Credit Card Payoff Calculator

See how many months it takes to pay off a credit card and how much interest you’ll pay — or the monthly payment that clears it by your target — compared with paying only the minimum.

$
%
The purchase APR on your statement.
I want to
$
Minimum payment formula (example — issuers differ)
$
%

Your cardmember agreement or statement explains your issuer’s own formula; many use a dollar floor or a small percentage of the balance plus interest and fees.

34 months (2 years 10 months)

to pay off $5,000.00 at 22% APR, paying $200.00 a month

Total interest
$1,749.88
35% of the balance
Total paid
$6,749.88
last payment $149.88
Minimum payments only
16 years 5 months
$7,673.11 interest
To clear it in 36 months
$190.95
a month · compare with your statement

Compared with paying only the minimum, you save $5,923.23 in interest and are debt-free 13 years 7 months sooner.

Your plan vs minimum payments

Months to pay off

Your plan34 mo
Minimum only197 mo

Interest paid

Your plan$1,749
Minimum only$7,673

Working

  1. Monthly rate: r = 22% APR ÷ 12 = 1.83333% = 0.018333333.
  2. First month’s interest: $5,000.00 × 0.018333333 = $91.67.
  3. Of your $200.00 payment, $108.33 reduces the balance in month 1; the share grows every month as the balance and its interest shrink.
  4. Months to pay off: n = −ln(1 − r × B ÷ P) ÷ ln(1 + r) = −ln(1 − 0.018333333 × $5,000.00 ÷ $200.00) ÷ ln(1 + 0.018333333) = 33.7477 → 34 payments, the last one smaller ($149.88).
  5. Total interest: add up each month’s interest = $1,749.88; total paid $6,749.88.
  6. Example minimum payment: the greater of $35.00 or 1% of the balance + interest = max($35.00, $50.00 + $91.67) = $141.67 in month 1, falling as the balance falls.
  7. Paying only that minimum takes 197 months (16 years 5 months) and $7,673.11 of interest.

Month-by-month payoff

MonthPaymentInterestPrincipalBalance
1$200.00$91.67$108.33$4,891.67
2$200.00$89.68$110.32$4,781.35
3$200.00$87.66$112.34$4,669.01
4$200.00$85.60$114.40$4,554.60
5$200.00$83.50$116.50$4,438.10
6$200.00$81.37$118.63$4,319.47
7$200.00$79.19$120.81$4,198.66
8$200.00$76.98$123.02$4,075.64
9$200.00$74.72$125.28$3,950.36
10$200.00$72.42$127.58$3,822.78
11$200.00$70.08$129.92$3,692.86
12$200.00$67.70$132.30$3,560.57
13$200.00$65.28$134.72$3,425.84
14$200.00$62.81$137.19$3,288.65
15$200.00$60.29$139.71$3,148.94
16$200.00$57.73$142.27$3,006.67
17$200.00$55.12$144.88$2,861.79
18$200.00$52.47$147.53$2,714.26
19$200.00$49.76$150.24$2,564.02
20$200.00$47.01$152.99$2,411.03
21$200.00$44.20$155.80$2,255.23
22$200.00$41.35$158.65$2,096.58
23$200.00$38.44$161.56$1,935.01
24$200.00$35.48$164.52$1,770.49
25$200.00$32.46$167.54$1,602.95
26$200.00$29.39$170.61$1,432.34
27$200.00$26.26$173.74$1,258.60
28$200.00$23.07$176.93$1,081.67
29$200.00$19.83$180.17$901.50
30$200.00$16.53$183.47$718.03
31$200.00$13.16$186.84$531.19
32$200.00$9.74$190.26$340.93
33$200.00$6.25$193.75$147.18
34$149.88$2.70$147.18$0.00
Total$6,749.88$1,749.88$5,000.00

How to use the credit card payoff calculator

Enter your card balance and its APR, then choose what you want to know. Pay a fixed amount shows how many months your payment takes to clear the card and the total interest. Be debt-free by a target works backward: type a number of months (or tap 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60) and it gives the payment you need. Either way, the result is compared with paying only a typical minimum payment, and the table lists every month until the balance hits zero.

The calculator assumes you stop using the card: new purchases, fees, a penalty APR or a promotional rate ending would all change the numbers. To compare several cards, run each one separately. Your inputs are kept in the page address, so you can bookmark or share the plan.

How the payoff is calculated

Each month, interest is charged on the balance and your payment covers it first:

monthly rate r = APR ÷ 12 interest = balance × r new balance = balance + interest − payment months to pay off: n = −ln(1 − r × B ÷ P) ÷ ln(1 + r) payment for n months: P = B × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1)

B is the balance and P the monthly payment. If P is not more than the first month’s interest (B × r), the balance never falls. The result for n is usually fractional, so the last payment is smaller. Card issuers typically work with a daily periodic rate — the APR divided by 365 or 360 — applied to the balance each day, so your statement’s interest will differ slightly from this monthly approximation, which is accurate enough for planning.

Worked example

The calculator opens with a $5,000 balance at 22% APR and a $200 monthly payment. The monthly rate is 0.22 ÷ 12 ≈ 0.0183333, so the first month’s interest is $91.67 and $108.33 of the payment reduces the balance.

  • n = −ln(1 − 0.0183333 × 5,000 ÷ 200) ÷ ln(1.0183333) = 33.75, so it takes 34 payments: 33 of $200 and a last one of $149.88.
  • Total interest is $1,749.88; you repay $6,749.88 in all.
  • To be debt-free in 24 months instead, you would need $259.39 a month, and pay $1,225.38 of interest.
  • The example minimum — the greater of $35 or 1% of the balance plus interest — starts at $50 + $91.67 = $141.67. Paying only that takes 197 months (16 years 5 months) and $7,673.11 of interest. The $200 plan saves $5,923.23.

Minimum payments and your statement

Minimum payment formulas vary by issuer. Many are a percentage of the balance plus the month’s interest and fees, with a dollar floor; this page uses “the greater of $35 or 1% of the balance plus interest” as an example, and you can change the floor and the percentage to match your card. Because the minimum falls as the balance falls, the debt shrinks more and more slowly. That is why federal rules generally require each statement to carry a minimum payment warning, an estimate of how long paying only the minimum would take, and the monthly payment that would clear the balance in 36 months. Compare that 36-month figure with the one shown above.

Ways to pay it off faster

  • Fix your payment. Keep paying the first month’s minimum as a fixed amount instead of letting it shrink — in the example that alone cuts 16 years to under 5.
  • Stop adding to the balance. New purchases on the card extend every estimate on this page.
  • Target the highest APR first if you have several cards, while paying the minimum on the others.
  • Read the fine print on balance transfers. A 0% offer can help, but there is usually a transfer fee and the rate rises when the promotion ends. Set the APR to 0 and your payment to see what you’d need to pay to finish before it expires.

Once the card is paid off, the same monthly payment can build savings — see the savings calculator. For installment debt such as a personal loan, use the loan calculator. This page is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.

Frequently asked questions

How long will it take to pay off $5,000 at $200 a month?

At a 22% APR, 34 months — 33 payments of $200 and a final one of $149.88 — with $1,749.88 of interest, assuming no new charges. Paying $300 a month cuts it to 21 months and $1,021.60 of interest. Your own APR changes the answer, so enter it above.

Why does paying only the minimum take so long?

Because the minimum is usually a small percentage of the balance plus that month’s interest, so it shrinks as the balance shrinks and most of each payment is interest. In the example on this page, the minimum on $5,000 at 22% starts at $141.67 but takes 197 months (over 16 years) and $7,673.11 of interest to clear the card. Simply keeping the payment at $141.67 every month would finish it in 58 months with $3,121.28 of interest.

How is credit card interest actually calculated?

Most issuers use a daily periodic rate — the APR divided by 365 or 360, depending on the issuer — applied to your balance each day, often through the average daily balance for the billing cycle. This calculator uses APR ÷ 12 once a month, which gives very close results for planning; your statement shows the exact interest charged.

What is the “pay off in 3 years” amount on my statement?

Under the Credit CARD Act rules, card statements must show how long it would take to pay off the current balance making only minimum payments, and how much you would need to pay each month to pay it off in 36 months, assuming no new charges. The To clear it in 36 months figure above is the same idea computed with this page’s method, so it may differ slightly from your issuer’s number.

Which credit card should I pay off first?

Pay at least the minimum on every card, then put any extra toward one card at a time. Targeting the highest APR first (the “avalanche” method) costs the least interest; targeting the smallest balance first (the “snowball” method) clears whole cards sooner, which some people find motivating. Run each card through this calculator to see what the extra payment saves.

Sources

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