Runway & Burn Rate Calculator
Project cash runway, burn rate and when you need to raise.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate startup runway?
The simple formula is cash in the bank divided by monthly net burn: $2.4M of cash and a $150k net burn gives 16 months. This calculator also projects month by month with revenue growth, cost growth, planned hires and fundraises, which is usually more accurate.
What is the difference between gross burn and net burn?
Gross burn is everything you spend in a month. Net burn is gross burn minus revenue, the cash you actually lose each month. Runway is based on net burn.
What does default alive mean?
Paul Graham's term for a startup that will reach profitability before running out of money if expenses and revenue growth stay the same and it raises nothing more. A default dead company depends on raising another round to survive.
How much runway should a startup have?
Investors commonly suggest raising for 18–24 months of runway, and starting the next fundraise with at least 6–9 months left, because closing a round often takes several months.
What is a burn multiple?
Burn multiple is net burn divided by net new ARR over the same period. It measures how much cash you spend to add each dollar of recurring revenue: under 1× is excellent, 1–2× is good, and above 3× is a warning sign.
Is my financial data stored anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser and only saves your plan to this browser's local storage so it is there when you come back.