STARTUP · CASH PLANNING
Startup Runway Calculator
Calculate months of runway from cash, burn rate, and revenue growth assumptions.
Result
Cash projection
How to use it
- Enter cash on hand, monthly burn, current monthly revenue, expected monthly revenue growth, and any planned burn reduction. Use fully loaded burn including payroll, software, rent, and debt service so runway reflects real cash usage.
- Read runway months, projected cash-out date, monthly cash projection, and break-even month. Fewer than 6 months of runway is usually acute, while 12-18 months gives most startups a healthier fundraising or restructuring window.
- Compare break-even month to cash-out month, not just to your optimism about growth. If break-even arrives after cash reaches zero, the current plan still fails even if the top-line narrative sounds attractive.
- Use the projection to test a no-growth case, a modest growth case, and a burn-cut case before making hiring or fundraising decisions. If a 10% burn reduction adds more runway than an aggressive growth assumption, the operations lever is probably safer than the sales story.
- Re-run monthly after the close and after any staffing, pricing, or financing change. Track actual runway versus modeled runway because even one or two bad months can pull the cash-out date forward sharply.
Questions people usually ask
What is the startup runway formula?
Runway in months equals cash on hand divided by monthly net burn. So a startup with $300,000 in the bank burning $50,000 a month has six months of runway. This calculator extends that base formula by letting you layer in monthly revenue growth and planned burn reduction, since both push the cash-out date further away.
How do I calculate my burn rate?
Net monthly burn is your total monthly operating costs minus monthly revenue: it's the cash actually leaving the business each month. If you spend $80,000 and bring in $30,000, your net burn is $50,000. Enter that figure as monthly burn and the calculator divides your cash on hand by it to return runway in months.
What is startup runway?
Runway is the number of months your startup can continue operating at its current burn rate before cash reaches zero.
How is revenue growth modelled?
Revenue compounds monthly at your specified growth rate. A 5% monthly growth means revenue multiplies by 1.05 each month.
What if my burn rate changes?
Use the burn reduction percentage to model decreasing costs over time. Set to 0% for constant burn.
Is this tool free and private to use?
Yes. AI Biz Hub tools are free, no-signup browser tools. Inputs stay in your browser unless you choose to share a URL.
Use in an agent
Same math, same result shape as the UI above — as a static ES module. No HTTP request, no auth, no rate limit.
import { compute } from "https://aibizhub.io/engines/startup-runway-calculator.js";Contract: /contracts/startup-runway-calculator.json Types: /engines/startup-runway-calculator.d.ts Full agent guide →
Related Resources
Learn the decision before you act
Every link here is tied directly to Startup Runway Calculator. Use the explanation, formula, examples, and benchmarks to pressure-test the calculator output from first principles.
Formula
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4 EXAMPLESPayback Period Examples
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All articles →Read further
Long-form context behind the calculator output.
- Article·7 min
How to Plan Startup Runway
Plan runway around gross vs. net burn, a 12-month cash waterfall, and the trigger thresholds that force action before the zero-cash cliff.
Read - Article·11 min
Bootstrapped Runway vs Classical Runway: Two Methods Compared
Classical runway gives one number; bootstrapped gives five. On the same scenario, classical shows 0 months while bootstrapped shows 120 months.
Read - Pillar·12 min
How to Calculate Runway Under Revenue Volatility
Calculate runway under revenue volatility: fixed-burn calculators mislead. The honest method runs a monte-carlo on monthly cash flow ranges.
Read
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Decision Workflows
Step-by-step guides that use this tool.