Credit Card Cost Calculator

Separate borrowed money from the cost of carrying it

The card balance is the starting debt. Interest increases the total needed to repay it. This calculator shows those parts separately and lets you compare fixed monthly payments while assuming no new transactions.

Choose inputs that match your situation

Match the APR to the balance

Check your statement for the applicable rate. Purchases, cash advances and transfers can have different rates; a single APR field does not model those balances separately. Enter 24.99 for a 24.99% APR.

Distinguish a fixed plan from the minimum due

A card’s minimum due can change over time. Here, $200 means $200 each modeled month until the final payment, not “whatever the issuer requires.” Use the statement to check actual payment requirements.

Keep future charges out of this scenario

The estimate assumes the entered balance is repaid without adding purchases or fees. If you continue using the card, this payoff projection no longer describes the full account. Do not enter an annual card fee as if it were interest.

How the results are calculated

Each modeled month adds remaining balance × APR ÷ 1,200 as interest, then applies the fixed payment. The final payment is capped at the amount owed. The tool totals interest and adds it to the starting balance. It stops at payoff or a 1,200-month limit. A payment no greater than starting monthly interest is flagged as too low. In target mode, payment = balance × monthly rate ÷ [1 − (1 + monthly rate) to the power of minus target months]. At 0% APR, payment = balance ÷ target months. The required payment is rounded up to a cent, then the same monthly model calculates payoff and interest. The target is a number of payments, not a calendar date.

Worked examples you can try

A $5,000 card balance

At 24.99% APR and $200 monthly, the starting scenario estimates 36 months, $2,135.16 interest and $7,135.16 total repayment. First-month modeled interest is about $104.13.

Compare $250 monthly

The same balance and APR with a $250 payment estimates 27 months and $1,534.53 interest. That is nine fewer modeled months and $600.63 less interest than the $200 scenario. The difference depends on maintaining the payment and adding no charges.

A payment that does not reduce the balance

At the starting rate and balance, a $100 payment is below the roughly $104.13 first-month interest. The tool shows “Payment too low” rather than a payoff total.

Read the result with its assumptions

Real card interest often uses average daily balances and daily rates. The CFPB explains how card issuers calculate interest, including different rates for different transactions. This calculator uses one rate and monthly steps, so it is a comparison estimate rather than a replica of your statement.

Grace periods, payment dates, daily compounding, promotional expiration, deferred interest, balance-transfer fees and new charges are not modeled. Entering 0% assumes that rate continues until payoff. The tool does not tell you whether an actual card has a grace period.

The donut divides total modeled repayment into starting balance and interest. It does not show a percentage of debt already cleared. When the 1,200-month limit is reached, complete totals are unavailable. For account-specific payoff amounts, check the issuer.