Cash Runway & Burn Rate Calculator

Input your current cash balance plus monthly inflows and outflows to see your net cash burn, monthly cash usage, and projected runway in months. Use the output to align budgeting, headcount, and fundraising strategy with a clear view of solvency risk and capital efficiency.

By CalcMastery Editorial Team

Cash Runway & Burn Rate Calculator

Estimate how long your cash will last based on monthly inflows and outflows. Clean UX with focused fields, tooltips, scenarios, and a concise What It Means panel.

$

Cash and cash equivalents available today (operating accounts plus short-term investments earmarked for operations).

$

Expected cash receipts each month (collections, recurring revenue, interest). Use a recent average.

$

All monthly cash spend: payroll, vendors, rent, debt service, taxes, and routine capex. Exclude non-cash expenses like depreciation.

Scenarios
Load common profiles to see how runway shifts with different inflow and burn patterns.
Early-stage burnEfficient growthEnterprise scaleCash-flow positive

Results

  • Runway— months
  • Net cash burn (positive = burn)— $/mo
  • Cash out (monthly)— $/mo
  • Runway summary—
  • Status—

Enter your inputs above to calculate the results.

What is Cash Runway & Burn Rate?

Cash runway is the number of months your company can keep operating before running out of cash, based on today’s cash balance and your ongoing net cash burn.

Burn rate is the monthly rate at which the business consumes cash, usually tracked as net burn (cash outflows minus cash inflows) and gross burn (total cash outflows).

Together, runway and burn rate translate your operating model, unit economics, and working capital cycle into a simple survival horizon that founders, CFOs, and investors use to manage liquidity risk, funding timelines, and value creation.

Formula

At its core, the calculator follows the standard net burn and runway relationships used in corporate finance and FP&A.

Net cash burn per month:

Net Cash Burn (per month) = Monthly Cash Outflows − Monthly Cash Inflows

Cash runway in months:

Cash Runway (months) = Current Cash on Hand / Net Cash Burn per Month

If net cash burn is zero or negative (your inflows cover or exceed outflows), you are not burning cash at the current run rate; instead of “months left,” the focus shifts to how to reinvest surplus cash, strengthen operating cash flow, and optimize capital allocation.

Example

Assume a company has:

  • Current cash on hand: $600,000
  • Monthly cash inflows: $150,000
  • Monthly cash outflows: $250,000

First, calculate net cash burn per month:

Net cash burn = $250,000 − $150,000 = $100,000 per month

Then compute cash runway:

Cash runway = $600,000 ÷ $100,000 = 6 months

With a 6-month runway, leadership is in the “watch” zone: there is time to hit key milestones, tighten operating cash flow, and line up the next funding event, but hiring plans and discretionary spend should stay tightly linked to progress on revenue growth, margins, and collection discipline

How to Use the Cash Runway & Burn Rate Calculator

Use this calculator to quickly see how many months of cash runway you have based on your current cash balance, expected monthly inflows, and monthly cash outflows.

Enter current cash on hand

  • Type your total available cash (and cash equivalents) in the “Current cash on hand” field—this is your latest bank balance dedicated to operations.

Add your monthly cash inflows

  • In “Monthly cash inflows”, enter the average cash you realistically expect to receive each month from revenue, funding tranches, or other recurring sources.

Add your monthly cash outflows

    • In “Monthly cash outflows”, input your total monthly cash expenses: payroll, rent, tools, contractors, debt payments, etc. The calculator then computes:
Net Cash Burn = Monthly Cash Outflows − Monthly Cash Inflows
Runway (months) = Current Cash on Hand / Net Cash Burn

Review the Results panel

  • Check the “Runway” row for the number of months left, “Net cash burn” for your monthly cash loss, and “Status/Runway summary” for a quick qualitative label based on the runway band.

Interpret and iterate using scenarios and charts

  • Use the scenario dropdown (if available) to test different hiring or spending plans, and toggle charts to visualize how changing inflows or outflows extends or shortens your runway.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this calculator actually compute my cash runway and burn rate?

The calculator first computes your net cash burn as monthly cash outflows minus monthly cash inflows. Then it divides your current cash on hand by that net burn to estimate your runway in months: how long you can operate before cash hits ~0 if nothing changes.

What should I put in “Monthly cash inflows” and “Monthly cash outflows”?

Use real cash movements, not accounting profit: inflows are cash you expect to collect each month (revenue actually hitting the bank, grants, funding tranches), while outflows are all recurring cash expenses (payroll, rent, tools, loan payments, etc.) excluding non-cash items like depreciation.

What if my monthly cash inflows are higher than my outflows (negative burn)?

If inflows exceed outflows, your net cash burn becomes negative, meaning you’re adding cash each month. The calculator will still show a runway, but you should interpret it as a buffer and focus on how much cash you’re accumulating and whether that trend is sustainable.

How often should I update my cash runway calculation?

Recalculate at least monthly, or any time you change hiring, pricing, marketing spend, or raise new capital. The more volatile your business, the more frequently you should refresh the inputs and track runway trends.

Sources & Methodology