Break down your monthly spend by category, calculate gross and net burn, and see your path to default alive. Free, no signup required.
Enter your monthly spend for each category. Leave blank if not applicable.
Current monthly recurring revenue
Expected month-over-month growth
For runway calculation
Gross burn is the total amount your company spends each month — payroll, rent, tools, marketing, and everything else. Net burn is gross burn minus revenue. If you spend $100K/month and earn $30K in revenue, your gross burn is $100K and your net burn is $70K. Net burn is what actually reduces your cash balance.
A healthy burn rate is relative to your stage, revenue, and how close you are to your next milestone. Pre-seed startups might burn $20K-$50K/month. Seed-stage $50K-$150K. Series A $150K-$500K. The key question is whether your burn rate is sustainable given your runway and upcoming milestones — not just the absolute dollar amount.
"Default alive" means your company will reach profitability before running out of money, assuming current revenue growth continues and expenses stay flat. The term was coined by Paul Graham of Y Combinator. It is the threshold every startup should aim to cross — it gives you negotiating power with investors and freedom to be selective.
The three highest-leverage burn reduction strategies are: (1) payroll — delay hires, offer equity-heavy packages, or reduce salaries with equity top-ups; (2) infrastructure — right-size cloud spend and negotiate vendor contracts; (3) marketing — cut channels with poor CAC payback and focus on organic growth. Rank expenses by impact on revenue before cutting.
Include all cash outflows: payroll and benefits, office and equipment rent or leases, software subscriptions, cloud infrastructure, marketing and advertising spend, legal and accounting fees, contractor payments, insurance, and loan repayments. Do not include non-cash items like depreciation or stock-based compensation.