Enter your balance, APR and monthly payment to see how long it takes to clear the card and the total interest you'll pay along the way — updated live as you type.
Credit card debt works differently from a fixed loan: there is no set term. Instead, you choose how much to pay each month, and the card charges interest on whatever balance remains. Because card APRs are high, a lot of a small payment can be swallowed by interest — which is why balances can linger for years.
To find how many months a fixed payment takes to clear the balance, we use the payoff formula:
months = −log(1 − r · B / M) / log(1 + r)
where B is your balance, M is your monthly payment, and r is the monthly rate (your APR divided by 12). If your payment is only enough to cover the interest — or less — the balance never falls, and the card is never paid off at that level.
Why does my card take so long to pay off?
Card APRs are high, and interest is charged every month on the remaining balance. When your payment is barely above that interest, most of it never touches the balance. Paying more than the minimum is the fastest fix.
What happens if my payment is too low?
If your payment is less than or equal to the monthly interest, the balance never shrinks and the card is never cleared at that level. You need to raise the payment to make progress.
How is credit card interest calculated?
Your APR is divided by 12 to get a monthly rate, applied to the balance you still owe. We use that rate to find the number of payments to zero and the total interest paid.