Startup Runway Calculator
Calculate how many months your startup's cash lasts at the current burn rate — and the exact month the money runs out.
Net burn = money out minus money in. If revenue is growing, use your projected average burn, not just last month's — and always keep a 2–3 month buffer before the cliff.
Comprehensive Guide & Formulas
Months until cash out
Key Takeaways & Benchmarks
- ✓Runway = cash in bank ÷ net monthly burn.
- ✓Convert months into a calendar cash-out date — deadlines drive action.
- ✓Raise with 9–12 months left; below 6, leverage evaporates.
- ✓Keep a 2–3 month buffer before the calculated cliff.
- ✓Cutting burn 20% can buy months of runway without dilution.
How runway math works
Runway is survival time: cash divided by the rate you're spending it. Net burn — spending minus revenue — is the denominator that matters, because every revenue dollar directly slows the countdown. The result is a number of months and, more powerfully, a calendar date when the money ends.
The date matters more than the number. '11.4 months' is abstract; 'cash out next September' concentrates the mind. Every fundraising conversation, hiring decision and pricing change should be weighed against that date.
- 1Enter cash in bank
Total liquid cash available now.
- 2Set net monthly burn
Monthly spend minus monthly revenue.
- 3Read your runway
Months remaining and the cash-out date.
- 4Plan backwards
Start fundraising 6+ months before the cliff.
The formula
Worked example
$250,000 in the bank with $22,000 net monthly burn: runway is 11.4 months. If today is mid-October, cash runs out around late September next year — meaning fundraising should start by March at the latest.
Cut burn 20% to $17,600 and runway stretches to 14.2 months — nearly 3 extra months bought without raising a dollar. Grow revenue by $5,000/month instead and the effect is similar. Both levers are usually cheaper than dilution.
Managing the countdown
- ▸Recalculate monthly — burn drifts, and stale runway numbers lie.
- ▸Keep a 2–3 month buffer; plan to the buffer, not the cliff.
- ▸Start fundraising with 9–12 months left, never 3.
- ▸Know your path to zero burn: the revenue or cuts that stop the countdown.
- ▸Watch gross burn too — revenue can mask spending problems until it stalls.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate startup runway?+
Divide cash in the bank by net monthly burn (total spend minus revenue). $250,000 ÷ $22,000/month = about 11.4 months. This calculator also converts that into a calendar cash-out date so the deadline feels real.
What is burn rate?+
The net cash a startup spends each month: gross burn (all expenses) minus revenue. A company spending $40,000/month and earning $18,000 has a net burn of $22,000. Gross burn shows spending discipline; net burn determines survival — track both.
How much runway should a startup have?+
The conventional wisdom is 18–24 months after a fundraise: enough to hit the milestones that unlock the next round, with buffer for things going slower than planned. Below 6 months, fundraising becomes desperate — and investors can smell it. Raise when you have 9–12 months left, not 3.
What is the difference between gross burn and net burn?+
Gross burn is total monthly spending; net burn subtracts revenue. A startup spending $50k and earning $30k has $50k gross burn but only $20k net burn — and it's the net figure that sets runway. Confusing the two overstates urgency or understates it, depending on direction.
How can we extend runway without raising money?+
Cut gross burn (hiring freezes, cheaper tools, smaller office), accelerate revenue, or both. A 20% burn cut on $22k/month adds over 2 months of runway on $250k cash. Extending runway is often cheaper than raising — dilution avoided is money kept. The Break-Even Calculator shows the revenue needed to hit zero burn.
Should runway include a safety buffer?+
Yes — treat the calculated cash-out date as the cliff edge, and plan as if you have 2–3 months less. Fundraising takes 3–6 months, revenue slips, and surprises happen. Founders who plan to the exact month discover the cliff is real.
What happens when runway hits zero?+
Without new cash or profitability, the company can't make payroll — that's the definition of startup death. The months before zero are when options narrow: bridge rounds on bad terms, acqui-hires, or shutdown. The entire point of tracking runway is to act while options are still good.
How does revenue growth affect runway?+
It extends it non-linearly: every dollar of new monthly revenue directly reduces net burn. Growing from $18k to $28k MRR on $40k spend cuts net burn from $22k to $12k — nearly doubling runway. That's why 'grow into profitability' works when the unit economics in the SaaS Pricing Calculator are sound.
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