Enter what you owe, the annual interest rate and the fixed amount you can pay each month, and this tool shows how long it takes to clear the debt and how much interest you’ll pay along the way. It’s built for credit cards and revolving debts, where interest quietly stretches the timeline. Everything is calculated on your device, in any currency.
Enter your balance, rate and monthly payment to see how long payoff takes.
Assumes a fixed rate and payment with no fees. Real cards may add fees and variable rates — treat this as a baseline.
How it works
Each month, interest is added at the annual rate divided by 12, then your payment is subtracted. Whatever’s left carries to the next month and accrues interest again. The tool repeats this until the balance hits zero, counting the months and summing the interest — the last payment is trimmed so you never overpay.
There’s a catch worth knowing: if your monthly payment is smaller than the first month’s interest, the balance grows instead of shrinking and the debt is never repaid. The tool detects this and asks you to raise the payment rather than showing an impossible answer. A 0% debt is simply the balance divided by the payment.
Practical examples
A credit card
1,000 at 12% APR paying 100 a month clears in 11 months and costs about 59 in interest — the balance plus interest totals roughly 1,059 paid.
Interest-free plan
A 1,000 interest-free instalment plan at 40 a month takes 25 months (2 years and 1 month), with no interest — just the balance divided by the payment.
The minimum-payment trap
On 1,000 at 12%, paying only 10 a month never clears the debt: 10 barely covers the first month’s interest. The tool flags this so you increase the payment.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from a loan calculator?
A loan calculator starts from a term and tells you the monthly payment. This works the other way: you set the payment and it tells you the term. That fits credit cards and flexible debts, where you choose how much to pay each month.
Why does paying a little more shorten it so much?
Because extra payment goes straight to principal, which shrinks the balance that interest is charged on next month. On high-interest debt, a modest increase can cut months — sometimes years — off the payoff and save real interest.
What’s the minimum payment I can enter?
Anything above the first month’s interest (balance × monthly rate). Below that, the debt never reduces, so the tool asks you to raise it. Comfortably above that threshold is where progress actually happens.
Does it use APR or monthly rate?
Enter the annual rate (APR) and the tool divides by 12 for the monthly rate. If your card quotes a monthly rate, multiply it by 12 first, or check the APR on your statement.
Is the interest compounded?
Yes — monthly. Unpaid interest is added to the balance and itself accrues interest the next month, which is how credit-card debt grows if payments are low. That compounding is exactly what this models.
Does it handle fees or changing rates?
No. It assumes a single fixed rate and no annual or late fees. Real cards may add both, so treat the result as a clear baseline and pad it slightly if your card charges fees.
What if I can pay different amounts each month?
This assumes a constant monthly payment. If you can pay more some months, you’ll clear it faster than shown — run it again with a higher figure to see the effect, or use the loan repayment schedule for detailed planning.
What currency does it use?
Any — it’s currency-neutral. Enter the balance and payment in the same currency and the interest and totals come out in that unit.
Is my data stored?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded and analytics never receives your figures.
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