Last revised: November 6, 2026 · By the FintechZoom Markets Desk, reviewed under our editorial policy
Credit card payoff calculator
This credit card payoff calculator estimates how many months it takes to clear one card or up to 10, the interest you pay and the month of the last payment. A $5,000 balance at 20 percent APR paid at $200 a month is cleared in 33 months with $1,522.10 of interest. Choose the debt avalanche or the debt snowball, find the budget needed to be debt free by a target month, and compare your plan with paying only the minimums, using either a fixed minimum or a percent-of-balance rule of the kind behind the Minimum Payment Warning that 12 CFR 1026.7(b)(12) requires on card statements.
Your Debt Avalanche sequence
Minimums go to every active card. The rest of the budget goes to the highest APR first, then rolls to the next highest.
Total balance: your plan vs paying only the minimums
- Your plan
- Minimum payments only (dashed)
Credit card payoff schedule
Principal is the part of each payment left after that month's interest. The yearly view adds up the months; it does not sample them.
| Month | Payment | Interest | Principal | Remaining balance | Extra payment goes to |
|---|
How this calculator works
The calculator runs one row per month for every card that still has a balance, in this order:
- Interest is added to each card: balance × APR ÷ 12. With daily compounding it is balance × ((1 + APR ÷ 365)30.41667 − 1).
- Each card gets its minimum. Under the fixed rule that is the amount you entered; under the statement-style rule it is the larger of the dollar floor and (percent × balance + that month's interest). A minimum is never more than the card owes, so the last payment on each card is exactly the remaining balance plus interest.
- Whatever is left of the monthly budget goes to the target card: the highest APR for the avalanche or the smallest starting balance for the snowball. When that card reaches $0 its money rolls to the next card in line.
- The run stops when every balance is $0. It stops with an error if the budget is below that month's minimums, if it does not cover the month's interest or if the plan would pass 100 years, so the page never loops forever.
For a single card with a fixed payment M, balance B and monthly rate r = APR ÷ 12, the number of months is n = −ln(1 − r × B ÷ M) ÷ ln(1 + r), rounded up. The target mode searches, to the cent, for the smallest budget that ends the run within your number of months. For one card that equals the loan payment formula B × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n). Payoff dates count month 1 as the month after the one in which you run the calculator.
Worked example
One card: $5,000 at 20 percent APR with $200 a month. Month 1 interest is $5,000 × 0.20 ÷ 12 = $83.33, so $116.67 of the first payment reduces the balance to $4,883.33. The balance reaches $0 in month 33 with a last payment of $122.10. Total interest is $1,522.10 and the total paid is $6,522.10. To finish in 36 months instead, the target mode gives $185.82 a month.
Three cards, the example loaded on this page, with an $800 monthly budget:
| Scenario (Visa $5,000 at 24.99 percent, Mastercard $3,500 at 19.99 percent, Store Card $1,800 at 29.99 percent) | Months | Total interest | Order cards are cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt avalanche, $800 a month | 15 | $1,625.93 | Store Card (month 4), Visa (12), Mastercard (15) |
| Debt snowball, $800 a month | 16 | $1,718.26 | Store Card (month 4), Mastercard (9), Visa (16) |
| Only the fixed minimums ($150, $110, $65) | 58 | $6,451.94 | Each card on its own minimum |
| Only statement-style minimums (1 percent of balance plus interest, $25 floor) | 236 | $17,359.28 | Each card on its own falling minimum |
| Target mode: debt free in 24 months with the avalanche | 24 | Needs $539.69 a month | |
The fixed-minimum line uses the amounts on the statements every month. Real minimums usually fall with the balance, which is why the statement-style line runs for almost 20 years. Switch the minimum payment rule above to see both.
Minimum payment rules and Regulation Z
Under 12 CFR 1026.7(b)(12), a card statement has to carry a Minimum Payment Warning with an estimate of how long it would take to repay the balance by paying only the minimum, the total cost of doing so and, in most cases, the monthly payment that would clear the balance in 36 months. Appendix M1 sets how issuers compute those figures: the card's own minimum payment formula and APRs, the statement balance, the average daily balance method, a 365-day year with 30.41667-day months (or 360 days with 30-day months) and a final payment that pays the account in full. It gives "2 percent of the outstanding balance on the account or $20 whichever is greater" as an example of a formula. The estimate is shown in months below 2 years and in whole years above that.
The statement-style option on this page follows that structure with a formula of the form percent of balance plus interest, never below a dollar floor. It does not know your issuer's exact formula, fees or rounding, so its minimum-only figures will not match your statement to the month. The fixed option keeps the minimum you enter constant, which pays a card off faster than a real falling minimum would.
Debt avalanche vs debt snowball
Both methods pay every minimum first and differ only in where the extra money goes. The avalanche orders cards by APR, highest first, and costs the least interest in this model. The snowball orders them by starting balance, smallest first, so the first card is cleared sooner. When the smallest balance also has the highest APR, both orders are the same and so are the results.
What each input means
| Input | What to enter |
|---|---|
| What do you want to find? | Payoff time from a fixed monthly budget, or the monthly budget needed to clear everything within a number of months (1 to 600). |
| Payoff strategy | Debt Avalanche sends money left after the minimums to the highest APR. Debt Snowball sends it to the smallest starting balance. |
| Minimum payment rule | Fixed uses the minimum you type for each card every month. Statement-style recalculates each card's minimum every month as a percent of the balance plus that month's interest, never below the dollar floor. |
| Interest method | Monthly (APR divided by 12) or daily compounding (APR divided by 365 over 30.41667 days). |
| Monthly budget | The total you can pay across all cards each month. It must cover the first month's minimums; it does not have to cover the interest on top of them. |
| Current balance | The statement balance or the payoff amount from your card account. |
| Minimum payment | The minimum due on your latest statement. Ignored when the statement-style rule is selected. |
| APR | The purchase APR on the statement. If part of a balance has a different rate, enter it as a separate card. |
Limitations
- APRs, minimums and the budget stay as entered. Variable rates, penalty APRs, 0 percent promotions and balance transfer fees are not modeled.
- No new purchases, annual fees or late fees are added.
- Interest is charged once a month on the opening balance. Issuers use the average daily balance over a billing cycle, so each month can differ by a few cents to a few dollars.
- The calculator gives estimates for planning. It is not financial advice and does not say whether a loan, a balance transfer or credit counseling would suit you.
How we check this calculator
On November 6, 2026 we ran the audit test cases through the live page and an independent Python model. The page gives 33 months and $1,522.10 of interest for $5,000 at 20 percent and $200 a month; 55 months and $3,929.66 for $7,000 at 21 percent and $200 a month, which matches the "about four and a half years" in Bankrate's worked example; 73 months and $2,939.16 for $2,500 at 29.99 percent and $75; and an error, not a frozen page, when $80 a month is below the $83.33 of monthly interest on $5,000 at 20 percent. A three-card case ($3,000 at 24.99 percent, $5,000 at 18.99 percent, $1,500 at 29.99 percent) gives 24 months at $500, 47 months at $300 and 97 months at $215, the sum of the minimums. Under a 1 percent plus interest rule with a $25 floor, $5,000 at 20 percent paid only at the minimum takes 226 months and $7,316.77 of interest.
Revision history: November 6, 2026, retitled as a credit card payoff calculator, snowball strategy, target-date mode, minimum payment rule, daily interest option, balance chart, budget check that accepts budgets below minimums plus interest, and new FAQ added; previous edition September 21, 2026.
Related: amortization calculator, auto loan calculator, home equity loan calculator, HELOC calculator, compound interest calculator, take-home paycheck calculator, all calculators.
Sources: CFPB, Regulation Z 12 CFR 1026.7(b)(12); CFPB, Regulation Z Appendix M1; Bankrate credit card payoff calculator.
Credit card payoff calculator FAQs
How long does it take to pay off a credit card?
It depends on the balance, the APR and how much you pay each month. A $5,000 balance at 20 percent APR takes 33 months at $200 a month, with $1,522.10 of interest. At $100 a month the same balance takes 109 months and costs $5,840.10 in interest. Enter your own figures above to see the month you would make the last payment.
What monthly payment clears a card in 3 years?
Switch the calculator to the target mode and enter 36 months. For one card the answer equals the standard loan payment formula: a $5,000 balance at 20 percent APR needs $185.82 a month. That is the same kind of 36-month figure card statements show under Regulation Z when paying only the minimum would take longer than 3 years.
Is the debt avalanche or the debt snowball cheaper?
The avalanche sends extra money to the highest APR first, so it usually costs less interest. The snowball sends it to the smallest balance first, so the first card disappears sooner. In the example on this page, three cards with an $800 monthly budget take 15 months and $1,625.93 of interest with the avalanche and 16 months and $1,718.26 with the snowball.
Why does paying only the minimum take so long?
Most issuers set the minimum as a small percent of the balance plus that month of interest, with a dollar floor. As the balance falls the minimum falls too, so very little goes to principal. Under a rule of 1 percent of the balance plus interest with a $25 floor, a $5,000 balance at 20 percent APR takes 226 months, about 19 years, and costs $7,316.77 in interest.
Which minimum payment rule should I choose?
Choose Fixed if you want to keep paying the amount shown on your current statement every month. Choose the statement-style rule if you want the comparison to fall with the balance the way most card minimums do. Your card agreement states the formula, so enter its percent and dollar floor. Regulation Z Appendix M1 gives 2 percent of the balance or $20, whichever is greater, as one example of such a formula.
Does the calculator use daily or monthly interest?
By default it charges each card its APR divided by 12 on the balance at the start of the month. You can switch to daily compounding, which applies APR divided by 365 over a 30.41667-day month, the day count allowed by Regulation Z Appendix M1. Daily compounding adds a little interest, for example $84.01 instead of $83.33 a month on $5,000 at 20 percent APR.
Why does the calculator say my budget is too low?
The budget has to cover the first month of minimum payments, with each minimum capped at what that card owes, and it has to be larger than the interest charged that month. If it covers neither, the balance never shrinks, so the calculator stops and shows an error instead of running forever. It does not need to cover the minimums and the interest added together.
Are the results exact?
No. They are estimates that assume fixed APRs, no new purchases, no fees and payments made on the same day each month. Card issuers use average daily balances, statement cycles of different lengths and penalty or promotional rates, so the amounts on your statements can differ by a few dollars a month.
This credit card payoff calculator gives educational estimates from the figures you enter and the assumptions above, as of November 6, 2026. Card issuers' interest methods, statement dates, fees and rate changes will change the real numbers. It is not financial, legal or tax advice. See our disclaimer.
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