Home · 25–50

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Five Strategies, Exact Payoff Dates, Total Interest for Each

Enter your current balance and APR to compare five payoff strategies side by side. Each strategy shows the monthly payment required, total interest paid, and the exact month and year you will be debt-free. Paying even a fixed amount above the minimum can cut years and thousands of dollars off the total cost.

Back to timeline
300 × 250
Advertisement

About this tool

This single-card view is for comparing avalanche, snowball, minimum, fixed, or custom payment rules when you want a payoff calendar and interest totals. Enter the APR actually charged on carried balances. It does not model multiple cards, promotional rates, or fees unless you fold those into an effective APR manually.

Interest accrues monthly on the average daily balance at APR ÷ 12 unless the UI states a different convention. Each strategy allocates the scheduled payment to interest first, then principal, and steps month by month until the balance reaches zero. Payoff month and total interest sum the simulated schedule. Pennies round per period; long runs may differ slightly from a bank’s rounding rules.

Last updated: 2026-05-08

Sources

Use tool</> EmbedPress ⌘D / Ctrl+D to bookmark

single card · fixed balance

Calculate Payoff

of balance, min $25
Strategy 2 monthly amount

How to Use This Calculator

  1. Enter your current balance — the amount you owe on the card today, not including any new purchases you plan to make.
  2. Enter the annual interest rate (APR) from your card statement or issuer portal.
  3. Set the minimum payment rate — typically 2% of the balance with a $25 floor. Check your statement if unsure.
  4. Enter a fixed monthly payment you can realistically make each month for Strategy 2.
  5. Click Calculate Payoff. The result card shows your fixed-payment strategy outcome. The comparison table below shows all five strategies side by side.

The Interest and Payment Formulas

Each month, interest accrues as: Interest = Balance × (APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100). For a 22% APR card, the monthly rate is 1.833%. On a $5,000 balance, that is $91.67 in interest for the first month.

For the 12, 24, and 36-month plans, the required payment uses standard loan amortization: M = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n) where P = balance, r = monthly rate, and n = target months. If APR is 0%, the payment is simply P ÷ n.

The Minimum Payment Trap

At 22% APR on a $5,000 balance with a 2% minimum payment rate, the initial minimum is $100. But because the minimum shrinks as the balance falls, the total payoff time is approximately 22 years and total interest paid is roughly $6,500 — more than the original balance.

In month one, roughly $92 of that $100 payment is interest. Only $8 reduces the balance. The balance barely moves, so next month's interest is nearly identical. A fixed payment of $150/month on the same balance at the same rate clears the debt in about 44 months and costs roughly $1,600 in interest — $4,900 less than minimum-only.

Fixed-Term Plans vs. Minimum Payments

The 12, 24, and 36-month strategies give you a specific end date and a known total cost. For a $5,000 balance at 22% APR: a 12-month payoff requires about $470/month ($640 total interest). A 24-month plan requires about $256/month ($1,144 total interest). A 36-month plan requires about $191/month ($1,870 total interest).

Note that the 36-month plan costs more interest than the 24-month plan — carrying the balance longer outweighs the lower payment. The 24-month plan is often the best balance of payment size and total interest for mid-range balances.

What This Calculator Does Not Cover

This tool calculates payoff for a single credit card with a fixed balance. It does not account for new purchases, promotional 0% APR periods, balance transfer fees, annual fees, or late fees. If you add new charges while paying down, the actual payoff date will be later than shown. For multiple cards, the avalanche or snowball method requires a separate multi-debt calculator.

FAQ

Credit Card Payoff Questions

Short answers for readers and answer engines.

Why does paying only the minimum take so long?

The minimum payment is a percentage of the remaining balance, so it shrinks every month. Early payments are mostly interest, leaving very little principal reduction. The balance falls slowly, keeping interest charges high for years.

How is the required payment for the 12, 24, and 36-month plans calculated?

Using the standard amortization formula: M = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where P is the balance, r is the monthly rate (APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100), and n is the target number of months. This is the same math used for fixed-term loans.

What happens if my fixed payment is less than the monthly interest?

If the payment doesn't cover accruing interest, the balance grows rather than shrinks — the debt will never be paid off. The calculator flags this case rather than returning a result.

Does the calculator account for new charges on the card?

No. It assumes the balance stays fixed after the starting date and no new purchases are made. Adding charges will extend the payoff timeline beyond what is shown.

Why does the 36-month plan sometimes cost more in total interest than the 24-month plan?

A longer payoff period means more months of interest accruing on the balance, even though the monthly payment is lower. Total interest increases with term length, just as with any amortizing debt.

Browse

Explore All Tools