Find out how many months it takes to clear your credit card balance and how much interest you will pay, then compare a fixed payment against paying only the minimum.
Minimum-payment mode uses the minimum rule set in the advanced section below. The minimum shrinks every month as the balance falls, which is what makes it so slow.
Advanced: minimum-payment rule and currency
| Scenario | Months to clear | Total interest | Total paid |
|---|
Minimum-only payments fall as the balance shrinks, so the last part of the debt is repaid extremely slowly. That long tail is where most of the extra interest comes from.
A steeper curve clears the debt sooner. The minimum-only line flattens into a long shallow tail because each shrinking payment removes very little principal.
For beginners: how to read this result
To get a result, choose one of the preset scenarios or enter your own figures: the current card balance and the APR your card charges. Then pick a payment mode and the calculator returns how long the debt takes to clear and how much interest it costs.
The three payment modes
The payment mode toggle changes which extra field appears and what the headline answers.
- Fixed monthly payment — you enter a steady amount paid every month. The calculator returns the number of months to reach a zero balance and the total interest.
- Minimum payment only — the monthly payment is the greater of a percent of the current balance (3% by default, adjustable) and a fixed floor amount. Because the percent is taken from a shrinking balance, the payment falls every month, which stretches the debt over a long time.
- Pay off within X months — you enter a target number of months and the calculator works out the fixed monthly payment needed to be debt-free by that deadline.
How the math works
The card charges interest every month on the outstanding balance. The monthly interest rate equals the APR divided by 12 and by 100. Each month the calculator adds that month’s interest to the balance and subtracts your payment: new balance equals old balance plus interest minus payment. It repeats this month by month until the balance reaches zero, adding up every month’s interest along the way. For the deadline mode the required payment comes from the standard amortization formula, payment equals balance times the monthly rate divided by one minus one plus the monthly rate raised to the power of minus the number of months.
When a payment never clears the debt
If a fixed payment is not larger than the first month’s interest, the balance grows instead of falling and the card is never paid off. The calculator detects this and shows a clear warning with the minimum payment you would need to exceed. The same check applies to minimum-payment mode when the minimum rule cannot keep up with interest.
Comparing a fixed payment with the minimum
The comparison table and the balance chart always show your plan next to the minimum-payment-only scenario. Minimum-only repayment usually takes many years longer and costs far more interest, because each shrinking payment removes very little principal near the end. Seeing the extra months and extra interest spelled out makes the cost of slow repayment concrete.
What is not included
This is an estimate. It assumes a constant APR and no new purchases, cash advances, annual fees, late fees, penalty rates or promotional 0% periods. Real card terms and minimum-payment rules differ between cards, so treat the result as a planning guide and confirm the conditions of your own card before deciding on a repayment plan.