Startup runway calculator
How many months until the money runs out — and what you need to change before then.
What this tool does
Runway is the most important number in an early-stage business — and the one founders avoid looking at most often. There is no shame in a short runway. There is significant shame in not knowing what your runway is, because that is the difference between making decisions on your own terms and making them in a panic at month eleven.
How to use it
- Enter your current cash on hand — the actual bank balance, not what you'll have once that invoice clears.
- Enter your monthly burn — total monthly costs minus any reliable monthly revenue. If revenue is zero or unreliable, just enter total monthly costs.
- Read the number of months. If it's under six, you should be raising money, cutting costs, or accelerating revenue starting Monday morning.
Why it matters
Twelve months of runway buys you the calm to make good product decisions. Six months buys you panic. Three months buys you bad decisions you'll regret for years. Knowing the number — and updating it monthly — is what separates founders who survive their first downturn from founders who get surprised by it.
Questions people actually ask.
What counts as cash on hand?
Money in business bank accounts that you could withdraw today. Don't count receivables (you haven't been paid yet), credit lines you haven't drawn on, or pledged-but-uninvested capital. Be conservative — runway math should err on the side of pessimism.
How do I calculate monthly burn?
Average your last three months of total cash out (salaries, rent, software, contractors, ad spend, everything) minus total cash in (closed-and-deposited revenue). If you're growing or shrinking quickly, weight the most recent month higher.
What's a healthy runway?
12+ months for early-stage startups, 18+ months if you intend to raise institutional capital, 6+ months for a profitable small business that wants resilience against a bad quarter. Below 6 months, prioritise revenue and cost cuts over everything else.