How much does paying an extra $25 a month save?

Far more than most people expect. On a $5,000 balance at 22.99%, going from $100 to $125 a month cuts the payoff from 167 months to 77 months and saves $7,118 in interest. The saving is largest when your payment is close to the monthly interest charge.

What is the minimum payment on a credit card?

Issuers typically set it at a small percentage of the balance, often around 1 to 3 percent, with a dollar floor of roughly $25 to $35. Because it is a percentage, the minimum falls as your balance falls, which is what stretches minimum-only payoff over many years.

Does this calculator use daily or monthly compounding?

Monthly, using APR divided by 12. Most US issuers compound daily using APR divided by 365, which produces roughly 1% to 2% more interest than this estimate over a typical payoff, with the payoff month almost always identical.

Does the calculator include new purchases or fees?

No. It assumes you stop adding to the card and that there are no annual, late, or over-limit fees. Continuing to spend on a card you are paying off is the single most common reason a payoff plan fails.

Should I pay off my card or invest instead?

Clearing a balance at a typical card APR of roughly 20% or more is a guaranteed return equal to that rate. Very few investments reliably beat it, so paying down high-APR card debt first is the usual answer, after capturing any employer retirement match.

Will paying off my card improve my credit score?

Generally yes, because credit utilization — your balances as a share of your limits — is a major scoring factor. Lowering balances usually lowers utilization. Keeping the account open after paying it off also preserves your available credit and account age.

I have several cards — should I use this calculator?

This one handles a single card. For multiple debts use the debt payoff calculator, which compares the snowball and avalanche methods across all of them and shows the payoff order.

Yes. The calculator runs entirely in your browser as client-side JavaScript. Your balance and APR are never uploaded to any server.

Home › Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Q: How long will it take to pay off my credit card?

It depends on your balance, APR, and monthly payment. Each month interest is added (APR divided by 12, applied to the balance), then your payment is subtracted. On a $5,000 balance at 22.99% APR, paying $100 a month takes 167 months and costs $11,694 in interest, while paying $200 a month takes 35 months and costs $1,871.

Q: Why does my balance barely go down?

Because most of a small payment is consumed by that month's interest. A $5,000 balance at 22.99% accrues $95.79 of interest per month, so a $100 payment reduces the principal by only $4.21. Every dollar you pay above the monthly interest is what actually shrinks the debt.

Q: Is a balance transfer worth it?

Usually yes when the interest you would otherwise pay exceeds the transfer fee. On a $5,000 balance at 22.99% paying $200 a month, staying put costs $1,871 in interest. Moving to a card with 18 months at 0% and a 3% fee costs $150 in fees plus $144 of later interest — about $294 in total, saving roughly $1,577.

Q: What payment is too low to ever clear the card?

Any payment at or below the monthly interest charge. Multiply your balance by your APR and divide by 1,200 to get it. If your payment is below that number the balance grows every month, and this calculator will tell you rather than showing an impossible date.

See how long one card takes to pay off and what the interest really costs — or flip it to find the payment that clears it by a date you choose.

Built and maintained by BudgetBee · Updated 2 August 2026 · Formula published below · Runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded

Card balance ($)

APR (%)

Monthly payment ($)

The short answer

Credit card payoff comes down to a single number: how much of your payment survives the monthly interest charge. Everything above that line reduces your balance. Everything below it does not.

That is why small increases in payment produce absurdly large savings. On a $5,000 balance at 22.99% APR, moving from $100 to $125 a month — $25 — cuts the payoff from 13 years 11 months to 6 years 5 months and saves $7,118 in interest. Same card, same rate, same person.

Why your balance barely moves

Take the same $5,000 at 22.99% APR. The monthly interest charge is:

$5,000 × 22.99% ÷ 12 = $95.79 per month

So a $100 payment reduces your principal by $4.21 in the first month. Not $100 — four dollars and twenty-one cents. The other $95.79 pays the lender for the privilege of owing them money for another thirty days.

The line that decides everything

Your break-even payment is balance × APR ÷ 1200. Pay below it and the balance grows no matter how long you keep paying. Pay just above it and payoff takes decades. The further above it you get, the faster the whole thing collapses.

What each payment level actually costs

All rows below are the same $5,000 balance at 22.99% APR. Only the monthly payment changes.

A typical minimum payment on a $5,000 balance lands near the $100 row — which is why minimum-only payoff takes fourteen years.
Monthly payment	Time to clear	Total interest	Total repaid
$100	167 months — 13 yr 11 mo	$11,694.38	$16,694.38
$125	77 months — 6 yr 5 mo	$4,576.68	$9,576.68
$150	54 months — 4 yr 6 mo	$3,045.29	$8,045.29
$200	35 months — 2 yr 11 mo	$1,871.08	$6,871.08
$250	26 months — 2 yr 2 mo	$1,365.57	$6,365.57
$300	21 months — 1 yr 9 mo	$1,081.17	$6,081.17
$500	12 months — 1 yr	$604.31	$5,604.31

The returns are front-loaded

The first $25 you add is worth far more than the last. Going $100 → $125 saves $7,118. Going $250 → $300 saves about $284. If money is tight, the small increase you can actually sustain is where nearly all the benefit lives.

Paying it off by a date

Switch the calculator to I have a target date and it solves the opposite problem: given a deadline, what payment does it require? This uses the standard annuity formula rather than a month-by-month loop.

$5,000 at 22.99% APR. Halving the payoff time roughly halves the interest.
Clear it in	Payment needed	Total interest	Total repaid
6 months	$890.10	$340.57	$5,340.57
12 months	$470.36	$644.29	$5,644.29
18 months	$331.05	$958.86	$5,958.86
24 months	$261.84	$1,284.20	$6,284.20
36 months	$193.52	$1,966.81	$6,966.81
48 months	$160.23	$2,691.04	$7,691.04

Is a balance transfer worth it?

A 0% intro-APR transfer pauses interest, but charges a fee — usually 3% to 5% of the amount moved. The test is simple: is the fee smaller than the interest you would otherwise pay?

Here is the same $5,000 at 22.99%, paying $200 a month either way:

Assumes the fee is added to the transferred balance and the go-to rate returns to 22.99% when the promo ends.
Option	Fee	Interest paid	Total cost	You save
Stay on the card	$0	$1,871.08	$1,871.08	—
Transfer, 3% fee, 18 mo at 0%	$150.00	$144.40	$294.40	$1,576.68
Transfer, 5% fee, 18 mo at 0%	$250.00	$163.27	$413.27	$1,457.81
Transfer, 3% fee, 12 mo at 0%	$150.00	$472.46	$622.46	$1,248.62

Even the worst case here — a 5% fee for only 12 months of relief — comes out well ahead, because 22.99% is simply an enormous rate to be paying. Transfers stop making sense when your APR is already low, when the balance is small enough that the fee dominates, or when you will not change the spending that created the balance.

Two traps

The promo cliff. Whatever is left when the 0% period ends reverts to the go-to rate. Divide your balance by the number of promo months to get the payment that actually clears it in time.

New purchases. On many transfer cards, new spending may not share the 0% rate, and payment allocation rules can leave that portion accruing interest. Treat a transfer card as a payoff vehicle, not a spending card.

How this calculator does the math

Both modes, in full:

monthly_rate = APR ÷ 1200 Mode 1 — "I know my payment" (month-by-month loop): repeat until balance reaches zero: interest = balance × monthly_rate balance = balance + interest balance = balance − payment if payment ≤ interest, the balance never clears — we say so Mode 2 — "I have a target date" (annuity formula): payment = balance × monthly_rate ÷ (1 − (1 + monthly_rate)^−months) if APR is 0, payment = balance ÷ months

The calculator refuses to return an impossible answer. If your payment is at or below the monthly interest charge it tells you the balance never clears and shows you the interest figure you need to beat, rather than displaying a payoff date that cannot happen.

What the calculator assumes

Assumption	Reality	Effect on your estimate
Compounds monthly (APR ÷ 12)	Most US issuers compound daily (APR ÷ 365)	Estimates roughly 1–2% less interest; payoff month almost always identical
Fixed payment every month	Card minimums shrink as the balance falls	Paying a fixed amount is faster than paying the shrinking minimum — that is the point
APR stays fixed	Variable rates move; promos expire; penalty APR exists	Understates cost if your rate rises
No new purchases	Many people keep using the card	Understates payoff time, often badly
No fees	Annual, late and over-limit fees exist	Understates total cost

Kill the interest

0% intro-APR balance transfer card

Moving a high-APR balance to a 0% intro card can pause interest for 12–21 months, so your whole payment attacks the balance. (Placeholder — insert your vetted affiliate offer + disclosure.)

Compare balance-transfer cards →

Glossary

APR (Annual Percentage Rate): The yearly interest rate on the card. Divide by 12 for the monthly rate this calculator uses. Cards often have different APRs for purchases, cash advances and balance transfers.
Minimum payment: The least you can pay without going delinquent — typically a small percentage of the balance with a $25–$35 floor. Because it falls as the balance falls, minimum-only payoff drags on for years.
Principal: What you actually owe, before this month's interest. Only the part of your payment above the interest charge reduces it.
Credit utilization: Your balances as a percentage of your credit limits — a major factor in credit scoring, which is why paying cards down usually raises your score.
Balance transfer: Moving a balance to another card, usually at 0% for a promotional period, in exchange for a fee of about 3–5% of the amount moved.
Go-to rate: The APR that applies once a promotional 0% period ends — applied to whatever balance remains.
Penalty APR: A substantially higher rate an issuer may apply after a missed payment. Avoiding it is worth more than most payment optimisation.
Grace period: The window in which paying your statement balance in full avoids interest on purchases entirely. Carrying a balance typically forfeits it.

Frequently asked questions

How long will it take to pay off my credit card?

It depends on balance, APR and payment. On $5,000 at 22.99%: $100/mo takes 167 months and costs $11,694; $200/mo takes 35 months and costs $1,871. See the full table.

Why does my balance barely go down?

Because interest eats most of a small payment. $5,000 at 22.99% accrues $95.79 a month, so a $100 payment cuts the principal by just $4.21.

How much does an extra $25 a month save?

On that same card, $100 → $125 saves $7,118 and 90 months. The gain is biggest when your payment is close to the interest charge.

Is a balance transfer worth it?

Usually, if the interest you would pay exceeds the fee. In the worked comparison, a 3% fee with 18 months at 0% saved about $1,577.

What is the minimum payment?

Typically 1–3% of the balance with a $25–$35 floor. It shrinks as your balance shrinks, which is exactly why minimum-only payoff takes so long.

What payment is too low to ever clear the card?

Anything at or below balance × APR ÷ 1200. Below that line the balance grows forever, and the calculator will tell you instead of showing a fake date.

Daily or monthly compounding?

Monthly (APR ÷ 12). Most US issuers compound daily, producing about 1–2% more interest than this estimate, with the payoff month almost always unchanged.

Does it include new purchases or fees?

No. It assumes you stop adding to the card and pay no annual or late fees. Continuing to spend on the card is the most common reason payoff plans fail.

Pay off the card or invest?

Clearing ~20%+ APR debt is a guaranteed return at that rate — very hard to beat reliably in markets. Usual order: capture any employer match, then kill high-APR debt.

Will paying it off help my credit score?

Generally yes, by lowering utilization. Keeping the account open afterwards preserves your available credit and account age.

Can I negotiate a lower APR?

Often, and asking costs nothing. Call the number on the back of the card — a few points off a large balance beats most payment tweaking.

I have several cards — can I use this?

This one handles a single card. For multiple debts use the debt payoff calculator, which compares snowball vs avalanche across all of them.

Is my data private?

Yes — everything runs as client-side JavaScript in your browser. Your balance and APR are never uploaded.

Is this calculator free?

Completely free, no signup, no usage limit.

Sources and further reading

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — how credit card interest, minimum payments and balance transfers work, plus its regular report on the consumer credit card market.
Federal Reserve, G.19 Consumer Credit release — the official US series for revolving credit balances and average credit card interest rates.
Federal Trade Commission — Consumer Advice — guidance on credit card offers, debt relief and settlement companies.
National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) — accredited nonprofit credit counselling if payments are unaffordable.
Calculation logic is the open JavaScript source behind the calculator; both formulas are reproduced under how this calculator does the math.

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BudgetBee provides free educational tools, not financial advice. Calculations are estimates based on the numbers you enter and the assumptions listed above, and assume a fixed rate and payment with no new purchases or fees. Your statement and your card issuer are always the authority on what you owe. Verify important decisions with a qualified professional.