Credit card payoff calculator
Simulate a credit card balance month by month in two modes — minimum payment (a percentage of the balance with a floor) or a fixed payment — and get the months to payoff, total interest, total paid and a month-by-month schedule, plus the interest gap between the two modes and an explicit warning when the minimum payment never covers the interest.
Runs in your browserEvery computation happens in your browser — your data never leaves this device.
Balance and repayment parameters
All money is handled as integer cents; interest is charged monthly on the opening balance and the final instalment only clears what is left.
Payoff result
11 months930.3210,930.321,000.00930.32917.99Minimum payment vs fixed payment
Both modes use the same balance and rate: the minimum payment shrinks as the balance falls, so it drags on longer and costs more interest.
56 months11 months1,776.30930.32845.9845 monthsFixed monthly paymentMonth-by-month schedule
11 instalments in total, showing the first 11.
| Month | Opening balance | Interest | Payment | Closing balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10,000.00 | 152.08 | 1,000.00 | 9,152.08 |
| 2 | 9,152.08 | 139.19 | 1,000.00 | 8,291.27 |
| 3 | 8,291.27 | 126.10 | 1,000.00 | 7,417.37 |
| 4 | 7,417.37 | 112.81 | 1,000.00 | 6,530.18 |
| 5 | 6,530.18 | 99.31 | 1,000.00 | 5,629.49 |
| 6 | 5,629.49 | 85.62 | 1,000.00 | 4,715.11 |
| 7 | 4,715.11 | 71.71 | 1,000.00 | 3,786.82 |
| 8 | 3,786.82 | 57.59 | 1,000.00 | 2,844.41 |
| 9 | 2,844.41 | 43.26 | 1,000.00 | 1,887.67 |
| 10 | 1,887.67 | 28.71 | 1,000.00 | 916.38 |
| 11 | 916.38 | 13.94 | 930.32 | 0.00 |
What this tool does
- Price out the cost of paying only the minimum: a 10,000 balance at 18.25% with a 10% minimum (20 floor) takes 56 months and about 1,776 in interest.
- Compare a fixed payment: the same balance cleared at 1,000 a month takes 11 months and about 930 in interest — 45 months and 846 less.
- Work backwards to a payment: clearing a 10,000 balance within 12 months needs about 918 a month.
- Sanity-check a repayment plan: if the payment is below the monthly interest the tool says outright that the card never clears, instead of showing a fictional payoff date.
Example
Input
Balance 10,000, 18.25% annual rate, fixed payment 1,000 a month, minimum payment 10% with a 20 floor, target term 12 months
Output
Fixed payment: cleared in 11 months, 930.32 interest, 10,930.32 paid in total; minimum payment: cleared in 56 months, 1,776.30 interest; gap of 845.98 and 45 months; clearing it in 12 months needs 917.99 a month
First-month interest is 10,000 × 18.25% / 12 = 152.08, so only about 848 of the first 1,000 payment touches the principal — that is why the minimum payment drags on.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the minimum payment take so long?
Because it is a percentage of the opening balance, so it shrinks as the balance falls. In the example the first payment is 1,000, but once only a few hundred remain the payment drops to a few tens, the principal barely moves, and interest keeps accruing on what is left — hence far more months and far more interest than a fixed payment.
What happens if the payment is below the monthly interest?
The principal never falls and may even grow as interest piles up, so the card is never cleared. The tool reports that case explicitly rather than inventing a payoff month.
Do banks calculate interest the same way?
Not exactly. Most banks accrue daily and charge monthly, from the posting date to the payment date, and some charge interest on the full statement amount rather than only the unpaid part. This tool accrues monthly on the outstanding principal, which is the right granularity for comparing repayment strategies — your statement remains the authoritative figure.
Is paying it off early better than instalments?
As a rule, if the annual rate exceeds what you can earn on the money, clearing the balance sooner wins. Instalment "handling fees" look small but usually annualise to 13%–18%; enter that effective annual rate here and compare the total interest.
What should I use for the minimum rate and floor?
Most banks set the minimum payment at 10% of the statement balance (some 5%) with a floor such as 20 or 50. Use your cardholder agreement — both the rate and the floor change the simulation directly.
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