Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Enter your balance, APR, and a fixed monthly payment to see exactly when the card is paid off and what the interest costs you — or flip to "target payoff time" and get the payment required to be debt-free by a date you choose. The side-by-side comparison shows how much longer (and pricier) paying only the minimum would be. All in your browser.
Your plan
- Payment
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- Paid off in
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- Total interest
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- Total paid
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Minimum payments only
- Payment
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- Paid off in
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- Total interest
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- Total paid
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Monthly payoff schedule
| # | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|
Why a fixed payment beats the minimum every time
The minimum payment is designed to keep you in debt comfortably, not to get you out of it. Because it's a percentage of the balance, it falls as you pay down — so each month chips away a little less, and the tail of the loan drags on for years. Commit to a fixed dollar amount instead and every payment does the same work, collapsing the timeline. The calculator's comparison makes the difference impossible to ignore.
The break-even line
Every month, interest is charged on your balance first; only what's left of your payment reduces the principal. If your payment barely clears the interest, almost nothing comes off the balance — which is how people pay for years and feel like they're getting nowhere. The further your payment is above the monthly interest, the faster the balance falls. Even a modest bump in the payment can cut the payoff dramatically.
Related
- Personal finance hub — all our money calculators and guides
- Debt payoff calculator — multiple debts, snowball vs avalanche
- Loan calculator — fixed-term installment loans
- Compound interest calculator — the same math, on your side
FAQ
Is anything I enter sent to a server?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser — open DevTools → Network and confirm. Your balance and rate never leave the tab.
What is the minimum-payment trap?
Credit card minimums are usually a small percentage of the balance (often around 1–2%) plus interest, with a floor like $25. Because the minimum shrinks as the balance shrinks, you pay less and less each month, so the payoff stretches out for years — sometimes decades — and the interest piles up. Paying a fixed amount instead keeps your progress constant and clears the debt far faster. The calculator shows both so you can see the gap.
Why won't my balance go down?
If your payment is less than or equal to the monthly interest, none of it touches the principal and the balance stays flat or grows. At 22% APR a $5,000 balance accrues roughly $92 in interest the first month — a payment below that makes no progress at all. The calculator flags this and tells you the interest you need to clear just to break even.
How is credit card interest calculated?
Most cards use a daily periodic rate (APR ÷ 365) applied to your average daily balance, which is very close to charging APR ÷ 12 each month on the balance — what this calculator does. The practical takeaway is the same: interest accrues on what you owe, every single day, until it's paid off.
How does the "target payoff time" mode work?
Flip the toggle, enter how many months you want to be debt-free in, and the calculator solves for the required fixed payment using the annuity formula A = r·B / (1 − (1+r)−N) — the same math lenders use to set installment payments. It's the cleanest way to turn a goal ("paid off by next summer") into a concrete monthly number.
What do the +$25 / +$50 / +$100 chips show?
Each chip re-runs your payoff with that much added to the monthly payment and reports how many months sooner you're debt-free and how much interest you save. The effect is usually bigger than people expect, because every extra dollar goes straight at the principal that interest is charged on.
I have several cards — what's the best order to pay them?
For multiple balances, the strategy matters: paying the highest-APR card first (avalanche) minimizes interest, while paying the smallest balance first (snowball) builds momentum. The debt payoff calculator handles several debts at once and compares both approaches.