Credit card minimum payment calculator.
See your first minimum payment, how long minimums alone would take to clear the balance, and what the same card looks like with a fixed monthly payment instead.
Check your statement's "minimum payment" section if unsure; the formula is printed there.
Same payment every month, no matter what the statement says.
Debtless builds the plan across all your cards and shows the date moving every month. 7-day free trial on iPhone.
Why the minimum is a trap.
The minimum is designed to keep the account current, not to pay it off. It is recalculated every month from whatever you still owe, so as the balance drops the payment drops with it. Most of each payment goes to interest, and the balance moves slowly for years. Issuers print a "minimum payment warning" box on every US statement for exactly this reason.
A fixed payment breaks the loop. Decide on an amount you can hold, even if it is only a little above the first minimum, and pay that every month regardless of what the statement asks for. The chart above shows the two lines diverging.
What to do this month.
- [ 01 ]
Find your formula
It is on the statement. Select it above so the first minimum matches what your issuer charges. - [ 02 ]
Pick a fixed amount
Higher than the first minimum, and one you can automate. Set it as a recurring payment. - [ 03 ]
Stop new charges
A fixed payment only works if the balance is not being refilled. Use debit while you pay this down. - [ 04 ]
Add the other cards
If you have several, the snowball or avalanche calculator orders them and gives one debt-free date.
Go further.
The full playbook is in how to pay off credit card debt. To see what the balance costs you per day, use the credit card interest calculator.
Keep going.
What a balance costs per day, month and year, and the payment to clear it.
The plain-language playbook, from first list to last payment.
Smallest balance first. See your payoff order and debt-free date.
How long until zero, and what an extra $50 a month does to the date.
The same plan, kept for you.
Debtless does this math from the payments you log and moves the date every month. 7-day free trial on iPhone.
One card, one number, one day you hit zero.
Pick the order, see the date move, switch any time.
Answers with your real balances, rates and budget.
Questions, answered.
Your debt‑free date is closer than you think.
Add your debts, pick a strategy, and watch the date move.
Free download · 7-day free trial