Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator
See the real cost of paying only the minimum — and how a fixed payment instead clears the card years sooner.
A worked example
Running this tool on current national benchmarks (Federal Reserve / Freddie Mac via FRED (St. Louis Fed)) — swap in your own numbers to see how the result moves.
- Card balance
- $6,000
- Annual interest rate (APR)
- 21%
- Minimum payment (% of balance)
- 2%
- Minimum payment floor
- $25
$34,997 in interest on a $6,000 balance
- Months at the minimum747 mo
- Total interest$34,997
- If you fix the payment120 mo
How the paying only the minimum takes changes with card balance
Holding the other inputs at the example above, here is how the result moves as card balance changes.
| Card balance | Paying only the minimum takes | Months at the minimum |
|---|---|---|
| $3,000 | 39.2 years | 470 mo |
| $4,500 | 52.7 years | 632 mo |
| $6,000 | 62.3 years | 747 mo |
| $9,000 | 75.8 years | 909 mo |
| $12,000 | 85.3 years | 1,024 mo |
The math behind it
Each month the calculator charges interest on your balance, then sets the minimum as a percentage of that balance — with a dollar floor for small balances. It subtracts interest to find the principal paid and repeats. Because the minimum shrinks as the balance falls, principal payments get smaller and smaller, dragging payoff out for years. It then compares that path to freezing your payment at today's minimum as a fixed amount, which clears the card far sooner.
Assumptions & limits
- The minimum is a fixed percentage of the current balance, never below the dollar floor.
- The minimum recalculates each month, so it declines as the balance drops.
- The APR is fixed and no new purchases are added.
- If the percentage minimum cannot beat the interest, the balance never clears.
- The fixed-payment comparison holds today's first minimum steady for the whole payoff.
How card minimums are typically set
The minimum is usually a small percentage of the balance, subject to a dollar floor. Your cardholder agreement governs.
| Component | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Percentage of balance | About 1% to 3% of the statement balance |
| Dollar floor | A fixed minimum, commonly $25 to $35 |
| Plus | Accrued interest and any fees for that cycle |
Common questions
Why does paying only the minimum take decades?
Because the minimum is a percentage of a shrinking balance. As you pay down the card, each minimum gets smaller, so less and less goes to principal while interest keeps taking its cut. The payment chases the balance down instead of clearing it, stretching a mid-size balance across many years and often more interest than the original debt.
How much faster is a fixed payment than the minimum?
Dramatically faster. If you simply freeze your payment at today's minimum dollar amount instead of letting it fall each month, every dollar above interest keeps hitting principal at full force. The calculator shows both timelines side by side — the fixed payment typically clears the card in a fraction of the time and saves large interest.
Can the minimum ever fail to pay off the card at all?
Yes. If the percentage minimum is smaller than the monthly interest at your APR, the balance grows instead of shrinking and never clears — the calculator flags this. It is why very high APRs paired with low percentage minimums are so dangerous: the minimum literally cannot keep up.