SaaS Runway Calculator

Runway is one of the most critical metrics for any startup or growing SaaS business. It tells you exactly how many months your company can continue to operate at its current spending rate before running out of cash. Knowing your runway gives you the clarity to make informed decisions about hiring, fundraising timelines, and growth investments.

The calculation is straightforward but its implications are profound. Your net burn rate is the difference between your monthly expenses and your monthly revenue. If you spend $80,000 per month but bring in $50,000 in revenue, your net burn is $30,000 per month. Divide your current cash balance by that net burn rate, and you have your runway in months.

For venture-backed startups, runway directly impacts fundraising strategy. Most investors recommend maintaining at least 18 months of runway after each funding round to give yourself enough time to hit milestones before needing to raise again. Dropping below 12 months triggers urgency, and anything under 6 months is considered critical because fundraising itself typically takes 3 to 6 months.

Bootstrapped SaaS companies use runway calculations differently. For them, runway is less about the next raise and more about pacing growth investments against revenue. A bootstrapped founder with 24 months of runway might decide to hire aggressively, while one with 8 months might choose to focus on profitability.

This calculator computes your monthly net burn rate, total runway in months, and provides a status indicator so you can quickly assess whether your financial position is healthy, needs monitoring, requires caution, or demands immediate action. If your revenue exceeds expenses, the tool recognizes that you are already profitable and your runway is effectively unlimited.