Startup Runway Calculator
How many months until your startup runs out of money? Enter your cash balance, revenue, and expenses to get your exact runway, fundraising trigger date, and scenario analysis.
Current cash & revenue
Start with what you have in the bank and what's coming in each month.
Total cash in your bank accounts right now
Predictable monthly revenue. Use 0 if pre-revenue.
Startup Runway: What It Is and Why It's the Most Important Number You Track
Startup runway is the number of months your company can operate before running out of cash, at your current burn rate. It's calculated as: Current Cash ÷ Net Monthly Burn, where net burn = monthly expenses minus monthly revenue. It's the single most important number for every founder to know at all times.
Most founders underestimate how quickly cash depletes. A $500,000 raise sounds like a lot - until you're spending $40,000/month on payroll and infrastructure. At that rate, you have just 12.5 months. Add 6 months for a fundraise process, and you need to start your Series A conversations in month 6. Most founders start in month 9, and wonder why they're fundraising from a position of desperation.
What is a Healthy Startup Runway?
The standard guidance from top VCs: 18–24 months of runway after each raise. This is long enough to hit meaningful milestones (first revenue, first 100 users, product-market fit signals), run a fundraise process (typically 4–6 months), and have a buffer if the raise takes longer. Pre-seed companies often operate on 12 months; Series A companies should be at 18–24 months minimum.
Gross Burn vs Net Burn: What's the Difference?
Gross burn is your total monthly cash outflow - every dollar leaving the company (salaries, cloud costs, marketing, rent, tools). Net burn is gross burn minus revenue. Net burn tells you how fast your actual cash balance is declining. A company burning $80,000/month but generating $50,000/month in revenue has a net burn of $30,000/month - much healthier than the gross number suggests. Track both: gross burn shows your cost structure, net burn shows your true survival timeline.
When to Start Fundraising Based on Your Runway
The rule of thumb: start fundraising when you have 9 months of runway left, never less than 6. A full fundraise - deck prep, warm intros, first meetings, second meetings, due diligence, term sheet, legal, close - takes 4–6 months. Starting at 9 months gives you a buffer if things move slowly. Starting at 6 months or less puts you in distress mode, and investors can smell it. You'll accept worse terms, give up more equity, and have less negotiating power on every clause.
How to Extend Your Startup Runway
The four levers, in order of impact: (1) Cut payroll - for most startups, 60–75% of burn is people. Even deferring salaries or trimming one role adds months instantly. (2) Pause paid marketing - if you don't have strong CAC-to-LTV evidence, pause all paid channels and focus on organic. (3) Renegotiate vendor contracts - most SaaS tools will cut 30–50% if you're honest about your situation. (4) Accelerate revenue - even $5,000/month in new MRR adds 2–4 months of runway. Focus your team on revenue, not features.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate my startup runway?+
Startup runway = Current Cash ÷ Net Monthly Burn Rate. Net burn = Monthly Expenses − Monthly Revenue. For example, if you have $300,000 in the bank, earn $10,000/month, and spend $40,000/month, your net burn is $30,000/month and your runway is 10 months. This calculator does that math instantly and models multiple scenarios.
What is a healthy startup runway?+
Most investors and advisors recommend 18–24 months of runway. This gives you enough time to hit meaningful milestones, run a fundraise process (typically 4–6 months), and have a buffer if the raise takes longer. Runway below 6 months puts you in distress mode - you lose negotiating leverage and make desperate decisions.
When should I start fundraising based on my runway?+
Start fundraising when you have at least 6 months of runway left - ideally 9 months. A full fundraise process (deck prep, warm intros, first meetings, due diligence, term sheet, close) takes 4–6 months. Starting at 6 months leaves no buffer; starting at 9+ months gives you the leverage to walk away from bad deals.
What counts as burn rate?+
Gross burn is total monthly cash out (salaries, rent, cloud infrastructure, marketing spend, tools, contractors). Net burn is gross burn minus monthly revenue. Net burn is the most important number - it tells you how fast your cash balance is actually declining. Investors and founders should track both, but manage the net.
How do I extend my startup runway without raising money?+
The four levers: (1) Cut payroll - the biggest expense for most startups. Reducing headcount or deferring salaries has the largest impact. (2) Cut or pause paid marketing. (3) Renegotiate vendor contracts - most SaaS tools will cut 30–50% if you ask. (4) Grow revenue faster - even $5K/month in new MRR can add 2–3 months of runway.
What burn rate is too high for a seed-stage startup?+
At pre-seed and seed stage, a burn rate above $50K/month is typically too high unless you have strong revenue traction. Most successful seed-stage startups operate at $15K–$35K/month gross burn, with founders taking minimal salaries. The goal at seed is to get to Series A metrics, not to hire big - every dollar burned is a month less to iterate.
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