How long until this card is paid off — and what will it cost me? A credit card balance at 20% APR grows fast, and the payment you choose decides whether you are debt-free in three years or still paying in fifteen. Enter your balance, APR and payment below and this calculator works out your months to debt-free, your payoff date, and the total interest — including what happens if you only pay the minimum.
Minimum payments look small, but they shrink as your balance shrinks, so most of each payment goes to interest and the balance barely moves. That is why a card can take a decade or more to clear on minimums alone.
Calculate your card payoff
The annual rate on your statement.
Your payoff plan
Methodology verified November 9, 2026
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
How the payoff is calculated
Each month, interest is added first — balance times APR divided by 12 — and then your payment is taken off. That is the convention this calculator uses, and it matches the way a card balance grows through a billing cycle before your payment lands. The last payment is smaller than the rest: you only pay what is left, plus that month’s interest.
In fixed-payment mode you pay the same amount every month until the balance is gone. In minimum-payment mode the payment changes every month, because it is worked out from the balance that month — so it gets smaller as the balance falls, and the payoff takes much longer.
Assumptions and methodology
Interest convention. Monthly interest is balance × APR / 12, applied before the payment each month. No new purchases, no fees, no annual fee, and no rate changes are assumed. The payoff date counts forward from today.
Minimum payment is an assumption. Card issuers use different minimum formulas. The default model — that month’s interest plus 1% of the balance, with a $10 floor — is the most common, but your card may use a different one. Check your cardholder agreement: if your real minimum is larger, you will be debt-free sooner than this page shows; if it is smaller, later.
Payment must cover the interest. If the payment you enter does not cover the first month’s interest, the balance would grow every month and never be paid off. This calculator refuses that input and tells you the minimum payment that would work, instead of showing a misleading timeline.
Privacy. This calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Why does paying only the minimum take so long?
Because the minimum shrinks as your balance shrinks. Early on, most of each payment goes to interest and only a small slice cuts the balance. A $5,000 balance at 20.99% APR takes 34 months at $200 a month — but many years on minimum payments alone.
What if my payment doesn’t cover the interest?
Then the balance grows every month and the card is never paid off. This calculator refuses that input and tells you the smallest payment that would work, instead of showing a misleading timeline.
Why is interest added before the payment?
Because that is how a card balance grows through a billing cycle: interest accrues during the month, and your payment lands after it. The Debt Payoff Calculator uses the same convention.
Does this include new purchases or fees?
No. The calculator assumes no new charges, no fees, no annual fee and no change to your APR. New purchases will make the payoff take longer.
What APR should I enter?
The annual interest rate on your card statement. If you have a promotional rate, use the rate that will apply once the promotion ends — or run the numbers twice, once for each rate.
Related tools
Paying off more than one debt? The Debt Payoff Calculator compares the snowball and avalanche strategies on all your debts at once. And to stop new charges quietly piling up, the Subscription & Fee Leak Finder audits your recurring charges and fees.