Credit card payoff calculator
This calculator estimates how long a card balance takes to clear at a chosen fixed payment and APR, then compares that against paying £25, £50 or £100 more a month. It assumes level monthly payments and no further spending, and it does not recommend any particular payment or repayment order.
What does paying more each month do?
Each row adds a fixed amount to the monthly payment shown in the result and reruns the calculation.
| Monthly payment | Time to clear | Total interest | Interest saved | Months saved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £125 (+£25) | 34 months (2 years 10 months) | £1,195 | £549 | 14 |
| £150 (+£50) | 27 months (2 years 3 months) | £916 | £828 | 21 |
| £200 (+£100) | 19 months (1 year 7 months) | £631 | £1,112 | 29 |
How is the payoff time worked out?
Each month the card is modelled as charging interest on the balance carried over, at the APR divided by twelve. The chosen payment then comes off the new total. Whatever is left rolls into the next month and is charged again. The calculator repeats that until the balance reaches zero, counting the months, the interest and the total paid. If the payment is no bigger than the first month's interest, the balance can never fall on this model, and the result says so rather than showing a figure.
In target mode the question is reversed: given the balance, the rate and a number of months, what level payment clears it exactly on time? That is the same amortisation formula a loan uses. The table of comparisons above reruns the fixed-payment case with £25, £50 and £100 added, because the saving from a modest increase is usually larger than expected. The extra money goes entirely to the balance, and a smaller balance means less interest in every month that follows.
| Monthly rate | APR divided by 12, charged on the opening balance |
|---|---|
| Payment | taken after interest, so only the excess over interest reduces the debt |
| New spending | none assumed; anything added to the card lengthens the result |
| Fees and 0% deals | not modelled; see the balance transfer question below |
What does a worked example show?
A balance of £3,000 at 24.9% APR, with a payment of £100 a month, is estimated to clear in 48 months (4 years) and cost £1,744 in interest, for an estimated total paid of £4,744. In the first month £62.25 of the £100 payment is interest, and only £37.75 reduces the debt. Clearing the same balance in 12 months instead is estimated to need a payment of £284.99 a month, with the interest falling to £420.
How should the result be read?
- Card interest is usually daily, not monthly. Providers calculate interest on the daily balance and add it at the statement date, so the real figure can differ by a few pounds from the monthly approximation here.
- Minimum payments are not fixed payments. The calculator assumes you pay the same amount every month. If you pay the minimum, the payment shrinks as the balance falls and the term is far longer.
- Different rates for different balances. Cash withdrawals and balance transfers often carry their own rates and are repaid in a set order. The single APR here suits a purchase balance.
- Interest-free periods change the calculation. On a 0% deal the calculation is simply balance divided by months. The rate matters only for what remains when the promotional period ends.
Common questions
How long does it take to pay off £3,000 on a credit card?
Paying £100 a month at 24.9% APR, about 48 months (4 years), with £1,744 of interest on top of the balance. Paying £50 more a month cuts that to 27 months (2 years 3 months) and saves £828.
Why does paying the minimum take so long?
Minimum payments are usually set as the interest and charges for the month plus a small slice of the balance, often around 1%, or a floor of a few pounds if that is higher. Because the payment shrinks as the balance falls, the debt reduces very slowly and most of what you pay in the early years is interest. Fixing your payment at a set amount, rather than the minimum, is the single biggest change you can make.
What are the FCA persistent debt rules?
If you have paid more in interest, fees and charges than you have repaid of the balance over 18 months, your card provider must contact you and suggest paying more. If the pattern continues to 36 months they must offer a way to repay the balance in a reasonable period, such as a repayment plan, and may suspend the card. The rules exist because minimum-payment borrowing can run for a decade or more.
Would a 0% balance transfer help?
Often, if two conditions hold. The transfer fee, typically a few percent of the balance, must be less than the interest you would otherwise pay, and you must clear the balance before the 0% period ends, because the rate that follows is usually high. Divide the balance by the number of interest-free months to find the payment that gets you there, and check the target-months mode above.
Is it better to pay weekly than monthly?
Slightly. Interest is calculated daily on most cards, so paying a quarter of your monthly amount each week brings the average balance down a little sooner. The gain is small compared with paying more in total. The larger benefit of weekly payments is behavioural: smaller, regular amounts are easier to keep up.
Should I clear my credit card or save?
Clear the card first in almost every case. Card APRs are far above any savings rate, so each £100 that sits in savings instead of reducing the balance costs the difference in interest every year. The exception is a small emergency fund, so that an unexpected bill does not go straight back on the card.
What does paying more each month do?
The comparison table on this page reruns the calculation with £25, £50 and £100 added to the chosen monthly payment, showing the estimated time to clear the balance, the interest charged and the interest saved against the base case. Because the extra amount goes straight onto the balance rather than being absorbed by interest first, even a modest increase can shorten the payoff time and reduce total interest by a disproportionate amount.
How is the payoff time worked out?
The calculation charges interest on the balance carried over each month, at the APR divided by twelve, then applies the chosen payment to that new total. What is left rolls forward and is charged again the following month, repeating until the balance reaches zero. In target mode the same relationship is rearranged to find the level payment that clears a given balance within a chosen number of months.
What does a worked example show?
On the default figures, a balance of £3,000 at 24.9% APR with a payment of £100 a month is estimated to clear in 48 months (4 years), with £1,744 of interest. In the first month, £62.25 of that payment is interest rather than reducing the balance. Clearing the same balance in 12 months instead is estimated to need about £284.99 a month.
How should the result be read?
As an estimate rather than a statement of what is owed, since card providers usually calculate interest daily rather than monthly, so the real figure can differ by a few pounds. The calculation assumes the same fixed payment every month with no further spending on the card; paying only the minimum, which falls as the balance falls, would take considerably longer. Cash withdrawals, balance transfers and promotional rates are not modelled and can carry different terms.
Sources & Rate Verification
Rates verified against official statutory guidance on 6 September 2026.