Credit Card Payoff Calculator
This credit card payoff calculator shows how long it will take to clear your balance and how much interest you'll pay, at a fixed monthly payment. Enter your balance, APR and the amount you can pay each month to see the real cost and timeline of carrying credit card debt — often far higher than people expect, because credit card APRs are among the highest interest rates most people ever pay.
Your outstanding credit card balance today.
The APR on your card — check your statement; typical credit card APRs run 18–29%.
How much you'll pay every month. This must exceed the monthly interest charge or the balance will never clear.
Months to pay off
52
How long it takes to clear the balance at this payment — e.g. 52 months for a $5,000 balance at 22% APR paying $150/month.
The full cost of carrying this balance until it's cleared — money that buys you nothing but time.
Your original balance plus all the interest — what actually leaves your account by the time you're debt-free.
How to use this credit card payoff calculator
- 1Current balance: your outstanding amount today, from your latest statement.
- 2APR: the annual rate on your card, not any promotional 0% rate that may be expiring — check the standard purchase APR.
- 3Fixed monthly payment: pick an amount comfortably above the minimum payment. If the result shows 0 months, your payment doesn't even cover the monthly interest — the balance will grow, not shrink.
- 4Try raising the payment by even a small amount and watch how sharply both the payoff time and total interest drop — credit card debt rewards aggressive paydown more than almost any other loan type.
Understanding your results
Months to pay off is the real timeline at your chosen payment — often far longer than expected at minimum-payment levels, since a large share of a small payment goes to interest first. Total interest paid is the true cost of carrying the balance; on high-APR cards this frequently approaches or exceeds the original balance if only minimum payments are made. Total amount paid combines both, showing everything that will actually leave your account before the card is clear.
The formula
Each month: Interestₘ = Balanceₘ₋₁ × r, Balance reduces by (Payment − Interestₘ)Every month, interest accrues on the current balance at the monthly rate (APR ÷ 12), and whatever's left of your fixed payment after covering that interest reduces the principal. Because credit card APRs are so high relative to the typical payment size, a large share of each payment goes to interest for far longer than on a mortgage or car loan — which is exactly why this calculator simulates month by month rather than using a single formula, and why the payoff time is so sensitive to the payment amount you choose.
A worked example
A $5,000 balance at 22% APR, paying $150 a month: it takes about 52 months (over 4 years) to clear, with total interest of roughly $2,796 — more than half the original balance, paid purely in interest. Raise the payment to $250 a month on the same balance and rate: payoff drops to about 26 months (half the time), and total interest falls to roughly $1,071 — a saving of about $1,725 just from paying $100 more each month. This is the clearest illustration of why paying more than the minimum on credit cards matters more than almost any other financial move available to most people.
Notes for the UK, US and India
Credit card APRs run notably high in all three markets — commonly 18–29% in the US, 20–30%+ (often quoted monthly, e.g. 2–3.5%/month) in the UK, and 30–45% annualised in India — consistently among the highest borrowing costs available, well above mortgage, auto or even most personal loan rates. In the US, issuers are required to disclose on statements how long minimum payments alone would take to clear the balance (often 15+ years) — use this calculator to see how a realistic, higher fixed payment changes that dramatically. Wherever you are, if you're carrying a balance on multiple cards, always pay down the highest-APR card first (the 'avalanche' method) for the fastest mathematical payoff, or the smallest-balance card first (the 'snowball' method) if you need the motivational win of clearing a card completely.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the minimum payment barely reduce my balance?+
Minimum payments are typically set at 1–3% of the balance, which on a high-APR card can be barely more than that month's interest charge — meaning almost the entire minimum payment goes to interest, with very little left to reduce principal.
How much faster is paying double the minimum?+
Often dramatically faster — because so much of a minimum payment goes to interest, a modest increase in payment size disproportionately increases how much goes to principal each month. Use the calculator above with a few different payment amounts to see the effect on your specific balance and rate.
Should I pay off credit card debt or invest instead?+
Pay off the credit card first in almost every case. Credit card APRs (18–29%+) far exceed realistic long-run investment returns, so paying it down is a guaranteed, tax-free 'return' equal to the APR — a bar few investments clear consistently.
What if I can only pay the minimum?+
Contact your card issuer about a hardship plan or a balance transfer to a lower-rate or 0% promotional card, and prioritise not adding further charges. Even a small increase above the true minimum, sustained consistently, meaningfully shortens the payoff time shown above.
Does a 0% promotional APR change this calculation?+
Yes, dramatically, while it lasts — during a 0% period, every dollar of payment reduces principal with no interest drag. Use this calculator with the standard APR to model what happens after the promotional period ends, since that's when many people are caught off guard.