Credit Card Payoff Calculator
See how long it takes to clear a credit card balance and the interest it costs.
Results update as you type.
About this calculator
This calculator shows how many months it takes to pay off a credit card balance at a fixed monthly payment, and how much interest you pay along the way. Each month it charges interest of one-twelfth of the APR on the remaining balance, adds any new spending you enter, then subtracts your payment — repeating until the balance reaches zero. A higher monthly payment clears the balance far faster and costs far less interest.
For example, a 4,000 balance at 22% APR paid off at 200 a month takes a little over two years — around 25 months — and costs roughly 1,000 in interest. Raise the payment to 300 a month and the same balance clears in about 15 months with far less interest, because more of each payment attacks the principal instead of the interest.
Use it to build a realistic payoff plan, to see the true cost of carrying a balance, and to test how much sooner you would be debt-free by paying a little more each month. The new-charges field shows how continued spending can keep a card from ever clearing.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my card take so long to pay off?
When your monthly payment is close to the monthly interest charge, almost none of it reduces the balance. Paying more than the minimum dramatically shortens the payoff time and cuts interest.
What if my payment is too low?
If the monthly payment does not cover the first month interest, the balance never goes down. This calculator shows no payoff when that happens.
How is credit card interest calculated?
The APR is divided by 12 to get a monthly rate, which is applied to your remaining balance each month. At 22% APR that is about 1.83% a month — so a 4,000 balance accrues roughly 73 of interest in the first month alone.
How much should I pay each month to clear it faster?
Any amount above the minimum goes straight to principal and shortens the payoff dramatically. Try raising the monthly payment in the calculator to see how many months and how much interest each increase saves.
What do new charges do to my payoff?
Spending you add each month is charged interest too and offsets your payment, so the balance falls more slowly — or never clears if the new charges swallow the progress. Enter a figure under advanced options to model ongoing use of the card.
Does paying only the minimum ever clear the card?
It can, but very slowly and at great cost, because most of a minimum payment goes to interest early on. This is why the payoff time and total interest shrink so sharply when you pay more than the minimum.
API — use this calculator from code
Call this calculator as a free JSON endpoint — no key required. Send the field values below as query parameters or JSON. Read the full API docs →
Endpoint
GET https://calculator.free/api/v1/credit-card-payoff/curl
curl "https://calculator.free/api/v1/credit-card-payoff/?balance=4000&apr=22&payment=200"JavaScript fetch()
const r = await fetch(
"https://calculator.free/api/v1/credit-card-payoff/?" + new URLSearchParams({
"balance": "4000",
"apr": "22",
"payment": "200"
}));
const data = await r.json();
console.log(data.results);Results are estimates for general guidance only, not financial, medical or tax advice.