Plainhub
Free tool

Cash runway calculator

How many months of cash you have left, and what actually changes it. Most calculators give you one number. This one shows you the two levers. Nothing stored.

Runway
7.5
months of cash left
Net burn
€24,000
per month
Zero cash
7mo
from today

Between six and twelve months. Enough to run a raise, but start now rather than at month three.

What actually moves it

The same runway, if you changed one thing.

Cut spend 10%
9.6 months
+2.1 months
Grow revenue 25%
10.6 months
+3.1 months

The cash runway formula

Runway is one division, but the input that matters is net burn, not gross spend:

net burn = money out - money in
runway   = cash in bank / net burn

The reason runway is worth calculating rather than eyeballing is that it moves non-linearly. Cutting spend by 10 percent does not add 10 percent to your runway, it adds more, because you are shrinking the denominator. That is why the levers panel above is the useful part: it turns an abstract number into a decision.

For the reasoning behind the number, read when will you run out of cash, and to separate the two burn figures cleanly, use the burn rate calculator.

Common questions

How do you calculate cash runway?

Divide the cash in your bank by your net monthly burn, where net burn is money out minus money in. €180,000 in the bank with €52,000 going out and €28,000 coming in is €24,000 net burn, which is 7.5 months of runway.

What is the cash runway formula?

Runway (months) = cash on hand / net monthly burn. If you are cash positive, net burn is zero or negative and runway is not the binding constraint, so the formula returns no finite number.

What is a good runway for a startup?

Most investors want to see 12 to 18 months of runway after a raise, because that is roughly how long it takes to hit the milestones that justify the next round. Under 6 months is the danger zone, since a fundraise usually takes longer than the runway you have left.

How can I extend my runway?

Only two levers move it: spend less or bring in more. Cutting spend acts immediately and fully within your control; growing revenue is slower and less certain. The calculator shows both so you can see which one buys more months for your situation.

Should I include one-time costs in runway?

No. Strip out one-off items like a legal bill or a hardware purchase before calculating runway, because they inflate a single month and make the projection shorter than reality. Runway should be built on recurring burn only.

Your runway changed the moment you closed this tab

Every payment and every new customer moves it. Plainhub keeps runway live so you never have to reopen a calculator: type what happened, watch the number update.

Build your modelSee the live demo