Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Enter a balance, APR, and monthly payment to see how long payoff takes and what it costs in interest — or pick the debt-free date you want and get the monthly payment it takes. Financing a purchase instead? See the buy-now-pay-later calculator for a side-by-side comparison.
Time to payoff
3y 0m
36 monthly payments to be debt-free.
Year by year
| Year | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,292 | $1,108 | $3,708 |
| 2 | $1,654 | $746 | $2,054 |
| 3 | $2,054 | $281 | $0 |
Common questions
How is credit card interest calculated?
Most cards use the average daily balance method: your APR divided by 365 gives a daily periodic rate, applied to each day's balance. The calculator uses the standard monthly-equivalent amortization of that APR, which matches closely enough for planning.
Why does paying only the minimum take so long?
Minimum payments — often around 2% of the balance or $25, whichever is higher — barely cover the month's interest, so almost nothing reduces the principal early on. A $5,000 balance at 24.99% APR paid at minimums can take over a decade and cost more in interest than the original balance. Try raising the payment above to see the difference.
Should I pay the highest-rate card first?
For minimizing total interest, yes: that's the avalanche method — pay minimums on every card and throw all extra cash at the highest APR. The snowball method (smallest balance first) costs a bit more in interest but gives faster wins, which some people find easier to stick with.