Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Credit cards charge interest on the balance you carry, so a low monthly payment can keep you in debt for years. This credit card payoff calculator shows how long it takes to clear a balance at a fixed monthly payment, and how much interest that costs. Because you choose the payment, the calculator solves for the number of months — the opposite of a loan calculator, where the term is fixed and the payment is derived. Seeing the total interest is often the motivation to pay more than the minimum.
Calculate
Default result: 47
Credit Card Payoff Calculator · Materials
calculators.dev
Months to pay off
5000 × 18 × 150
Shopping list
- Total interest paid
- $1,983.60
- Total paid
- $6,983.60
Est. total
47
Estimate — confirm w/ supplier · calculators.dev
This calculator provides estimates for general informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are projections based on the figures you enter and the stated assumptions, and actual outcomes will differ. Consult a qualified financial professional before making borrowing, saving, or investment decisions.
Reviewed by the calculators.dev team · Last updated 2026-06-24
Formula reviewed against Independent credit-card payoff cross-check + month-by-month derivation (10-VERIFICATION.md)
How to calculate
Enter your card balance, the APR, and the fixed amount you will pay each month. The calculator applies interest to the balance each month, subtracts your payment, and repeats until the balance reaches zero, counting the months and summing the interest. For a $5,000 balance at 18% APR paid at $150 a month, it takes 47 months and about $1,983.60 in interest. Increase the monthly payment to see how quickly the payoff time and interest fall.
Each month: interest = balance × (APR ÷ 12); the balance grows by that interest, then the payment is subtracted. The process repeats until the balance is zero, with the final payment trimmed so the balance lands exactly on zero. Months-to-payoff is the count of iterations; total interest is the sum of every month's interest. If the payment is not greater than the first month's interest, the balance never shrinks — the calculator flags this rather than running forever.
Example calculation
Paying $150 a month on a $5,000 balance at 18% APR clears the card in 47 months — just under four years. Over that time you pay about $1,983.60 in interest, so the $5,000 balance ends up costing roughly $6,983.60. Paying more than $150 a month would shorten the payoff and cut the interest sharply.
- months
- 47
- totalInterest
- $1,983.60
- totalPaid
- $6,983.60
Assumptions
- The APR and the monthly payment are fixed for the whole payoff; promotional rates, fees, and new charges are not modelled.
- Interest is charged monthly on the remaining balance with no early rounding, so the final payment clears the balance exactly.
- No new purchases are added to the card during the payoff.
Common mistakes
- Paying too little. If the monthly payment is at or below the first month's interest, the balance never goes down — the calculator flags this, and it is a sign the payment must increase.
- Paying only the minimum, which on a high-APR card can stretch the payoff over many years and multiply the interest.
- Adding new purchases during payoff, which resets your progress; this calculator assumes no new charges.
Frequently asked questions
Why does paying the minimum take so long?
On a high-APR card, the minimum payment barely exceeds the monthly interest, so most of it covers interest rather than principal. A larger fixed payment dramatically shortens the payoff and cuts total interest.
What happens if my payment is too low?
If the payment does not exceed the first month's interest, the balance grows rather than shrinks and the card would never be paid off. The calculator detects this and asks you to increase the payment instead of showing a misleading result.
How much interest will I pay?
The total interest line shows the full cost of carrying the balance at your chosen payment. Raising the payment, even modestly, usually saves a large share of that interest.
How is this different from the debt payoff calculator?
This page handles a single balance at a fixed payment. The debt payoff calculator handles several debts at once and compares the snowball and avalanche strategies across them.