🔥 Medical Device Burn Rate Calculator
Monthly burn & months of runway remaining
Cash on Hand
Monthly Expenses
Monthly Revenue (if any)
Burn Rate and Runway for Medtech Startups
Burn rate is the rate at which a company spends its cash reserves. Gross burn is total monthly expenses. Net burn is expenses minus revenue — the number that actually depletes your bank account. Runway is your cash on hand divided by net burn: the number of months until you run out of money at the current spending rate.
Medical device startups burn cash differently from software startups. Regulatory, quality management systems (QMS), clinical studies, and specialized engineering talent create heavy fixed costs long before any revenue arrives. The path from prototype to FDA clearance to first commercial sale often spans 3-7 years, so medtech founders must plan runway around regulatory milestones rather than product-market fit alone.
How Much Runway Do You Need?
The common guidance is to maintain 18-24 months of runway after each raise. This gives you time to hit a value-creating milestone (a successful clinical readout, FDA clearance, a reimbursement decision) before needing to raise again. Raising with less than 6 months of runway puts you in a weak negotiating position and risks a down round or bridge financing on unfavorable terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a healthy burn rate?
There is no universal number — it depends on your stage and milestones. The key metric is burn multiple: net burn divided by net new revenue or value created. Early clinical-stage medtech has no revenue, so the focus shifts to capital efficiency per regulatory milestone achieved.
Should I include founder salaries in burn?
Yes. Even deferred or below-market founder salaries should be modeled, because investors will expect market-rate compensation post-raise. Understating payroll makes your runway look longer than it really is.
This tool is for financial planning purposes only and does not constitute financial, accounting, or investment advice.