See exactly how long it takes to pay off your credit card and how much interest you'll pay. Enter your balance, APR, and monthly payment — no sign-up needed.
Added May 12, 2026
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Enter a value for current balance to see your result.
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.
Each month: interest = balance × (APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100); balance = balance + interest − payment
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.
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Paying $300/month on a $10,000 card at 19.99% costs roughly $4,714 in interest and takes about 50 months.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.