Use cash balances
Start with actual bank and treasury balances, not accrual profit alone.
Burn Rate Calculator
Measure how quickly your startup is consuming cash and separate estimated net burn from gross operating spend.
Built for founder cash planning
Calculate monthly burn
Use cash balances from the beginning and end of the same period.
What burn rate means for a startup
Burn rate measures the speed at which a company consumes its cash reserves. Founders use it to set hiring pace, plan fundraising, identify cost pressure, and understand how much time remains before the company needs profitability or more capital.
Gross burn is total monthly cash operating expense. Net burn subtracts monthly cash revenue from that expense. Because cash timing can be uneven, calculate a three- or six-month average and investigate large one-time payments separately.
Net burn formula
(Opening cash − closing cash) ÷ number of monthsBuild a reliable burn-rate view
Cash burn should be monitored with runway, revenue growth, hiring commitments, and upcoming annual payments.
Normalize anomalies
Call out financing, equipment purchases, tax payments, and other exceptional flows.
Model scenarios
Compare the current plan with slower hiring, higher revenue, or reduced spend.
Burn rate FAQ
What is a good startup burn rate?
There is no universal target. A sustainable rate depends on cash available, milestones, revenue growth, capital access, and the efficiency of each dollar spent.
Can a profitable company have cash burn?
Yes. Working-capital timing, debt payments, equipment purchases, and other cash flows can reduce cash even during an accounting profit.
How often should burn rate be calculated?
Most early-stage companies monitor it monthly and update a rolling forecast whenever hiring, revenue, or financing assumptions change materially.