UK Tools

Finance & Money

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Rates & guidance reviewed

Credit card interest can turn a manageable balance into a long-term cost if you only pay the minimum. Seeing months to clear and total interest side by side makes the impact of a higher fixed payment obvious.

This free calculator estimates payoff time from your balance, APR and monthly payment. You can also reverse the problem: choose a target number of months and see the payment needed. Maths runs privately in your browser.

It assumes a fixed APR, no new spending and no fees. 0% balance transfers, cash advances and changing promotional rates are not modelled — use your statement figures for planning only.

Prefer the written walkthrough? Read how it works in How UK credit card interest and payoff time are calculated— same maths as this calculator, in plain English.

Interactive tool

Illustrative compound monthly interest · not a lender quote

UK cards often quote a representative APR. Real interest, fees and promotional 0% periods differ. This model assumes a fixed APR and fixed monthly payment with no further spending.

Annual percentage rate on purchases

Examples:

Payoff with your monthly payment

Time to clear34 months (~2.8 years)
Total paid£3,374.94
Total interest£874.94
Interest share of total25.9%

Or: payment to clear in a target time

e.g. 12, 24 or 36

Suggested monthly payment

£129.70

Est. interest: £612.69 · total paid: £3,112.69

Guidance only — not advice. Minimum payments, cash advances, late fees and 0% intro periods are not modelled. Check your statement and FCA guidance if you are in financial difficulty.

How to use this tool

  1. Enter the outstanding balance you want to clear.
  2. Enter the purchase APR (or the rate that applies to this balance).
  3. Enter the fixed monthly amount you can afford to pay.
  4. Review months to clear, total paid and total interest.
  5. Optionally set a target term to see the payment required to finish on time.

Worked examples

Static sample calculations you can read without using the form. Figures match this tool's maths — always re-run with your own numbers for a personal estimate.

£2,500 balance · 22% APR · £100 a month

Typical revolving balance with a solid fixed payment above the interest charge.

Inputs

Balance
£2,500
APR
22%
Monthly payment
£100

Results

Months to clear
34 months
Total paid
≈ £3,375
Total interest
≈ £875

Assumes no new spend and a constant APR. Last payment is slightly smaller in the model.

£5,000 balance · 19.9% APR · £150 a month

Larger balance — interest adds more than two thousand pounds over the life of the debt.

Inputs

Balance
£5,000
APR
19.9%
Monthly payment
£150

Results

Months to clear
49 months
Total paid
≈ £7,339
Total interest
≈ £2,339

£1,200 balance · 24% APR · £75 a month

Smaller debt cleared in under two years with a focused payment.

Inputs

Balance
£1,200
APR
24%
Monthly payment
£75

Results

Months to clear
20 months
Total paid
≈ £1,461
Total interest
≈ £261

£3,000 balance · 0% APR · £150 a month

Promotional 0% style scenario — payment goes entirely to principal.

Inputs

Balance
£3,000
APR
0%
Monthly payment
£150

Results

Months to clear
20 months
Total paid
£3,000
Total interest
£0

Real 0% deals often have fees and a reversion rate — clear before the promo ends.

Why minimum payments take so long

Minimum payments are often a small percentage of the balance plus interest. Early on, a large share of each payment can go to interest, so the principal falls slowly. Raising the payment even modestly can cut years and hundreds of pounds of interest.

Worked case: £2,500 at 22% APR with £100 a month takes about 34 months and roughly £875 interest in this model. The same balance at a higher payment finishes sooner — try the target-months field above to reverse-engineer a deadline.

If your payment does not cover the monthly interest charge, the balance grows — this tool warns when that happens. In that case you need a higher payment, a lower rate (for example a balance transfer if suitable), or both.

UK context and getting help

APRs and representative examples on UK cards are regulated; your personal rate may differ. If debt feels unmanageable, free advice is available from services such as StepChange, National Debtline or MoneyHelper — this calculator is not debt advice. A longer walk-through of this monthly APR ÷ 12 model, the £2,500 · 22% · £100 example, FCA minimum-payment rules and why a personal loan is different maths is in the written credit-card payoff guide.

Official sources & further reading

Always confirm rates, bands and eligibility on official pages. Our tools are simplified estimators for guidance only.

Frequently asked questions

Does this use compound interest?
Yes. Interest is modelled monthly as APR ÷ 12 applied to the remaining balance, then your payment is subtracted — a common approximation of statement interest.
How long to pay off £2,500 at 22% with £100 a month?
About 34 months in this tool, with roughly £875 interest and about £3,375 total paid — assuming no new spending and a fixed APR.
How long to clear £5,000 on a credit card?
It depends on APR and payment. Example: £5,000 at 19.9% APR with £150 a month takes about 49 months and about £2,339 interest here. Raise the payment or lower the rate to finish faster.
Why does it say the payment never clears the balance?
If the monthly payment is less than or equal to the first month’s interest, the balance does not fall. Increase the payment or reduce the rate.
Are fees and new purchases included?
No. Late fees, cash advance fees and continued spending are excluded. Assume you stop using the card for new purchases.
Is this the same as a loan calculator?
Related maths, but cards revolve monthly. For a fixed personal loan with a set term, use the Loan Repayment Calculator.
Is my data stored?
No. Nothing is sent to a server.

Read the explainer

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