Credit Card Payoff Calculator
See how long your balance really takes to clear, what the interest actually costs you, and how much of your life you buy back by paying more than the minimum. No signup, no email, nothing to install.
Enter your balance, your APR and what you pay each month. The calculator amortizes the balance month by month and shows the payoff date and total interest, next to what the same balance would cost if you only ever paid the minimum. The gap between those two numbers is the real cost of minimum payments.
Your card
Paying only the minimum instead: 19y 4m and $8,414 in interest. Paying $250 a month saves you $7,064 and 17y 2m.
Your balance over time, against minimum payments
- Paying $250/mo
- Minimum only
What you actually hand over
- Your balance
- Interest
Minimum payments are modelled as the greater of $25 or 1% of the balance plus that month's interest, which is the most common issuer formula. Your card's terms may differ, so check your statement.
How the calculation works
Interest is charged on the balance each month at one twelfth of the APR. Your payment covers that interest first, and only what is left reduces the principal. The calculator runs that loop one month at a time rather than using a formula, because the minimum payment changes every month as the balance falls.
Why minimum payments take decades
A minimum payment is set as a percentage of the balance, so it shrinks as the balance shrinks. The payment keeps falling just fast enough to keep you in debt. That is the mechanism, and it is why a balance that would clear in two years at a fixed payment can take eighteen at the minimum.
Paying more, even a little, compounds backwards
Every extra dollar goes entirely to principal, because the interest was already covered. That dollar then stops accruing interest for the whole remaining life of the balance. It is the only part of this you control, and it is worth more the earlier you do it.
Frequently asked questions
Written by
Alexander Katsman
Founder, Credit Booster & Credit Booster AI
Alexander Katsman has spent more than 15 years in credit and finance, helping thousands of people and small business owners dispute inaccurate reporting, rebuild their scores, and get approved for funding they were once denied. His latest project, Credit Booster AI, puts that entire toolkit in everyone's hands, using AI to make fixing, building, and funding your credit accessible to all.
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