Free Tool
Startup Cost Calculator
Two numbers decide whether a new business survives its first year: what it costs to launch, and how fast it burns cash afterwards. Most founders add up the first and forget the second. This calculator keeps them separate.
Planning estimate, not financial advice. Costs are entered by you from your own quotes — no 'typical' figures are pre-filled. Runway is a planning figure, not a survival guarantee. All figures on this page are estimates or scenarios for planning purposes only. They are not financial, tax or legal advice, and no earnings are promised. Read the full financial disclaimer.
What this tool does
Enter your one-time costs (equipment, website setup, branding, legal setup, anything you pay once) item by item, your monthly recurring costs (tools, subscriptions, marketing, anything you pay every month), and the cash you have available. The calculator shows the total one-time cost, the monthly burn rate, how many months of runway the cash buys, and the total first-year cost.
The split is the differentiator. A business that costs $1,200 to launch and $350 a month to run needs $5,400 for its first year, not $1,200 — and a founder who only raised the launch money runs out of cash in month four. Runway is cash divided by monthly burn, and it is the number to watch every month.
No cost figure is pre-filled as "typical" anywhere on this page. A "typical" startup cost is meaningless across businesses — a freelance service needs a laptop and an internet connection, an e-commerce store needs inventory — so every figure is yours to enter from your own quotes.
Try it
Waiting. Enter your one-time and monthly costs and your available cash, and press Calculate startup costs. Leave any cost at 0 if it does not apply.
How it works
Total one-time cost is the sum of the four one-time rows. Monthly burn is the sum of the three monthly rows. Runway is cash available divided by monthly burn — how many months the cash lasts if the business earns nothing. Total first-year cost is the one-time total plus twelve months of burn. The launch cost and the first-year cost are shown separately because confusing them is the most expensive mistake a new business makes.
Two edge cases are handled openly. If monthly burn is zero, runway is not a number — the calculator says the business has no monthly burn instead of dividing by zero. If cash is less than the one-time cost, runway is negative, and the calculator says so plainly: the launch itself is not yet funded.
Assumptions and limitations
This calculator totals the costs you enter. It cannot find costs you forgot — inventory, payment processing, tax, or your own living expenses while the business earns nothing are the ones most often missed, and they belong in the numbers before the calculator runs, not after. It assumes the monthly burn stays flat, which it rarely does, and it does not model revenue at all: runway here is months until cash runs out with zero income, which is the cautious way to read it.
- No cost figures are pre-filled as "typical" — every figure is yours, from your own quotes. A figure copied from a roundup is not your cost.
- Living expenses are not in this calculator. If you are leaving a job, your runway is the business cash plus your personal buffer — keep the two separate and honest.
- Burn of zero gives "no monthly burn", not infinite runway — a business with no recurring costs still needs its launch cost funded.
- Re-run the numbers whenever a cost changes. A subscription added in month three shortens runway from that month, not from the start.
Worked example
Example (illustrative inputs, not a real business). A freelance service needs $500 of equipment, $300 of website setup, $200 of branding and legal, and $200 of other launch costs: total one-time $1,200. Monthly: $150 of tools, $100 of marketing, $100 of operations: burn $350 a month. With $3,000 of cash, runway is $3,000 ÷ $350 = 8.6 months — if the business earns nothing. Total first-year cost: $1,200 + ($350 × 12) = $5,400. The founder who raised only the $1,200 launch cost would be out of cash in under four months; the one who planned for $5,400 has a year to make it work.
Frequently asked questions
What is runway, and why does it matter more than launch cost?
Runway is how many months your cash lasts at your current monthly burn — cash divided by monthly burn. Launch cost is a one-time payment; runway is survival time. A business can afford its launch and still fail in month four if the burn was never counted. Plan for the first year, not the first invoice.
What costs do people usually forget?
Inventory and payment processing for stores, tax set-aside for freelancers, and — biggest of all — the founder's own living expenses while the business earns nothing. This calculator totals the business costs you enter; your living costs need their own plan, kept separate and honest.
Should I count my own time as a startup cost?
Not in cash terms — it does not come out of the bank account. But it is a real cost, and if the business cannot eventually pay for your time, it is a hobby with expenses. Value your hours separately (the pricing calculators on this site do exactly that) and keep the cash runway calculation about cash.
My monthly burn is zero. Is my runway infinite?
No — and this calculator will not tell you it is. A zero burn means there is no monthly drain, so runway is not a meaningful number; the page says 'no monthly burn' instead. The launch cost still has to be funded, and a zero-burn business still needs revenue eventually.
How much cash should I have before starting?
Enough to cover the launch cost plus several months of burn — how many months depends on how fast you can realistically earn. This calculator shows the runway your cash buys; it cannot tell you how much runway is enough, because that depends on your revenue timeline, which no calculator can promise.
Can I use this for an online store with inventory?
Yes — put the first inventory order in the one-time costs (or in monthly costs if you restock every month). Inventory is usually the biggest startup cost for a store, and putting it in the monthly rows by mistake understates the launch cost badly.