Credit Card Payoff Calculator

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See how long it takes to clear your credit card debt by monthly payment, or find the payment needed to be debt-free by a target date. Free and instant.

$
%
$
How much you can pay toward the card each month.
months
Number of months you want to be debt-free in.
Time to pay off –
This payment doesn't cover the monthly interest — the balance never clears.
Total interest –
Total paid –
Estimated payoff date –
Assumes a fixed APR, no new purchases or fees, and equal payments applied monthly. Real card terms may differ.

About Credit Card Payoff Calculator

The Credit Card Payoff Calculator answers two questions: how long will it take to clear a card balance at a given monthly payment, and what monthly payment is needed to be debt-free within a target number of months. Enter the balance and the card’s APR, then pick the mode.

Each month, interest accrues at the APR divided by 12 on the remaining balance, your payment is applied, and the cycle repeats until the balance hits zero. The results show the months to payoff (or the required payment), the total interest, the total paid and the estimated payoff date. If a payment is too small to cover the monthly interest, the tool warns you the balance will never clear.

Use it to see what an extra $50 a month really saves in interest, or to build a plan around a firm debt-free date. Free, instant and private in your browser.

How to use Credit Card Payoff Calculator

  1. Choose the mode: calculate by monthly payment, or by target months.
  2. Enter your current card balance.
  3. Enter the card’s annual interest rate (APR).
  4. Enter the monthly payment you can afford — or the number of months you want to pay it off within.
  5. Review the time to payoff or required payment, plus total interest, total paid and the estimated payoff date.

Frequently asked questions

The APR is divided by 12 to get a monthly rate, which is applied to the remaining balance each month before your payment. This monthly compounding approximates how issuers accrue interest on carried balances.

Your payment is not covering the interest added each month, so the balance grows instead of shrinking. Increase the payment above the first month’s interest — balance × APR ÷ 12 — and a payoff date appears.

Dramatically. On a $5,000 balance at 20% APR, paying $150 a month takes about four years; $250 a month clears it in roughly two, cutting total interest by more than half. Test your own numbers in payment mode.

Standard purchase APRs commonly run between about 18% and 28%, far above most loans. That is why directing spare cash at card balances usually beats low-rate savings mathematically.

Treat them as estimates, not financial advice. The math assumes a fixed APR, equal monthly payments and no new purchases or fees; real cards use daily balances, minimum-payment rules and changing rates.
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