Budgeting & Debt

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Instead of guessing at a payment, work backward from a deadline: tell this calculator your balance, APR, and how many months you want to be debt-free in, and it will tell you the payment required.

$0.00 / month

Total Interest Paid
Total Amount Paid

How It Works

Credit cards typically charge interest daily but bill monthly, so this uses the standard amortization formula (the same one behind fixed loan payments) to solve for the payment that clears your balance in exactly the number of months you choose. Credit card APRs are usually much higher than loan or mortgage rates, so even a modest balance can carry a surprisingly large interest cost if payoff is stretched out.

Worked Example

Clearing a $4,500 balance at 24% APR within 18 months requires a payment of about $300/month, with roughly $900 of the total going to interest. Stretch that same balance out to 36 months instead, and the required payment drops to around $177/month — but total interest more than doubles to roughly $1,875, since the balance sits accruing interest for twice as long. This is the core trade-off the calculator makes visible: a lower monthly payment isn't free, it's borrowed from a longer, more expensive payoff.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my required payment so much higher than my card's minimum payment?
Minimum payments are often set deliberately low — sometimes just 1-3% of the balance plus interest — which can stretch payoff out for years and multiply the total interest paid. This calculator shows the payment for a real deadline, not the minimum.
Does paying only the minimum ever make sense?
It can as a short-term bridge, but carrying a high-APR balance for a long time is one of the most expensive forms of debt most people hold, so paying more than the minimum whenever possible is usually worth prioritizing.

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