ZOVATOOL

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Payoff time
33 mo
2.8 years
Interest paid
$1,521.02
Total paid
$6,521.02

First 12 months

MonthPaymentInterestPrincipalBalance
1$200.00$83.29$116.71$4,883.29
2$200.00$81.35$118.65$4,764.64
3$200.00$79.37$120.63$4,644.01
4$200.00$77.36$122.64$4,521.37
5$200.00$75.32$124.68$4,396.69
6$200.00$73.24$126.76$4,269.93
7$200.00$71.13$128.87$4,141.06
8$200.00$68.98$131.02$4,010.04
9$200.00$66.80$133.20$3,876.85
10$200.00$64.58$135.42$3,741.43
11$200.00$62.33$137.67$3,603.75
12$200.00$60.03$139.97$3,463.79

How to use the Credit Card Payoff Calculator

  1. Enter your current balance and the card's APR.
  2. Choose a payoff strategy: minimum-payment-only, fixed monthly amount, or pay-off-in-N-months.
  3. Optionally add an extra payment — see how many months and how much interest it saves.
  4. Read the schedule for the first 12 months showing interest, principal and remaining balance.
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Why minimum payments are a trap

A $5,000 balance at 19.99% APR paying only the 2% minimum takes over 30 years and costs more than $11,000 in interest. The card issuer designed it that way.

Paying even an extra $50/month often cuts the payoff time in half and saves thousands. The earlier dollars in a repayment do the most work because they avoid the most interest.

Two popular payoff strategies: ‘avalanche’ (highest APR first, mathematically cheapest) and ‘snowball’ (smallest balance first, psychologically motivating). Both beat minimum payments by a huge margin.