See how long it'll really take — or find the payment you need for a target date
💡 Why This Matters Credit card interest compounds monthly, so a payment that looks reasonable can still take years to clear a balance. This tool shows you the real payoff timeline for a fixed payment — or works backward to tell you what payment you'd need to hit a specific payoff date.
Credit card interest is typically compounded daily, not monthly — issuers use a daily periodic rate to calculate the interest added to your balance each day, which this calculator simplifies to a monthly compounding estimate.
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In Fixed Payment mode, interest accrues on your balance each month based on your APR, then your payment is applied — this repeats month by month until the balance reaches zero. In Target Date mode, the calculator works backward using the standard loan amortization formula to find the exact fixed monthly payment that would pay off your balance within your chosen number of months.
Months to Pay Off tells you the real timeline at your current payment — often longer than people expect, since interest keeps compounding on whatever balance remains. Total Interest Paid shows the true cost of carrying the balance, on top of what you originally charged.
This calculator assumes a fixed APR and a fixed monthly payment with no new purchases added to the card. Real cards often have variable rates, promotional periods that expire, and ongoing spending — all of which will change your actual payoff timeline. Treat this as a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
If your payoff timeline feels too long, try the Target Date mode to see exactly what payment would get you there faster — even a modest increase can cut years off, since less of each payment goes to interest and more goes to principal.
Example: Say you have a $5,000 balance at 22% APR and you pay $200/month. Interest accrues on the balance each month before your payment is applied, so it takes 34 months (a little under 3 years) to pay it off, and you'll pay $1,749.88 in total interest — more than a third of the original balance.
If your payment is only slightly above the interest charged each month, almost all of it goes toward interest rather than the balance — this is the classic minimum-payment trap. A small increase in your monthly payment can cut years off your payoff time.
The balance will grow every month instead of shrinking, even though you're making payments. The calculator flags this case directly, since showing a payoff date would be misleading — you'd never actually pay it off at that payment level.
It uses the standard loan amortization formula, solving for the fixed monthly payment that pays off your exact balance, at your exact APR, within your chosen number of months.