Startup runway calculator
Months of runway from cash, monthly burn and revenue growth.
FreeRuns in your browserNo signupUpdated 2026-11-05
The figures below are examples. Replace them with your own.
Growth compounds monthly from the starting month. Results look ahead 120 months at most.
Runway with growth
10.3 months
Cash runs out in Sept 2027
Runway at today's burn
10 months
$60,000 net burn ÷ no growth
Cash needed for 18 months
To get through month 18 without the balance dropping below zero you need $1,006,532 at the start. You have $600,000, so the gap is $406,532.
Revenue would overtake costs in month 37, after cash runs out
| Month | Revenue | Costs | Net burn | Cash left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Nov 2026 | $20,000 | $80,000 | $60,000 | $540,000 |
| 3. Jan 2027 | $22,050 | $81,608 | $59,558 | $420,642 |
| 6. Apr 2027 | $25,526 | $84,081 | $58,555 | $243,877 |
| 9. Jul 2027 | $29,549 | $86,629 | $57,079 | $71,049 |
| 11. Sept 2027 | $32,578 | $88,370 | $55,792 | -$41,211 |
Net burn is costs minus revenue. A negative figure means the month added cash. Rerun the numbers each month with actuals.
About this tool
How it works and how to read the result.
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See the serviceWhat it does
This runway calculator works out how long your cash lasts. It runs your numbers forward month by month: revenue and costs each grow at the rate you set, the difference comes out of the bank, and the month the balance drops below zero is the end of your runway. It also shows the simple version, cash divided by today's net burn, the month revenue overtakes costs if that happens, and the cash you would need to last a target number of months. Everything runs in your browser.
How to use it
- Pick a currency and the month your figures start from.
- Enter cash in the bank, total monthly costs and monthly revenue actually received.
- Set monthly growth rates for revenue and costs. Use 0 for flat.
- Set the runway you want, such as the months until you expect to raise again.
- Read the runway, the month-by-month table and the cash gap, then copy the summary.
How to read the result
The example starts in November 2026 with 600,000 in the bank, 80,000 of monthly costs growing 1% a month and 20,000 of revenue growing 5% a month. Net burn in the first month is 60,000, so the simple runway is 600,000 ÷ 60,000 = 10 months. With growth, burn falls slowly as revenue rises, and the cash lasts about 10.3 months, running out in September 2027.
Revenue only overtakes costs in month 37. To reach month 18 without the balance going below zero you would need about 1,006,500 at the start, a shortfall of about 406,500. That is the size of raise, cost cut or revenue gain the plan needs.
The formulas, for month m:
- Revenue = starting revenue × (1 + revenue growth)^(m − 1)
- Costs = starting costs × (1 + cost growth)^(m − 1)
- Net burn = costs − revenue, and the cash balance falls by net burn each month
Test how sensitive the answer is. Raise revenue growth from 5% to 8% and runway only moves to about 11.2 months, but revenue overtakes costs in month 22 and the 18-month shortfall drops to about 220,000. Growth helps most in the later months, which is why a short runway leaves little time for it to work.
If you are not sure what your monthly costs are, add up the last three months from your bank statements and divide by three. To check whether your prices can cover those costs, use the break-even calculator. When the plan depends on shipping a product faster, our web app development service can help scope and build it.
Questions
Frequently asked.
What is runway?
Runway is the number of months your company can keep operating before the cash runs out, assuming nothing changes except what you put into the model. The simplest version is cash divided by monthly net burn. This calculator also lets revenue and costs grow each month, which usually gives a more honest answer.
Should I use revenue I have invoiced or cash I have received?
Cash received. Runway is about the bank balance, and an invoice that is paid 60 days late does not pay salaries this month. If your customers pay annually up front, enter the average cash you collect per month over the year, or model the lumpy months separately.
Why does the runway with growth differ from cash divided by burn?
Cash divided by burn freezes today's numbers. In practice revenue grows, and so do costs as you hire. If revenue grows faster than costs, each month burns a little less and runway stretches. If costs grow faster, runway shrinks. The gap between the two figures shows how much your plan depends on growth.
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