Burn rate and runway calculator
Still employed and weighing an idea? Try the quit your job calculator first.
See how many months of cash you have, when you break even, how your numbers compare with what investors expect for the next round, and what founding costs you compared with a job.
Your runway
- Net burn per month
- €35,000
- Runway
- 8 months
- Break-even
- Month 18
Default dead: at this growth the cash runs out before you break even.
Odds of raising your next round
Rough odds Low: 5–10%
Next round: Seed. European investors expect about €360,000 of annual recurring revenue (€30,000 a month), growing 2.5x a year. You have €240,000 (€20,000 a month), growing 2.0x a year. At your current growth you reach it in month 7. Your cash lasts 8 months, and a round takes about 6 to close.
With today's numbers: a pre-seed round of about €700,000 at €3,400,000 pre-money, selling about 17% of the company.
For comparison: about 16% of seed-funded companies raise a Series A within two years, down from over 50% before 2020, and the median gap between the two rounds is 1.9 years (Carta). This is an estimate from market averages, not a prediction. Retention, margins, the team and the market move real odds a lot.
Three ways forward
| Keep going | Raise the round | Sell part of your stake | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway | 8 months | Cash never runs out | 8 months |
| Break-even before cash runs out | No | Yes | No |
| Your stake | 40.0% | 33.2% | 36.0% |
| Cash to you now | — | — | €72,000 – €104,000 |
| Your stake on paper | €1,600,000 | €1,360,000 | €1,440,000 |
A secondary sale puts money in your pocket, not in the company, so the company's runway does not change. The price range uses our equity calculator's discount for ordinary shares at your stage.
Founding vs a job
- The job pays over 4 years
- €240,000
- Your founder salary over the same period
- €144,000
- Income you give up
- €96,000
- Your stake on paper today
- €1,600,000
- Exit value at which your stake repays that income
- €240,000
Before later dilution and taxes. Most startups never reach an exit, so treat the paper value as a possibility, not income.
How burn rate and runway work
Net burn is monthly costs minus monthly revenue. With €55,000 of costs and €20,000 of revenue you burn €35,000 a month. Runway is how long your cash lasts at that pace. Because revenue grows, the burn shrinks each month, so the calculator steps through the months instead of dividing cash by today's burn.
Break-even is the month when revenue first covers costs. If it comes before the cash runs out, the company is default alive. If not, you need a round, lower costs or faster growth, and you need to know which months before the bank account tells you.
How we estimate your odds of raising
Investors in 2026 expect more revenue, sooner, than a few years ago. The old SaaS rule of tripling twice and doubling three times (T2D3) has given way to faster curves for AI companies: Bessemer describes its best AI companies growing 4x, 4x, 3x, 3x, 3x. Carta data puts the US Series A bar for AI companies around $3.5 million of annual recurring revenue, about three times what it was in 2021. In Europe the median company raising a Series A has about €2 million of annual revenue, and investors quote €2–3 million. Only about 16% of seed companies now reach a Series A within two years, down from about 30% for the 2018 cohort.
| What European investors expect | Software, fintech, apps | AI-native |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly revenue for a seed round | €30,000 | €75,000 |
| Annual revenue for a seed round | €360,000 | €900,000 |
| Monthly revenue for a Series A | €167,000 | €250,000 |
| Annual revenue for a Series A | €2,000,000 | €3,000,000 |
| Growth per year | 2.5x (about 8% a month) | 4x (about 12% a month) |
The calculator checks two things. First, whether you reach the revenue bar for your next round at least 6 months before the cash runs out, because a round takes months to close. Second, whether you grow as fast as investors expect. Both: odds well above average (40–60%). One of the two: around the average (15–30%). Neither: 5–10%. If the bar is more than two years away, under 5%. The bars are European. US investors ask for more, about $300,000–500,000 of annual revenue at seed and $2.5–3.5 million at Series A, and price rounds higher.
How we suggest the size of your round
The scenario fills in a round your current numbers could support. Annual revenue sets the stage, using the same bars as the odds above. The pre-money valuation is a multiple of annual revenue, kept within the usual range for that stage in Europe. The round size follows from how much of the company investors usually buy.
| Stage | Pre-money | Usual range | Share sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | 14x annual revenue | €2,000,000 – €5,000,000 | 17% |
| Seed | 14x annual revenue | €4,000,000 – €12,000,000 | 25% |
| Series A | 12x annual revenue | €15,000,000 – €60,000,000 | 22% |
Growing as fast as investors expect adds 25% to the valuation; flat or shrinking revenue takes off 30%. AI-native companies get 25% more at pre-seed and seed, where estimates of the AI premium range from almost nothing to over 40%, and 35% more at Series A. Seed rounds are priced on the team and the market more than on revenue: US seed rounds close at anything from zero to $3.6 million of annual revenue. Repeat founders raise more too: in Europe their median round is €4.3 million at €17.2 million post-money, against €2.5 million at €9.4 million for first-time founders.
US rounds are priced much higher. On Carta in the first half of 2026, the median US software seed raised $4.1 million at $24.3 million post-money and the median Series A raised $14.4 million at $80 million, each selling 18% of the company. The median US pre-seed is now valued at $12 million, three times its 2020 level (PitchBook). Between seed and Series A, companies now take a median 1.9 years (Carta). More benchmarks by stage are in our guide to pre-seed, seed and Series A valuations.
Sources: PitchBook European VC Valuations reports (pre-seed and seed median pre-money €6 million in Q1 2026 and €4.8 million in the first half, rounds about €2 million; founder experience data, 2026), Equidam (European pre-seed median about €3.3 million with 18% sold, 2026), Carta (1,133 US software rounds, first half of 2026; 14,333 priced rounds for time between rounds), Carta and SVB (median Series A revenue $2.8 million in 2025; seed rounds from $0 to $3.6 million of revenue; AI premium 30–38% at Series A), PitchBook-NVCA and CB Insights (US medians and AI seed premium, 2026). Team, market and retention move real terms a lot, so use this as a starting point for your own model.
What a comparable job pays
The region presets use the median total compensation of a senior software engineer, the job most technical founders would otherwise hold:
| Region | Per year |
|---|---|
| United States (big tech) | $312,000 |
| London | £124,000 |
| Germany | €105,000 |
| Nordics | €95,000 |
| Poland and CEE | €70,000 |
| Estonia | €68,000 |
| Latvia | €60,000 |
Sources: Levels.fyi (US 2025 report; London, Estonia and Riga in 2026), European tech salary reports for Germany, the Nordics and CEE. AI and ML engineers earn 25–40% more; the calculator adds 25%. For context, European founders at seed paid themselves a median of about €89,000 in 2026, and about €71,000 at pre-seed (Creandum).
Raising a round or selling part of your stake
A round adds cash to the company and extends the runway, at the price of dilution: raising €700,000 at €3,400,000 pre-money takes a 40.0% stake to 33.2%. Model the full cap table, with SAFEs and the option pool, in the dilution calculator.
A secondary sale gives you personal cash today and leaves the company's bank account as it is. It can make a low founder salary bearable for another year or two. Buyers pay below the round price for ordinary shares, more so at early stages; the equity calculator shows why.
Frequently asked questions
What is burn rate?
Burn rate is how much cash a company loses per month: monthly costs minus monthly revenue. Gross burn counts costs only. This calculator shows net burn, because that is what drains the bank account.
How is runway calculated?
Runway is the number of months until cash runs out. The calculator steps month by month: revenue grows at your monthly rate, costs stay flat, and the month when cash drops below zero ends the runway.
What does default alive mean?
A company is default alive when, at its current growth and costs, it reaches break-even before the money runs out. If not, it is default dead and needs to raise money, cut costs or grow faster.
Where do the salary figures come from?
Median total compensation for senior software engineers from Levels.fyi and European salary reports for 2025–2026, with a 25% premium for AI and ML roles. Overwrite the number with an offer you actually have.
How do you estimate the odds of raising the next round?
We compare your annual revenue and growth with what investors expect in 2026: about €360,000 of annual revenue (€30,000 a month) for a seed round in Europe and €2 million (about €170,000 a month) for a Series A, growing 2.5x a year, and more for AI companies. Then we check whether you reach that bar six months before your cash runs out. The bands are anchored on the market average: about 16% of seed companies raise a Series A within two years.
How much could I raise in my next round?
The calculator suggests a round from your annual revenue, growth and company type. Below €30,000 of monthly revenue it assumes a pre-seed round at about 14x revenue, between €2 million and €5 million pre-money. A seed round prices at about 14x revenue between €4 million and €12 million, and a Series A at about 12x between €15 million and €60 million. European investors typically buy 17–25% of the company, which sets the round size. Fast growth and AI raise the price.
Is the secondary price a real offer?
No. It applies the same discount logic as our startup equity calculator to ordinary shares at your stage. Real prices depend on the company, the buyer and the documents.
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