Credit Cards Payoff CalculatorFree online financial calculator — instant results, no sign-up
Avalanche payoff plan across several cards.
Estimates only, based on the inputs and assumptions shown. This is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Prices, rates and local rules may change; crypto scenarios do not predict returns. Confirm important decisions with a qualified professional.
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About the Credit Cards Payoff Calculator
This calculator determines the total time and interest needed to eliminate multiple credit card balances using the debt avalanche method. It targets cards with the highest annual percentage rate (APR) first while maintaining required minimum payments on the rest. Borrowers with multiple revolving accounts can use it to map out a coordinated repayment schedule based on a fixed monthly budget.
- Cards: balance/APR per line
- List of debts entered as balance/APR on each line (e.g., 3000/24 represents a $3,000 balance at 24% APR).
- Total monthly budget
- The total amount in dollars committed each month across all cards combined (must exceed total monthly interest and minimums to avoid payoff failure).
Formula and method
Monthly Interest: I = B × (APR / 1200) Minimum Payment: P_min = min(B, max(25, 0.01 × B)) Extra Payment: P_extra = min(B, max(0, Budget_remaining))
- BCurrent card balance including accrued monthly interest
- APRAnnual percentage rate for the specific card
- IMonthly interest charge added to the card balance
- P_minSimulated minimum payment ($25 or 1% of balance, whichever is greater)
- P_extraPortion of remaining monthly budget assigned to the highest-APR active balance
Debts are ordered from highest APR to lowest APR. Each monthly cycle adds interest (B × APR / 1200) to every balance, deducts a baseline minimum payment (greater of $25 or 1% of balance) from each card, and then applies any remaining budget surplus to the card with the highest APR until it is paid off. If the accounts cannot be cleared within 600 months (50 years), the tool returns 'Budget too low'.
Worked example
These are the calculator's starting values and the results it actually produces for them.
Inputs
- Cards: balance/APR per line3000/24 1500/19 800/27
- Total monthly budget400 $
Results
- Debt-free in16 months
- Total interest$822.22
- MethodHighest APR first
How to use the Credit Cards Payoff Calculator
- 1Sort the list of cards in descending order according to their stated APR.
- 2For each month, compute and add monthly interest to every outstanding balance.
- 3Subtract each card's minimum payment (the higher of $25 or 1% of the balance) from its balance and from the total monthly budget.
- 4Direct any remaining monthly budget toward the card with the highest APR, repeating monthly until all balances reach zero.
Reading your result
The 'Debt-free in' output shows the exact number of months needed to fully eliminate all card balances with your designated budget. 'Total interest' indicates the cumulative finance charges paid over the entire repayment window. If the output states 'Budget too low', your monthly budget is insufficient to cover mandatory minimum payments and accumulated monthly finance charges.
Limitations
The calculation assumes fixed APRs, no new purchases or balance transfer fees, and models minimum payments as the greater of $25 or 1% of the balance, whereas actual issuer minimum payment rules frequently use 1% to 2% of the principal plus monthly interest and fees.
Common questions
What is the debt avalanche method?+
The debt avalanche method prioritizes extra payments toward the debt with the highest interest rate while paying minimums on all other debts. Mathematically, this minimizes the total interest paid over time compared to other payoff strategies.
Why does the calculator show 'Budget too low'?+
This occurs if the total monthly budget cannot cover the combined monthly interest and baseline minimum payments across all cards, causing balances to grow or repayment to exceed the 600-month simulation limit.
Can I enter balances with promotional 0% APRs?+
Yes. You can enter an APR of 0 (e.g., 2000/0), but note that the model does not track promotional expiration dates; it assumes the 0% rate applies throughout the entire payoff period.
Does the calculator save my information?+
Calculations run in your browser. While signed in, inputs and results are automatically recorded in account history; saving a result creates a separate saved record.
Further reading
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Results are estimates for informational purposes and are not financial, medical or legal advice.