Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Calculate how long it will take to pay off a credit card balance, or the monthly payment needed to hit a target timeframe.
Months to Pay Off
34
Total Interest: $1749.88
How to Calculate Credit Card Payoff
Credit card interest compounds monthly on your remaining balance, so a fixed monthly payment gradually reduces the balance, with a shrinking portion going to interest and a growing portion going to principal each month. This calculator works both ways: enter a fixed payment to see how long payoff takes and how much interest you'll pay in total, or enter a target payoff timeframe to see the monthly payment required to hit it.
Example
A $5,000 balance at 22% APR paid off with $200 monthly payments takes about 32 months and costs roughly $1,300 in total interest. To clear that same balance in exactly 24 months instead, you'd need a monthly payment of about $259.
Common Use Cases
- Seeing how long it will take to pay off a credit card at your current monthly payment.
- Working out the payment needed to be debt-free by a specific date.
- Comparing total interest paid under different payment amounts.
FAQs
Why does it say my balance will never be paid off?
This happens when your monthly payment is less than or equal to the interest charged that month — the balance never shrinks, and can even grow over time. Increase your monthly payment above the current interest charge (balance × APR ÷ 12) to make progress on the principal.
Does this account for new purchases added to the card?
No — this assumes no new charges are added and only the starting balance is being paid down, which gives the cleanest picture of how a fixed payment plan performs. Adding new purchases each month will extend the payoff time and increase total interest beyond this estimate.
Why is credit card APR usually so much higher than other loans?
Credit cards are unsecured debt with no collateral backing them, which makes them riskier for lenders, so issuers typically charge much higher interest rates than secured loans like mortgages or auto loans to compensate for that risk.