Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Add every card, choose a payoff order, and see the exact month your credit card debt ends — plus the interest you'll pay to get there.
Your cards
$8,250 totalYou are debt free in
6y 2m
around October 2032
- Total interest
- $7,630
- Total paid
- $15,880
- Monthly payment
- $215
- Balance today
- $8,250
What one more $50 does
Paying $265 instead of $215 each month:
4y 1m total
$4,637 total
Balance over time
Solid line is your current plan; the lighter line adds $50 a month.
Snowball vs avalanche, side by side
Debt snowball
Smallest balance first6y 2m
$7,630 total interest
Order: Store card → Visa
Debt avalanche
Highest APR first6y 2m
$7,630 total interest
Order: Store card → Visa
Both strategies cost about the same here — pick whichever keeps you motivated.
Month-by-month payoff schedule
Every payment, split into interest and principal.
| Month | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $215.00 | $165.76 | $49.24 | $8,200.76 |
| 2 | $215.00 | $164.77 | $50.23 | $8,150.54 |
| 3 | $215.00 | $163.76 | $51.24 | $8,099.30 |
| 4 | $215.00 | $162.73 | $52.27 | $8,047.02 |
| 5 | $215.00 | $161.67 | $53.33 | $7,993.69 |
| 6 | $215.00 | $160.60 | $54.40 | $7,939.29 |
| 7 | $215.00 | $159.50 | $55.50 | $7,883.79 |
| 8 | $215.00 | $158.38 | $56.62 | $7,827.16 |
| 9 | $215.00 | $157.23 | $57.77 | $7,769.40 |
| 10 | $215.00 | $156.07 | $58.93 | $7,710.47 |
| 11 | $215.00 | $154.88 | $60.12 | $7,650.35 |
| 12 | $215.00 | $153.67 | $61.33 | $7,589.01 |
Educational estimate, not financial advice. Plan My Payoff uses simplified monthly interest math and assumes fixed rates and on-time payments. Your lender's fees, compounding method, and payment posting dates will change the real result. Check your statements or talk to a qualified professional before making decisions.
How credit card interest actually works
A credit card charges interest on the balance you carry from month to month. Take your APR and divide it by twelve to get the monthly rate: 22.99% APR is roughly 1.92% a month. That rate is applied to your balance before your payment lands, which is why a payment that looks generous can move the balance so little.
On a $6,400 balance at 22.99%, the first month adds about $123 in interest. A $160 payment therefore removes only about $37 of what you actually owe. Nothing is wrong with your account — that is simply the arithmetic of a high rate against a large balance, and it is the reason payoff plans live or die on the size of the payment rather than on willpower.
The minimum payment trap
Card issuers set the minimum as a small percentage of the balance, commonly 1–3%, with a floor of $25–$35. Because it is a percentage, the minimum shrinks as your balance shrinks, so the payoff stretches out and the interest share stays stubbornly high. Paying the minimum on the two example cards above takes well over a decade and costs more in interest than the original debt.
The single most effective change is to fix your payment at today's minimum and refuse to let it fall. That costs nothing extra this month and can cut years from the schedule.
A worked example
Say you carry the $6,400 Visa at 22.99% and the $1,850 store card at 27.99%, paying $160 and $55. Holding those payments flat, the debt clears in roughly six years. Add $50 a month and the payoff date moves in by more than a year, saving over a thousand dollars in interest. Add $250 — a tight but survivable stretch for many households — and the whole thing is gone in about two and a half years.
Use the $25, $50, $100 and $250 buttons above to see those numbers against your own balances. The month-by-month schedule shows where each dollar goes, so you can see the interest column shrink as principal takes over.
Ordering several cards
With more than one card you always pay the minimum on everything and send the extra to a single target. Targeting the highest APR first (avalanche) is the cheapest route. Targeting the smallest balance first (snowball) clears a card sooner, which for many people is what keeps the plan alive. Both are modelled above with the dollar difference spelled out, so you can make that trade knowingly rather than guessing.
Before you rely on the numbers
This calculator assumes a fixed APR, on-time payments and no new spending on the cards. Real statements use average daily balance with daily compounding, and a single late payment can trigger a penalty APR that changes everything. Treat the output as a solid planning estimate and check the exact figures against your statements.
Frequently asked questions
- How long will it take to pay off my credit card?
- Enter each card's balance, APR and monthly payment. The calculator applies interest monthly, subtracts your payment, and repeats until the balance hits zero — then shows the exact number of months and the estimated payoff date.
- Should I pay off more than the minimum payment?
- Almost always. Minimum payments are usually 1–3% of the balance, so most of the money goes to interest. The +$50 comparison on this page shows exactly how many months and dollars a small increase saves you.
- Does the calculator handle multiple credit cards?
- Yes. Add as many cards as you like. Minimum payments are made on every card each month and any extra goes to one target card; when a card is cleared its payment rolls into the next one.
- Which card should I pay off first?
- Sorting by APR (the avalanche order) costs the least interest. Sorting by balance (the snowball order) clears individual cards sooner. The comparison above runs both on your own numbers and shows the dollar gap, which is often smaller than people expect.
- Why does my balance barely move when I pay the minimum?
- Because the minimum is recalculated as a percentage of a shrinking balance, it falls as you pay — so the share going to interest stays high. Fixing your payment at today's minimum instead of letting it drop is one of the quickest wins available.
- How is the monthly interest calculated here?
- APR ÷ 12 is applied to the balance at the start of each month, then the payment is subtracted. Real issuers use average daily balance and compound daily, so your statement may differ by a few dollars a month.
- What happens if my payment is lower than the interest charge?
- The balance grows instead of shrinking and the debt never ends. If the calculator reports that, your payment needs to rise above the monthly interest before any payoff date exists.
- Is my financial data stored anywhere?
- No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, no account is required, and nothing is saved when you close the tab.
Other free payoff calculators
Smallest balance first — fast wins to keep momentum.
Highest APR first — the lowest total interest math.
See how extra payments shorten an auto loan.
Model several loans and one combined payoff date.