See exactly how long it will take to clear your credit card balance and how much interest you will pay in total. Compare minimum payments against a fixed monthly amount to see how much you can save.
Last updated: April 2026
Your card details
Typical UK credit card APR is 20–30%. Check your statement or card agreement.
Most UK cards use 1–3% of the outstanding balance, with a minimum floor of £25.
Must be more than one month's interest to make progress.
Your repayment summary
Time to clear balance
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Total interest paid -
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Monthly interest (first month) -
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At minimum payments only, your balance will take a very long time to clear and interest will cost you significantly. Even a small fixed payment makes a large difference.
Compared to minimum payments
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How the credit card repayment calculator works
This calculator models your credit card balance month by month, applying the monthly interest rate (your APR divided by 12) to the outstanding balance, then subtracting your payment. In minimum payment mode, each payment is recalculated as a percentage of the remaining balance - which means your payments shrink as your balance shrinks, dramatically extending the time it takes to clear the debt.
In fixed payment mode, you pay the same amount every month regardless of the balance. Because a larger share of each payment goes toward the principal rather than interest, the balance falls faster and the total interest cost drops substantially.
Why minimum payments cost so much
Minimum payments are deliberately structured to keep you in debt longer. Most UK credit cards require you to pay 1–3% of the outstanding balance each month, or a floor amount (typically £25), whichever is higher. Because the minimum payment falls as the balance falls, the early months see most of your payment consumed by interest rather than reducing the debt.
On a £2,500 balance at 24.9% APR, paying only the 2% minimum each month would take over 25 years to clear and cost more than £3,000 in interest alone - more than the original balance. Increasing to a fixed payment of £100 per month clears the same debt in under 3 years and cuts the interest cost to around £600.
The monthly interest calculation
Credit card interest is calculated daily or monthly depending on the card issuer, but the effect is the same. The monthly rate is your APR divided by 12. At 24.9% APR, this is approximately 2.075% per month. On a £2,500 balance, that is roughly £52 of interest added in the first month alone. If your minimum payment is 2% of the balance (£50), you are barely covering the interest - meaning the balance barely reduces at all.
What to do with these results
If your results show a repayment period of more than three years or a total interest cost that exceeds 50% of the original balance, the most impactful action you can take is to increase your monthly payment, even by a modest amount. Alternatively, a 0% balance transfer card can eliminate interest for a promotional period (typically 12–30 months) and allow every payment to reduce the principal directly. Our Balance Transfer Savings Calculator can help you model that option.
If you are struggling to meet even minimum payments, free debt advice is available from charities including StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice.
Frequently asked questions
The average credit card APR in the UK is typically between 20% and 30% for standard purchase cards. Premium rewards cards can carry rates of 30–40% APR. Some specialist cards for people with limited credit history may charge 40–60% APR or higher. 0% purchase and balance transfer cards exist but typically revert to a high standard APR after the promotional period ends. Always check the representative APR before applying, and note that the rate you receive may differ from the advertised rate based on your credit profile.
Most UK credit card issuers calculate the minimum payment as the greater of: a percentage of the outstanding balance (commonly 1–3%), or a fixed floor amount (commonly £25). Some cards use a fixed percentage plus the monthly interest charge. FCA regulations require that minimum payments must at least cover the monthly interest - lenders cannot set minimums so low that the balance never reduces - but this still means repayment can take many years if you only ever pay the minimum.
Yes, positively. Credit reference agencies in the UK (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) consider your credit utilisation ratio - the percentage of your available credit you are using - as a significant factor in your credit score. Paying down your balance reduces utilisation, which typically improves your score. Making payments above the minimum also signals responsible credit management. There is no penalty for paying more than the minimum or clearing the balance in full each month.
A 0% balance transfer can be a highly effective way to clear credit card debt if you qualify. By moving your balance to a card with 0% interest for a promotional period, every payment goes directly toward the principal. The key considerations are: the balance transfer fee (typically 2–4% of the amount transferred), your eligibility for the deal, and whether you can clear the balance before the 0% period ends. If the card reverts to a high APR after the promotional period and you still have a balance, you could end up worse off. Use the fixed payment mode in this calculator with a 0% APR to see how much you need to pay monthly to clear the balance within a given promotional window.
If you pay only the minimum each month and make no new purchases, you will eventually clear the balance - but it will take far longer than most people realise and cost significantly more in interest. For example, a £3,000 balance at 24.9% APR with a 2% minimum payment would take approximately 27 years to clear and cost around £3,800 in total interest. The FCA now requires credit card statements to include a warning showing the time and cost of minimum-only repayment, precisely because this outcome is so financially damaging.
Credit cards are among the most expensive forms of consumer debt, but not always the most expensive. Arranged overdrafts typically charge 39.9% EAR following FCA reforms. Payday and short-term loans can have representative APRs in the hundreds or thousands of percent. Store cards often charge 30–40% APR. In terms of mainstream consumer credit, credit cards at 20–30% APR are expensive but sit below overdrafts and well below short-term lenders. Mortgages, car finance and personal loans are typically cheaper. If you have multiple debts, prioritising the highest-rate debt first (the avalanche method) minimises total interest paid.