Runway Calculator
How many months until you run out of money. Accounts for current cash, monthly burn, and optional revenue growth rate.
Inputs
Set to 0 for flat burn. Negative for cost-cutting.
Runway (months)
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Runway if burn flat
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Approx run-out month
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In quarters
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In years
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About Runway Calculator
Why model burn growth?
Startups usually scale up spending over time — new hires, more marketing, larger office. Flat-burn projections lie. A 5% monthly growth on a 24-month flat runway leaves you with 18 months in reality.
When to raise
Start fundraising 6-9 months before runway zero — fundraises take time and you negotiate from strength when not desperate. With less than 6 months runway and no traction, options narrow dramatically.
Default alive
Paul Graham’s concept: a startup is "default alive" if it reaches profitability before running out of cash at current growth and burn rates. "Default dead" if it doesn’t. Aim for default-alive metrics or have a concrete path to them.