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Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Your card's minimum payment

Used for this month's minimum and to compare with paying only the minimum. Your statement shows your card's terms.

Total Paid: $6,749.90
Balance Paid: $5,000.00
Interest: $1,749.90
Time to Pay Off2 years, 10 months
Total Interest$1,749.90
Total Paid$6,749.90
Minimum Due This Month$141.67
Compared to minimum payments only (interest + 1% of the balance, $35.00 minimum), your fixed payment saves $5,923.15 in interest and pays off the balance 13 years, 7 months sooner.

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Estimates for informational purposes only — not financial advice.

Compare scenarios

Pin the numbers on screen, change any input, and see them side by side.

Juggling more than one debt?

The Payoff Planner lines up all your debts and shows the payoff order that costs the least. Your credit card goes with you.

Try the Payoff Planner

Escaping Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt is expensive because interest compounds monthly: your issuer divides your APR by twelve and charges that slice on whatever you still owe, so unpaid interest becomes part of next month's balance. Minimum payments are designed around this math — they're usually the month's interest plus about 1% of the balance, so each payment retires only a sliver of principal and the payoff can stretch across decades. Switching to a fixed monthly payment changes everything. Because the payment stays constant while the interest portion shrinks every month, an ever-growing share goes straight to principal. This calculator shows how long either approach takes and what it costs, and compares your fixed payment with paying only the minimum, in years and dollars. Juggling several cards or loans? The Debt Payoff Planner shows which order costs least.

How this calculator works

Shows how long it takes to pay off a card balance, and how much interest you pay, with the card's shrinking minimum payment or with a fixed amount each month.

How it calculates

  1. Each month, interest = balance × APR ÷ 12, rounded to the cent as a statement shows it.
  2. Minimum payment: the month's interest plus a percentage of the balance (1% unless you change it, the formula most large issuers use), or a flat percentage that already includes the interest. It is never less than the dollar floor ($35 unless you change it) or more than you owe.
  3. Fixed payment: the same amount every month, with the last payment only what is left.
  4. Each payment covers the month's interest first and the rest reduces the balance, month after month until it is paid, for up to 100 years.
  5. With a fixed payment, the results compare it with paying only the minimum under your card's terms, and flag a fixed payment below this month's minimum.

What it assumes

  • No new purchases, fees or rate changes while you pay the balance down.
  • Interest uses APR ÷ 12 on the month's balance. Most issuers charge a daily rate on each day's balance, which comes out close but not identical.
  • A payment that doesn't cover the month's interest never pays the card off, so the results say so instead of showing a date.

Sources

Copy and figures last reviewed .

How we build and check all our calculators

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do minimum payments take so long to pay off a credit card?

Because the minimum is the month's interest plus a small slice of the balance — usually 1% at large issuers — it shrinks right along with the balance, so your progress slows every month. Most of each payment goes to interest, leaving only a sliver for principal. A moderate balance at a typical APR can take well over a decade to clear this way, with total interest rivaling the original balance.

How is credit card interest actually calculated?

Most issuers charge a daily rate (your APR ÷ 365) on each day's balance and add it up at the end of the billing cycle. Dividing the APR by 12 instead comes out nearly the same: at 24% APR, that is 2% of your balance every month, or $100 of interest on a $5,000 balance before your payment reduces anything. This calculator uses the monthly convention and rounds each month's interest to the cent, so its schedule closely tracks a real statement.

How much does switching to a fixed monthly payment save?

Often years of payments and thousands of dollars. A fixed payment does not shrink as your balance falls, so the gap between your payment and the monthly interest — the part that retires principal — grows every month. Even fixing your payment at whatever this month's minimum is, rather than letting it decline, dramatically shortens the payoff. Enter a fixed payment here to see how much interest and time it saves compared with paying only the minimum.

What happens if my payment barely covers the interest?

If your payment is less than or equal to the month's interest, your balance never goes down — it can even grow — and the debt mathematically never pays off. This calculator flags that situation explicitly. The fix is raising the payment above the interest charge (APR ÷ 12 × balance), and every dollar above that line goes entirely to principal.

Does this calculator account for new purchases on the card?

No — it assumes you stop adding new charges and pay down the existing balance. That is also the honest way to get out of card debt: new spending on the same card silently undoes your payments. Many people move day-to-day spending to a debit card or a second card paid in full monthly while attacking the old balance, so their payoff progress is real.

Term Definitions

Card Balance

This is your current outstanding credit card balance — the total amount you owe right now. You can find it on your latest statement or in your card issuer's app. Interest is charged on this balance each month until it is paid off.

APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

The Annual Percentage Rate is the yearly cost of carrying a balance on your card, expressed as a percentage. Credit card APRs are typically much higher than other loans — often 18% to 30%. Most issuers charge a daily rate (APR ÷ 365) on your balance; this calculator uses the close monthly approximation, APR ÷ 12, which is why balances can grow so quickly.

Fixed Monthly Payment

Instead of paying the shrinking minimum, you choose one steady amount to pay every month. Because the payment stays the same while the interest portion falls each month, more of every payment goes toward your balance over time — cutting years off the payoff and saving a substantial amount of interest.

Minimum Payment Formula

Most large issuers (Chase, Capital One and Citi among them) set the minimum payment at the month's interest and fees plus 1% of the balance. Others use a flat percentage of the balance, often 2% to 3%, that already includes the interest. Your statement or cardholder agreement says which one your card uses. Either way, the minimum is at least a dollar floor and never more than you owe.

Minimum Payment (% of Balance)

With the interest-plus formula this is usually 1% of the balance, added on top of the month's interest. With a flat percentage it is usually 2% to 3% and already includes the interest. Because the payment shrinks as your balance shrinks, paying only the minimum stretches the payoff over many years and dramatically increases the total interest you pay.

Minimum Payment Floor

When the formula gives less than a set dollar amount — commonly $25 to $41 — your issuer charges this fixed floor instead. The floor is what finally finishes off a small remaining balance, since a pure percentage payment would shrink forever without reaching zero.

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