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Free tool

Free Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Find out how long your card will take to clear — and what paying only the minimum really costs.

Debt-free in
2 yr 10 mo
Total interest
$1,750
Total repaid
$6,750

What if you only paid the minimum?

Modelled as this month's interest plus 1% of the balance, with a $25 floor — the structure most major issuers use.

Minimum only — time
19 yr 2 mo
Minimum only — interest
$8,100
You'd save
$6,350

Paying $200 a month instead of the minimum clears the card 16 yr 4 mo sooner and saves $6,350 in interest.

Your numbers stay in your browser

What this credit card payoff calculator shows you

Enter your balance, your card's APR and what you can pay each month, and you'll get three things: how many months until the card is clear, the total interest you'll hand over, and — the number that tends to change behaviour — what the same balance would cost if you only ever paid the minimum. The gap between those two scenarios is usually measured in years and thousands of dollars.

How to use it

Take the balance and APR straight from your latest statement, using the purchase APR rather than a promotional rate that's about to expire. Then enter the monthly payment you can realistically commit to. If the payment is below the monthly interest, the tool will tell you — that's the situation where a balance genuinely never clears.

Then experiment. Adding $50 a month to a mid-sized balance often removes a year or more from the timeline, and seeing that trade-off in concrete terms is far more persuasive than general advice to “pay more than the minimum”.

Why the minimum payment trap is so effective

Minimum payments are calculated to keep your account in good standing, not to get you out of debt. Because the minimum is mostly interest, the principal barely moves — and as the balance falls, the minimum falls with it, stretching the tail of the debt out for years. A $5,000 balance at 22% can take close to two decades and cost more in interest than the original purchases.

The fix is a fixed payment rather than a shrinking one. Decide on an amount, set up a standing payment for the day after payday, and keep it at that level even as the balance drops. That single change is what converts a twenty-year debt into a two-year one.

If you're carrying several balances, the debt payoff calculator compares the snowball and avalanche methods across all of them at once. The monthly budget planner will help you find the payment amount in the first place, and the compound interest calculator shows what that same money could do for you once the card is gone.

Frequently asked questions

How long will it take to pay off my credit card?

It depends almost entirely on how much you pay above the minimum. A $5,000 balance at 22% APR takes about 34 months at $200 a month, but roughly 19 years if you only ever pay the minimum. Enter your own balance, APR and payment above to see your exact timeline.

How is the minimum payment calculated?

Most major issuers charge that month's interest plus about 1% of the principal, subject to a floor of around $25. We model it that way rather than as a flat percentage of the balance, because a flat percentage barely above the interest rate produces unrealistic 60-year timelines that don't match real statements. Check your own card's terms, as the formula varies.

Why does paying the minimum cost so much?

Because the minimum is designed to cover interest first and barely touch the principal. On a card at 22% APR, monthly interest on $5,000 is around $92 — so a minimum of roughly $142 reduces your actual debt by only about $50. The balance falls slowly, and interest keeps accruing on almost the full amount.

What if my payment is less than the monthly interest?

Then the balance grows every month and the card will never be paid off. The calculator flags this case explicitly. If you're in that position, your priorities are stopping new spending on the card and contacting the issuer — many offer hardship programmes with reduced or frozen interest.

Should I pay off my credit card before saving or investing?

Usually yes, for high-interest cards. Clearing a 22% balance is the equivalent of a guaranteed 22% return, which no ordinary investment reliably matches. The common exception is keeping a small emergency buffer first, so an unexpected bill doesn't go straight back onto the card, and contributing enough to any employer retirement match to get the full match.

Would a balance transfer help?

It can. Moving a balance to a genuine 0% promotional card means every payment reduces principal for the length of the offer. Watch the transfer fee, typically 3–5%, and make sure you can clear the balance before the promotional rate expires — otherwise you're back where you started with a fee added.

Should I close the card once it's paid off?

Usually not straight away. Closing an account reduces your total available credit, which raises your credit utilisation ratio and can lower your score. If you don't trust yourself with it, cut up the card but leave the account open.

Is any of this stored?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser and nothing you enter is transmitted or saved.

Related tools

Debt Payoff CalculatorCompare the snowball and avalanche methods to see which clears your debt faster.Loan Repayment CalculatorWork out your monthly payment from the loan amount, interest rate and term.