Free tool

Credit Card Interest Calculator

What your balance really costs at your APR — and why the minimum payment is designed to keep you paying for years.

Your card

Payment style

Minimum mode pays 2% of the balance each month with a $25 floor — how most issuers actually calculate it.

Paid off in
2y 10m
Total interest
$2,403
Total paid
$8,403

Balance over time

The minimum payment trap

Paying $250/mo fixed
$2,403
interest over 2y 10m
Paying only the minimum
interest over forever

At this APR, a 2%-of-balance minimum never pays the card off — the payment shrinks as fast as the balance does.

How this works

Card interest compounds monthly at APR ÷ 12, charged on whatever balance remains. Minimum payments are usually 1%–3% of the balance, so as the balance shrinks the payment shrinks too — stretching a few thousand dollars of debt into a decade or more of payments. That's why a fixed payment, even a modest one, finishes years earlier than the minimum: it stops shrinking as the balance falls.

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