Burn rate calculator
The short answer
This burn rate calculator uses one monthly burn rate formula. Gross burn is monthly operating costs. Net burn is those costs minus monthly revenue. Runway is cash on hand divided by net burn. On the example, $20,000 minus $8,000 is $12,000 of net burn, and $120,000 divided by $12,000 is 10 months. The fields are example data for a fictional month, not a live business.
What burn rate means
Burn rate is how fast cash leaves the company. On this page it is a monthly amount. Stripe's burn rate page, updated March 15, 2026 and checked November 4, 2026, calls gross burn the total spent each month and net burn that spend minus revenue. The same page defines runway as cash on hand divided by monthly net burn.
The revenue line is not the same figure as cash collected. How to calculate MRR keeps the monthly price of subscriptions you still have, and it leaves out one-off fees. MRR and ARR are not the cash that arrived. This form wants the revenue you are counting for the month, and the cash sitting in the account today.
Gross burn vs net burn
The gross burn rate formula is monthly operating costs. Payroll is inside that total, along with software, contractors, and payment fees you actually paid. Gross burn does not subtract revenue. On the example, gross burn is $20,000.
Net burn rate is monthly operating costs minus monthly revenue. Stripe writes it as total monthly cash expenditures minus total monthly revenues. On the example inputs that is $20,000 minus $8,000, which is $12,000. Andreessen Horowitz's 16 Startup Metrics note, posted August 21, 2015 and checked November 4, 2026, also separates gross burn (monthly expenses and other cash outlays) from net burn, and says investors use net burn to see how long the cash in the bank lasts. That note writes net burn as revenue minus gross burn. This calculator follows Stripe's order, costs minus revenue, so a month that spends more than it earns shows a positive net burn.
If revenue is greater than costs, net burn is below zero and the company is adding cash. If they are equal, net burn is $0. In both cases the runway line says cash-flow positive, runway not limited by burn. It does not print a negative month count, and it does not print an endless one.
How to calculate runway
Runway in months is cash on hand divided by net burn. That startup runway figure is part of this burn rate calculator, not a second form. Stripe states it as total cash on hand divided by monthly net burn rate.
On the example, $120,000 divided by $12,000 is 10. The result is 10 months. The division uses net burn, not gross burn. Dividing the same $120,000 by the $20,000 of gross burn would be 6 months, and that answer ignores the $8,000 of revenue.
When net burn is $0 or below, there is no positive number to divide by. The form stops and says the month is cash-flow positive. Months to earn back acquisition spend are a different division, in the CAC payback period.
Worked example
The fields open on EXAMPLE inputs for a fictional month. Cash on hand is $120,000. Monthly revenue is $8,000. Monthly operating costs are $20,000. Those inputs are example data. Replace them.
Gross burn equals the costs: $20,000. Net burn is $20,000 minus $8,000, which is $12,000. Runway is $120,000 divided by $12,000, which is 10 months. Those three lines are the arithmetic, and they are the numbers the form shows before you change a field. The same three numbers are in the Burn rate template (CSV).
The monthly price behind a revenue input, on a different sample, is the MRR calculator.
Burn rate in Excel or Google Sheets
How to calculate burn rate in Excel is the same three inputs. Put cash on hand in B2, monthly revenue in B3, and monthly operating costs in B4. Row 1 is the header, so the first amount is B2. Google Sheets uses the same cells. The file is a burn rate calculator Excel and Google Sheets both open.
| Cell | Line | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| B2 | Cash on hand | 120000 on the example |
| B3 | Monthly revenue | 8000 on the example |
| B4 | Monthly operating costs | 20000 on the example |
| B5 | Gross burn | =B4 |
| B6 | Net burn | =B4-B3 |
| B7 | Runway months | =IF(B6<=0,"Cash-flow positive",B2/B6) |
Gross burn is =B4, the cost cell. Net burn is =B4-B3, costs minus revenue. The runway IF divides B2 by B6 only when B6 is above zero. On the example, B4 is 20000, B3 is 8000, and B6 is 12000. B2 divided by B6 is 10. If B6 is 0 or below, the cell says Cash-flow positive instead of dividing by zero or printing a negative month count.
How to lower burn on a tiny team
Net burn falls when costs fall or when revenue rises. On a team of one, the costs that move the number are the ones you type into monthly operating costs: payroll you actually pay, software, contractors, and the fees a sale takes. A fee counts once you know the dollar amount. Do not invent a line for time you did not pay yourself. Unpaid founder time stays out, which is the same rule as the founder-pay question in the FAQ.
Spend to acquire customers is part of those costs in the month you pay it. The split by channel is the CAC calculator. Customers who leave take revenue with them, which raises net burn if you do not replace it. That rate is the churn rate calculator. This page does not print a target burn. The $20,000, the $8,000, and the 10 months are the example inputs.
The other calculators are on the tools page. The rest of the money posts are on Money and ops.
FAQ
Is burn rate monthly?
On this calculator, yes. Gross burn, net burn, and runway all use one month. Stripe’s burn rate page, updated March 15, 2026 and checked November 4, 2026, states both gross burn and net burn as monthly amounts, and it defines runway with monthly net burn. Andreessen Horowitz’s 2015 metrics note reduces a year of cash change to a monthly burn by dividing by 12. A weekly figure would be a different split. This form does not print one.
What is the difference between gross and net burn?
Gross burn is monthly operating costs. Net burn is those costs minus monthly revenue. On the example, gross burn is $20,000 and net burn is $20,000 minus $8,000, which is $12,000. Stripe’s page, updated March 15, 2026, uses that same order: expenditures minus revenue. If net burn is $0 or below, the month is cash-flow positive and runway is not limited by burn.
How many months of runway should a startup have?
It depends on what the cash has to pay for. This page does not set a target. Geoff Ralston’s Y Combinator guide to seed fundraising, published January 7, 2016 and checked November 4, 2026, says to raise enough to reach profitability. When a company will need a follow-on round, the same guide says to raise enough to reach the next fundable milestone, which will usually be 12 to 18 months later, and that founders often describe the raise as that many months. Those are the guide’s figures. The 10 months on this form are the example arithmetic, $120,000 divided by $12,000.
Does burn include founder pay?
It includes founder pay only when that pay is cash you spent. Stripe’s gross burn definition, updated March 15, 2026, includes salaries in the monthly costs. Type the salary into monthly operating costs and it is in gross burn and in net burn. Unpaid hours are not cash leaving the account. This form has no hourly rate, so it does not add a dollar amount you did not type.