Credit Card Payoff
Credit card debt at 20–25% APR is among the most expensive debt you can carry. The minimum payment trap is real: paying only minimums on a $5,000 balance at 22% APR takes 17 years and costs $5,500 in interest — more than the original debt. Our payoff calculator shows how much faster you can pay off debt with extra payments and exactly how much interest you save.
Time to Pay Off
About the Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Credit card debt at 20–25% APR is among the most expensive debt you can carry. The minimum payment trap is real: paying only minimums on a $5,000 balance at 22% APR takes 17 years and costs $5,500 in interest — more than the original debt. Our payoff calculator shows how much faster you can pay off debt with extra payments and exactly how much interest you save.
How to use it
- Enter the current balance, APR, and minimum payment (or minimum payment formula).
- Enter any extra monthly amount you can pay above the minimum.
- See months to payoff, total interest, and savings from the extra payment.
- Use the "snowball" mode to enter multiple cards and see the optimal payoff order.
Formula & methodology
Minimum payment interest: each month, interest = Balance × (APR/12). Min payment covers interest first, then principal. Time to payoff with fixed payment P: n = −ln(1 − Balance × r/P) / ln(1+r), where r = APR/12.
Common use cases
- Finding out how long it takes to pay off a specific balance
- Deciding between paying extra vs investing the extra cash
- Comparing balance transfer offers (lower APR vs transfer fee)
- Planning a debt-free date and working backwards to the required payment
- Motivating debt payoff by seeing the total interest saved
Frequently asked questions
Related tools
Related tools
All Tools →Embed this tool on your site
Free for personal and commercial use. Just copy the snippet below.