Updated October 2026. Free, no signup, nothing leaves your browser.
Credit utilization is your card balances divided by your credit limits, so $1,500 owed on $10,000 of limits is 15%. Enter each card below to see its utilization, your overall utilization and the payment that brings you to 30% or 10%. Card issuers usually report your balance around the end of each statement period, so a payment made before the statement closes changes what the credit bureaus see that month.
The calculator works per card and across all your cards, because scoring models can look at both. The credit score side of churning is covered in does churning hurt your credit score, and the effect of many open cards in how many credit cards is too many.
Enter each card’s balance and credit limit in dollars. Leave a row blank to skip it. Up to 10 cards.
How the math works
Per card: balance divided by credit limit, times 100. A $900 balance on a $3,000 limit is 30%.
Overall: all your card balances added together, divided by all your credit limits added together, times 100. Overall utilization is a ratio of the totals, so a card with a large limit and no balance pulls the overall figure down.
Payment to reach a target: total balances minus the target times total limits. With $4,000 owed on $10,000 of limits, reaching 30% takes $4,000 minus $3,000, a $1,000 payment, and reaching 10% takes $4,000 minus $1,000, a $3,000 payment.
Timing: Experian says card issuers usually report your balance and credit limit to the bureaus around the end of each statement period. The balance that gets reported is therefore close to your statement balance. Paying by the due date avoids interest; paying before the statement closing date lowers the balance that gets reported. Most scoring models only look at the most recently reported balances, so the change shows up after the next report.
The 30% and 10% lines are common guidelines. No bureau or scoring company publishes them as cutoffs. Experian says there is no specific point where utilization turns from good to bad, that 30% is where it starts to have a more pronounced negative effect, and that people with FICO scores of 800 to 850 averaged 7.1% utilization in its third-quarter 2024 data. Experian also notes that a reported 0% can score slightly worse than 1%.
Nothing you type here is stored or sent anywhere; the math runs entirely in your browser.
3 worked examples
1. One card at 40%. A $2,400 balance on a $6,000 limit is 2,400 ÷ 6,000 = 40%. Reaching 30% takes $2,400 minus $1,800 (30% of $6,000), a $600 payment. Reaching 10% takes $2,400 minus $600, a $1,800 payment.
2. Three cards, one of them maxed out.
| Card | Balance | Limit | Utilization |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | $1,200 | $5,000 | 24.0% |
| B | $3,000 | $4,000 | 75.0% |
| C | $300 | $11,000 | 2.7% |
| Total | $4,500 | $20,000 | 22.5% |
Overall utilization is $4,500 ÷ $20,000 = 22.5%, already under 30%. Card B sits at 75%, and Experian notes that the account with the highest utilization can also affect scores. Paying B down to $1,200 (30% of its limit) takes $1,800 and drops overall utilization to $2,700 ÷ $20,000 = 13.5%. Reaching 10% overall takes $4,500 minus $2,000, a $2,500 payment.
3. A minimum spend on a new card. You put $4,000 on a new card with an $8,000 limit to meet a welcome-offer spending requirement, and your other cards hold $42,000 of limits with no balances. The new card shows 50% and your overall utilization is $4,000 ÷ $50,000 = 8%. Pay $3,000 before the statement closes and the reported balance is $1,000: 12.5% on the card and 2% overall.
FAQ
How do you calculate credit utilization?
Divide your credit card balances by your credit limits and multiply by 100. Do it for each card and for the totals: $1,500 owed across cards with $10,000 of combined limits is 15% overall.
What is a good credit utilization ratio?
Under 30% is the common guideline, and under 10% is common advice for the highest scores. Neither is a published cutoff. In Experian’s third-quarter 2024 data, people with FICO scores of 800 to 850 averaged 7.1% utilization.
Does paying before the statement date lower my utilization?
Usually, yes. Issuers usually report your balance around the end of each statement period, so a payment before the closing date lowers the balance the bureaus receive. A payment after the statement closes still avoids interest, but this month’s report already has the higher balance.
Does closing a credit card raise my utilization?
It can. Closing a card removes its limit from your total, so the same balances become a larger share of your available credit. Experian says this can lower your score.
Does utilization on a single card matter?
It can. Experian says both your overall rate and the rate on your most-used account can affect your scores, which is why the calculator flags any card above 30%.