Burn Rate and Runway Calculator Pro 2026 Institutional Dashboard

Burn Rate Calculator — Free Startup Runway Tool

Free Business Tool

Burn Rate Calculator
— 2026 Startup Runway Tool

Find out your monthly cash burn and exactly how many months of runway you have left. Enter your cash balance, expenses, and revenue and the burn rate calculator shows your answer instantly.

18moRecommended runway
9moStart fundraising at
6moDanger zone
$0Cost to use

Burn Rate Calculator

Monthly cash burn and runway in months
$
$/mo
$/mo
Runway Remaining 0 months
Calculating…
Net Burn $0 Per month
Gross Burn $0 Total expenses
Cash-Out Date — At current burn
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Burn rate calculator — 4 things every founder needs to know

Start fundraising at 9 months, not 3Fundraising takes 3–6 months on average. If you wait until you have 3 months of runway, you are already too late. Run this monthly and start outreach when you hit 9 months.
Net burn is what matters to investorsInvestors always ask for net burn — gross expenses minus revenue. A company spending $100,000/month with $80,000 revenue has a $20,000 net problem, not $100,000. Know your net number.
Default alive beats default deadPaul Graham’s “default alive” test: if your monthly spend stays constant, does your current revenue growth put you in profit before you run out of cash? Run it alongside your revenue projections to find out.
18 months is the minimum comfort zoneMost experienced founders and investors agree that 18 months of runway gives you enough time to build product, get traction, and close a round without desperation. Less than 12 months means you are always one bad month away from crisis.

Burn rate calculator — runway status by months remaining

RunwayStatusWhat to do
18+ monthsStrongFocus on growth, not fundraising
12–18 monthsHealthyPrepare materials, warm up investors
9–12 monthsCautionStart fundraising actively now
6–9 monthsWarningPrioritise revenue or cut costs immediately
Under 6 monthsCriticalEmergency measures — bridge round or cut burn

How the burn rate calculator works

Enter your current cash balanceThis is the total cash in your bank accounts right now. Do not include credit lines or receivables — only actual cash on hand. This is what the burn rate calculator divides your burn into to find runway.
Enter monthly gross expenses and revenueGross expenses include salaries, rent, software, contractors, and all other outflows. Revenue is actual cash received — not ARR or bookings. The burn rate calculator subtracts revenue from expenses to get your net burn.
Read your runway and cash-out dateWith $500,000 cash and $30,000 net burn per month, you have 16.7 months of runway and your cash-out date is about 17 months from now. Y Combinator’s seed fundraising guide recommends treating any runway under 18 months as a fundraising trigger.
Watch for the status indicatorThe burn rate calculator colour-codes your runway — green for 18+ months, indigo for 9–18, amber for 6–9, and red for under 6. Run this every month alongside your churn cost calculator to stay ahead of both burn and revenue loss.
Track your burn automatically

Once you know your burn rate, the next step is tracking it automatically each month. Accounting software connects your bank accounts and categorises expenses so your burn rate is always up to date.

Try QuickBooks for Startups We may earn a commission if you sign up through this link — at no extra cost to you.

Burn rate — common questions from founders

What is burn rate?

Burn rate is how fast a company spends its cash. Gross burn is total monthly expenses. Net burn is expenses minus revenue — the actual cash consumed each month. Investors track net burn to understand runway.

How do you calculate startup runway?

Runway = Current cash divided by monthly net burn. With $500,000 in the bank and $30,000 net burn per month, you have 16.7 months of runway. This calculator does the math instantly.

How much runway should a startup have?

At least 18 months at all times. Start fundraising when you hit 9 months because raising takes 3–6 months. Run this monthly alongside our startup valuation calculator.

What is the difference between gross burn and net burn?

Gross burn is total monthly outflow — all expenses before revenue. Net burn is gross burn minus monthly revenue — the actual cash consumed. Investors focus on net burn because it reflects the true consumption rate of the business.

Related tools to track alongside your burn rate

Startup Valuation Calculator Estimate your pre-money valuation before your next funding round. Churn Cost Calculator Quantify the revenue lost to customer churn alongside your burn. Break-Even Calculator Find the revenue level where your burn rate hits zero.

Results from this burn rate calculator are estimates based on the figures you enter. Actual runway depends on revenue growth, expense changes, and other factors. Not financial advice. Last updated: March 2026.