

Work out net monthly cash burn and how many months of runway the current balance supports.

About Burn Rate Calculator

Gross burn is what you spend; net burn is what actually leaves the bank once revenue is collected. Runway divides the balance by net burn, and it is the number that determines how much time a plan really has. Investors size a round against runway, and the convention is to start raising with twelve months left because the process itself consumes six.

Formula

Burn Rate

Net burn = cash out − cash in; runway = cash ÷ net burn

gross burn: Total monthly spend
net burn: Spend less revenue collected

Worked example

With the default values below, Burn Rate Calculator returns Net Monthly Burn of $60,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Cash in the bankminimum 0: 900,000
Monthly cash outminimum 0: 150,000
Monthly cash inminimum 0: 90,000

Results

Net Monthly Burn: $60,000.00
Runway: 15.0 months
Gross Monthly Burn: $150,000.00
Runway: 65 weeks
Verdict: Adequate — start raising within six months

Step by step

1Values used
2Burn Rate
3Net Monthly Burn= 60,000.00
4Runway= 15.0 months
5Gross Monthly Burn= 150,000.00
6Runway= 65 weeks
7Verdict= Adequate — start raising within six months

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Burn Rate calculated?

Net burn = cash out − cash in; runway = cash ÷ net burn Gross burn is what you spend; net burn is what actually leaves the bank once revenue is collected. Runway divides the balance by net burn, and it is the number that determines how much time a plan really has.

Why does Burn Rate matter?

Investors size a round against runway, and the convention is to start raising with twelve months left because the process itself consumes six.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 3 inputs: Cash in the bank, Monthly cash out, Monthly cash in. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.