How long does your startup have?
Free burn rate & runway calculator for founders. No signup, no ads, no email capture.
Scenarios
Frequently asked
What is burn rate?
Burn rate is how much cash your startup spends each month. Gross burn is total monthly expenses; net burn subtracts monthly revenue. Net burn is what actually drains your bank account.
How do I calculate runway?
Runway (in months) = cash on hand ÷ net monthly burn. For example, $500k in the bank with $50k/mo net burn = 10 months of runway. If revenue grows month over month, runway extends — this calculator models that compounding.
What's a healthy runway for a seed startup?
Most investors expect 18–24 months of runway after a seed round. Below 12 months and you should be actively raising. Below 6 months is the danger zone — start cutting expenses or close a bridge.
Gross burn vs net burn — which matters?
Both. Net burn determines how long your cash lasts. Gross burn matters for understanding your operating cost base and what changes if revenue drops to zero.
What's the formula for cash burn rate?
Net burn = monthly expenses − monthly revenue. Gross burn = monthly expenses (ignoring revenue). Runway months = cash on hand ÷ net burn. Worked example: $1.5M cash, $80k/mo expenses, $5k/mo revenue → $75k net burn → 20 months runway.
How is monthly burn rate different from annual?
Monthly burn is the number on a single month’s bank statement. Annualized burn = monthly × 12. Investors quote monthly; founders should track both — the annual number is what shows up in board updates and forces honest conversations about hiring plans.
What is net burn rate?
Net burn rate is gross burn minus revenue. It’s the number that actually depletes your cash position each month. A $200k/mo gross-burn company with $150k/mo revenue has $50k net burn — that’s the number that determines runway, not the $200k headline.
When should I start fundraising based on runway?
Start fundraising at 9–12 months of runway. Most rounds take 3–6 months to close; below 6 months you’re negotiating from weakness. Below 3 months it’s a bridge round or layoffs. Track your own time-to-close from prior rounds — fundraising takes longer than founders expect.
Default alive vs default dead — what's the threshold?
From Paul Graham's 2015 'Default Alive or Default Dead?' essay. Default alive: at your current growth and expense trajectory, you'll reach breakeven before cash runs out. Default dead: you won't. budget.ceo's breakeven mode tells you which one you are — if growth makes revenue catch expenses before cash hits zero, you're default alive.
Worked example: a $1.5M seed startup
Here's how the calculator handles the default seed scenario — $1.5M cash, $5k/mo revenue, $80k/mo expenses — at two growth rates.
Without growth
Runway: 20 months. Out by January 2028. Net burn: $75k/mo.
Cash depletes on a straight line — you'll need to either raise, cut, or grow revenue before month 20. With zero growth this is purely a runway problem.
With 15% MoM revenue growth
Breakeven in 20 months. ~$1.09M burned by then, ~$412k cash left.
Growth at 15% MoM is the difference between a runway-only spiral and a viable bootstrap path — revenue catches expenses before the bank account does.
Try other scenarios in the calculator above. Each result has a shareable URL.