Debt payoff calculator
How long to clear a balance with fixed monthly payments, and the interest it will cost.
Enter your values and press Calculate. Your inputs stay in the address, so you can switch language or share the link.
Formula
interest = balance(k − 1) × r, balance(k) = balance(k − 1) + interest − payment
How it works
Each month interest is added to the balance and then your payment is subtracted. The payment must be larger than the monthly interest, otherwise the debt never falls.
Worked example
The same calculation with the default values:
- Current balance 5,000
- Annual interest rate (APR) 19.9 %
- Monthly payment 200
- r = 19.9 ÷ 100 ÷ 12 = 0.016583
- first month interest = 5,000 × 0.016583 = 82.916667
- n = 33 total paid = 6,511.267118
- interest = 6,511.267118 − 5,000 = 1,511.267118
Result: Months to pay off: 33 · Years: 2.75 · Total paid: 6,511.27 USD
Assumes a fixed interest rate and a fixed monthly payment with no new charges added to the balance - real credit cards and variable-rate loans can change their rate, and any new spending on the account will extend the payoff time shown here.
Common mistakes
- Setting the monthly payment too close to the minimum required just to cover interest - if the payment barely exceeds the first month's interest, payoff can take an extremely long time even though the calculator will still produce an answer.
- Continuing to use the card or loan while paying it down - new charges reset the clock in a way this calculator (which assumes no new spending) cannot show.
- Comparing the total interest shown here directly across loans with different starting balances without also comparing the payoff time - a smaller debt paid slowly can still cost more in total interest than a larger debt paid off quickly.
Related calculators
Compound interest calculator
See how a lump sum grows with compound interest over time.
Inflation calculator
What things may cost in the future and how much buying power money loses at a steady inflation rate.
Loan payment calculator
Work out the monthly payment, total paid and total interest for a fixed-rate loan or mortgage.
Loan-to-value / down payment calculator
Work out your loan-to-value ratio and down payment percentage from a property price and down payment.