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Burn Rate Calculator

Calculate monthly burn rate and runway. Free burn rate and runway calculator for US startups.

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What This Calculator Tells You

Burn rate is how much cash your company uses up each month. Runway is how many months that cash will last at the current pace. Together they answer the question every founder needs to know without looking it up: when do we run out of money?

Enter your bank balance at two points in time and the months between them. The calculator works out your average net burn and how many months of runway the ending balance buys.

What to Enter

Cash at start ($) — total cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period (operating accounts, savings, money-market). Leave out undrawn credit lines.
Cash at end ($) — the same balance at the end of the period.
Months elapsed — length of the period. Three to six months smooths out lumpy items like annual software bills, payroll taxes and quarterly rent.

Worked Examples

1. A Series A startup

Cash falls from $2,400,000 to $1,800,000 over six months.

Enter 2,400,000, 1,800,000 and 6 → net burn $100,000/month.
Runway 18 months. Fundraising typically takes 6–9 months, so this team should start preparing for the next round within the year.

2. A seed-stage team after a hiring push

Cash goes from $750,000 to $615,000 over three months.

Enter 750,000, 615,000 and 3 → net burn $45,000/month, runway about 13.7 months.
If two more hires add $25,000 a month, burn rises to $70,000 and runway drops to under 9 months — run that scenario before signing offers.

3. A company near break-even

Cash rises from $310,000 to $322,000 over four months.

The result shows a negative burn (cash is growing by $3,000 a month), which means runway is not a constraint right now.

How It’s Calculated

Net Burn = Monthly Expenses − Monthly Revenue. Runway = Cash on Hand ÷ Net Burn.

How to Read Your Result

Over 18 months of runway: comfortable; you can raise on your own timeline.
12–18 months: normal for a funded startup, but plan the next raise or path to profitability now.
Under 12 months: treat as urgent — cut discretionary spend, push collections, or start fundraising immediately.
Gross vs net burn: this tool measures net burn (cash out minus cash in). Gross burn — total spending before revenue — is useful too, because revenue can fall faster than costs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using a single month. One month with an annual insurance payment or a big customer prepayment distorts the result.
Counting committed funding that has not arrived. A signed term sheet is not cash in the bank.
Assuming burn stays flat. Hiring plans almost always push burn up; model runway on next quarter's expected burn, not last quarter's.
Ignoring receivables timing. Large invoices paid on 60–90 day terms can make burn look worse, then better, than it really is.

Built and maintained by GenAlpha Tools Editorial. Uses the standard published formula shown above. How we calculate · Report an error

When to Use This Calculator

Know exactly how many months you have before you need to raise.
Test the runway impact of new hires or a bigger marketing budget.
Report burn and runway in monthly investor updates.
Decide when to switch from growth mode to efficiency mode.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a normal burn rate for a startup?

There is no single number — it scales with team size and stage. What investors care about is runway (ideally 18–24 months after a raise) and burn multiple: how many dollars you burn for each dollar of new annual recurring revenue.

What is the difference between gross burn and net burn?

Gross burn is total monthly spending. Net burn is spending minus cash coming in. A company spending $150,000 a month with $50,000 of revenue has $150,000 gross burn and $100,000 net burn.

How is runway calculated?

Runway = current cash ÷ monthly net burn. With $1.8M in the bank and $100k net burn, runway is 18 months.

Should runway include a line of credit?

Report it separately. Debt facilities can be frozen when results disappoint, so most founders and investors quote runway on cash alone.

Do you store the values I enter?

No. All calculations happen in your browser. Your data never leaves your device.

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