Credit Card Payoff Calculator
See months to debt-free and total interest with every payment assumption shown. Enter balance, APR, and payment — private, free, no account required.
Added May 12, 2026 · Updated Aug 12, 2026
Input
Result
Enter a value for current balance to see your result.
How it works
Calculates exactly how many months it takes to pay off a credit card balance, the total interest you will pay, and your debt-free date — given your balance, APR, and fixed monthly payment.
Formula
Each month: interest = balance × (APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100); balance = balance + interest − payment
- balance
- Remaining credit card balance
- APR
- Annual percentage rate charged by the card
- payment
- Fixed amount you pay each month
Step by step
- 01Convert the APR to a monthly rate: APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100.
- 02Each month, multiply the remaining balance by the monthly rate to get that month's interest charge.
- 03Subtract your monthly payment from the balance plus the interest charge.
- 04Repeat until the balance reaches zero — the number of iterations is the months to payoff.
- 05Sum all interest charges across every month to get total interest paid.
Examples
$5,000 balance · 22.99% APR · $150/month
At 22.99% APR, paying $150/month on a $5,000 balance takes 54 months (4½ years) and costs over $3,045 in interest — 61% added on top of the original balance.
Inputs
- Current balance:
- 5000
- Annual interest rate (APR):
- 22.99
- Monthly payment:
- 150
Result
- Total interest paid:
- 3045.29
$10,000 balance · 19.99% APR · $300/month
Paying $300/month on a $10,000 card at 19.99% costs roughly $4,714 in interest and takes about 50 months.
Inputs
- Current balance:
- 10000
- Annual interest rate (APR):
- 19.99
- Monthly payment:
- 300
Result
- Total interest paid:
- 4714.12
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I only pay the minimum?
Credit card minimums are often 1–2% of the balance, meaning most of your payment goes to interest. On a $5,000 balance at 22% APR, paying 2% minimum monthly can take over 30 years and cost more than the original balance in interest. Always pay more than the minimum.
How does the APR affect payoff time?
APR has a dramatic effect. At 15% APR on a $5,000 balance with $150/month you pay off in about 38 months. At 25% APR with the same payment it takes 55 months and costs much more in interest. Even a 5% rate difference changes the outcome significantly.
What if my payment is less than the interest?
If your monthly payment is less than or equal to that month's interest charge, the balance will grow every month — you will never pay it off. The calculator will flag this. You need to pay at least the interest charge, and ideally considerably more.
Should I pay off my highest APR card first?
Yes — if you carry balances on multiple cards, mathematically the fastest way to reduce total interest is to pay minimums on all cards and direct any extra money at the highest-APR card first (the avalanche method). Use the Debt Payoff Planner to compare strategies across multiple cards.
How much should I pay per month to be debt-free in 12 months?
A rough rule: divide your balance by the number of months you want (e.g. $5,000 ÷ 12 ≈ $417) — but that ignores interest. You'll need to pay slightly more. Try different payment amounts until the calculator shows 12 months for your specific balance and APR.