Credit Card Payoff Calculator
See how long it takes to pay off a credit card at a fixed payment, or the payment needed to be debt-free by a target date — with total interest either way.
About this calculator
This free credit card payoff calculator works two ways: tell it what you can pay each month and it shows how long until you're debt-free, or tell it a deadline and it shows the payment you need. Either way you see the total interest — the real cost of carrying a balance.
How it works
Interest is added to the balance each month at your APR ÷ 12, then your payment is subtracted. In Monthly payment mode the tool steps through month by month until the balance hits zero. In Target timeframe mode it solves the amortized-loan formula for the payment that clears the balance in your chosen number of months.
Worked example
A $6,000 balance at 22% APR paid at $250 a month takes about 32 months to clear and costs roughly $1,980 in interest. Bump the payment to $400 and it's gone in about 18 months with about half the interest.
Planning a lump-sum loan instead? See the loan calculator, or check how savings grow with compound interest.
Why use this payoff calculator
Two ways to plan
Enter a monthly payment to see how long payoff takes, or a target timeframe to get the payment you need to be debt-free by then.
See the interest cost
Every result shows the total interest, making the real price of carrying a balance impossible to ignore.
Catches the minimum-payment trap
If your payment barely covers the interest, the tool flags that the balance would never clear and shows the payment to beat.
Common use cases
- Find out how long a balance takes to clear at your current payment
- Work out the payment needed to be debt-free in 12 or 24 months
- See how much interest a bigger monthly payment saves
- Decide which card to attack first when juggling several
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your balance, APR and monthly payment. In 'Monthly payment' mode, enter what you pay each month and the calculator shows the number of months to reach a zero balance and the total interest you'll pay.
Because interest is charged on the balance every month. If your payment is only a little above the monthly interest, most of it goes to interest and the balance drops slowly. Paying more than the minimum makes a big difference.
Switch to 'Target timeframe' mode, enter how many months you want, and the calculator shows the fixed monthly payment required to clear the balance in that time, along with the total interest.
If your monthly payment is at or below the monthly interest, the balance never gets paid off. The calculator flags this and shows the minimum payment you'd need to exceed to make progress.
Yes. The calculation runs entirely in your browser and nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.
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