Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Estimate how long it will take to clear your credit card

Enter your credit card balance, APR and the amount you plan to pay each month. The calculator estimates your payoff time, total repayment and the interest that may be charged if you make no further purchases and your rate stays the same.

How to use this calculator

1. Pick your currency at the top of the calculator. It sets the formatting for every figure.
2. Enter your current outstanding balance and the APR that applies to it.
3. Enter the fixed amount you plan to pay each month.
4. Choose how you would like the payoff time shown — days, weeks, months, or years, months and days.

Results update as you type. Use the breakdown tab to see the balance fall year by year, and the summary tab for a “what if you paid more each month” comparison.

What do I need to enter?

• Credit card balance — what you owe now, from 0 to 1,000,000. A balance of zero shows nothing to repay.
• Interest rate (APR) — the yearly rate on that balance, from 0% to 99.99%. It is held fixed and compounded daily.
• Monthly payment — the fixed amount you pay each month, from 0 to 1,000,000. It must be more than the first month's interest for the balance to fall.
• Show payoff time in — Days, Weeks, Months, or Years, months and days (shown as years and months, since payoff falls on whole monthly payments). It changes how the result is worded, not the calculation.

What do the results show?

• Paid off after — the main figure: how long until the balance reaches zero. If the payment is too low it says so, and past 50 years it shows "Over 50 years".
• Estimated total paid and Estimated total interest — the sum of every payment, and how much of it is interest.
• Number of payments and Final payment — how many monthly payments clear the card, and the smaller last one.
• Daily interest rate and Estimated first-month interest — what the APR means per day, and the interest added in the first month.
• Breakdown — a year-by-year table of principal, interest and balance.
• Summary — interest as a share of the balance, plus the same card paid off with 25% and 50% more each month.

How this credit card repayment calculator works

This calculator applies the APR to your outstanding balance over time and deducts your chosen monthly payment. It is designed to give an estimate of how long repayment may take and the overall cost of borrowing.

Many credit card providers calculate interest daily on the amount you owe. Your actual result can differ because providers may use different statement dates, payment dates, interest calculations and rounding methods.

With a £5,000 balance at 24.9% APR and £200 a month, that resolves to about 36 payments, roughly £7,160 repaid and £2,160 of interest. The final payment is smaller than £200 because only the remaining balance is left to clear.

What information do I need?

You will normally find the required information on your latest credit card statement:

• Your current outstanding balance
• The relevant APR for the balance you are repaying
• The amount you intend to pay each month

If your card has different rates for purchases, cash withdrawals, balance transfers or promotional offers, a single-rate estimate may not match your actual statement exactly.

Why is my credit card taking so long to pay off?

Part of each monthly payment may go towards interest, with the remainder reducing your balance. When your payment is only a little higher than the interest being added, the amount you owe can fall slowly.

How can I repay a credit card faster?

Paying more than the minimum payment may reduce the time it takes to clear your balance and may reduce the total interest charged. Avoiding new spending can also help keep the balance from increasing.

If you are considering a promotional or balance-transfer offer, check the transfer fee, the end date of any introductory rate and the rate that applies after the offer ends.

If you are juggling more than one card or loan, see the Debt Avalanche Calculator or the Debt Snowball Calculator to plan the order to pay them off.

Important information

Important: This calculator provides an estimate for general information only and is not financial advice. Actual interest, repayment periods and total costs depend on your card provider’s terms, statement dates, payment timing, fees, promotional offers, changes in APR and any further spending.

If you are struggling to make payments, contact your card provider as soon as possible. Free, confidential debt advice may be available from StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice.

Frequently asked questions