Credit card payoff calculator
Enter the balance, the APR and what you pay each month to see how long the card takes to clear and what the interest costs. Or set a target number of months and see the payment that gets you there.
What paying more does
Each row adds a fixed amount to the monthly payment shown in the result and reruns the calculation.
| Monthly payment | Time to clear | Total interest | Interest saved | Months saved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £125 (+£25) | 34 months (2 years 10 months) | £1,195 | £549 | 14 |
| £150 (+£50) | 27 months (2 years 3 months) | £916 | £828 | 21 |
| £200 (+£100) | 19 months (1 year 7 months) | £631 | £1,112 | 29 |
How the calculation works
Each month the card charges interest on the balance carried over, at the APR divided by twelve. Your payment then comes off the new total. Whatever is left rolls into the next month and is charged again. The calculator repeats that until the balance reaches zero and counts the months, the interest and the total paid. If your payment is no bigger than the first month's interest, the balance can never fall, and the result says so rather than showing a figure.
In target mode the question is reversed: given the balance, the rate and a number of months, what level payment clears it exactly on time? That is the same amortisation formula a loan uses. The table of comparisons above reruns the fixed-payment case with £25, £50 and £100 added, because the saving from a modest increase is usually far larger than people expect: the extra money goes entirely to the balance, and a smaller balance means less interest in every month that follows.
| Monthly rate | APR divided by 12, charged on the opening balance |
| Payment | taken after interest, so only the excess over interest reduces the debt |
| New spending | none assumed; anything added to the card lengthens the result |
| Fees and 0% deals | not modelled; see the balance transfer question below |
Worked example
A balance of £3,000 at 24.9% APR, paying £100 a month, takes 48 months (4 years) to clear and costs £1,744 in interest, so you pay £4,744 in all. In the first month £62.25 of the £100 is interest and only £37.75 reduces the debt. To clear the same balance in 12 months you would need to pay £284.99 a month, and the interest would fall to £420.
How to read the result
- Card interest is usually daily, not monthly. Providers calculate interest on the daily balance and add it at the statement date, so the real figure can differ by a few pounds from the monthly approximation here.
- Minimum payments are not fixed payments. The calculator assumes you pay the same amount every month. If you pay the minimum, the payment shrinks as the balance falls and the term is far longer.
- Different rates for different balances. Cash withdrawals and balance transfers often carry their own rates and are repaid in a set order. The single APR here suits a purchase balance.
- Interest-free periods change the calculation. On a 0% deal the calculation is simply balance divided by months. The rate matters only for what remains when the promotional period ends.
Common questions
How long does it take to pay off £3,000 on a credit card?
Paying £100 a month at 24.9% APR, about 48 months (4 years), with £1,744 of interest on top of the balance. Paying £50 more a month cuts that to 27 months (2 years 3 months) and saves £828.
Why does paying the minimum take so long?
Minimum payments are usually set as the interest and charges for the month plus a small slice of the balance, often around 1%, or a floor of a few pounds if that is higher. Because the payment shrinks as the balance falls, the debt reduces very slowly and most of what you pay in the early years is interest. Fixing your payment at a set amount, rather than the minimum, is the single biggest change you can make.
What are the FCA persistent debt rules?
If you have paid more in interest, fees and charges than you have repaid of the balance over 18 months, your card provider must contact you and suggest paying more. If the pattern continues to 36 months they must offer a way to repay the balance in a reasonable period, such as a repayment plan, and may suspend the card. The rules exist because minimum-payment borrowing can run for a decade or more.
Would a 0% balance transfer help?
Often, if two conditions hold. The transfer fee, typically a few percent of the balance, must be less than the interest you would otherwise pay, and you must clear the balance before the 0% period ends, because the rate that follows is usually high. Divide the balance by the number of interest-free months to find the payment that gets you there, and check the target-months mode above.
Is it better to pay weekly than monthly?
Slightly. Interest is calculated daily on most cards, so paying a quarter of your monthly amount each week brings the average balance down a little sooner. The gain is small compared with paying more in total. The larger benefit of weekly payments is behavioural: smaller, regular amounts are easier to keep up.
Should I clear my credit card or save?
Clear the card first in almost every case. Card APRs are far above any savings rate, so each £100 that sits in savings instead of reducing the balance costs the difference in interest every year. The exception is a small emergency fund, so that an unexpected bill does not go straight back on the card.