Debt Payoff Calculator

Enter a balance, its interest rate, and what you pay each month. This debt payoff calculator shows exactly when you will be debt-free and how much interest you will pay to get there – all in your browser, with nothing saved.

How the debt payoff calculator works

Each month, interest is added to your balance, then your payment is subtracted. Repeat until the balance reaches zero - that month is your Zero Day. The calculator runs that loop for you.

The further your payment sits above the monthly interest, the faster the balance falls and the less interest you pay overall. If a payment only covers the interest, the balance never moves - and the tool flags that instead of leaving you guessing.

Estimates for general information only; not financial or tax advice. Actual costs depend on your lender's terms, compounding, and any fees.

A worked example

Say you owe $5,000 on a card at 20% APR and pay $200 a month. The first month's interest is about $83, so $117 of your payment chips at the principal. As the balance shrinks, less goes to interest and more to principal, so the fall speeds up.

The result: debt-free in 33 months, having paid roughly $1,522 in interest. Raise the payment to $300 and it drops to about 20 months and roughly $907 in interest - try it in the calculator above.

How to pay off debt faster

Once this debt payoff calculator shows your current timeline, three levers move your Zero Day earlier: pay more each month, lower your interest rate, or reduce the balance you carry. Even a small increase in the monthly payment has an outsized effect, because more of every dollar goes to principal instead of interest.

If you are juggling several balances, a structured method helps. The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau both describe two popular approaches: the snowball (smallest balance first, for quick wins) and the avalanche (highest rate first, for the lowest total cost). A low-rate balance transfer can also cut the interest you pay while you focus on the principal.

To map out more than one balance at once, grab the free Debt Payoff Spreadsheet or explore all our debt and loan calculators — then come back and use this debt payoff calculator to double-check any single balance.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as APR here?

Use the annual percentage rate your lender lists. The calculator divides it by 12 to get a monthly rate, which matches how most credit cards and fixed loans accrue interest.

Why does my balance barely move some months?

Early on, most of your payment goes to interest. On a high-rate balance, a large share of each payment covers interest before it touches principal. Raising the payment even a little speeds things up.

What if my payment is too low?

If your monthly payment is at or below the monthly interest, the balance never falls. The calculator shows a warning and the minimum you need to pay to make progress.

Is this snowball or avalanche?

This tool handles one balance at a time. To plan several debts with snowball or avalanche ordering, use our free debt payoff spreadsheet or the dedicated snowball and avalanche calculators.

Planning more than one debt at once? Grab the free Debt Payoff Spreadsheet or explore all our debt and loan calculators.