Credit utilization is how much of your available credit you are using: balances ÷ limits. Add each card to see its own utilization and your overall figure, then pick a target and see exactly how much extra you would need to pay to reach it. Everything updates live in your browser; the defaults are the worked example.
General guidance, not a score promise: keeping overall utilization under 30% is commonly advised, and under 10% is generally the strongest position. Scoring models differ, use both per-card and overall utilization, and weigh many other factors — no calculator can promise a score or a points change.
Scoring models look at each card as well as the total — one maxed-out card can matter even when your overall figure looks fine.
| Card | Balance | Limit | Utilization | Level |
|---|
—
| Overall utilization | Band | General guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10% | Strongest | The range generally associated with the best scores — low balances against limits. |
| 10% – 29.9% | Commonly advised | Inside the widely quoted “keep it under 30%” guidance. |
| 30% – 49.9% | Elevated | Above the common guidance; paying down toward 30% and then 10% is the usual advice. |
| 50% or over | High | Half or more of your limits in use — generally the range that drags scores down most. |
Per-card and overall credit utilization from your balances and limits — plus a target planner that shows the balance you need and the extra payment to reach 30%, 20%, 10% or your own target.
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Work out the credit utilization on each of your cards and across all of them together — balances ÷ limits — then pick a target overall utilization (30%, 20%, 10%, 1% or your own figure) and see the balance you need to reach and the extra payment that gets you there.
Two cards — one with a $1,850 balance on a $6,000 limit and one with $400 on $2,000 — give per-card utilization of $1,850 ÷ $6,000 = 30.83% and $400 ÷ $2,000 = 20%. Overall, balances total $2,250 against limits of $8,000, so overall utilization is $2,250 ÷ $8,000 = 28.125%. For a 10% target, balances need to fall to 10% × $8,000 = $800, so the extra payment needed is $2,250 − $800 = $1,450.
Per-card utilization = card balance ÷ card limit × 100. Overall utilization = total balances across all cards ÷ total limits across all cards × 100 — note this is not the average of the per-card percentages, because bigger limits weigh more. Target balance = target % × total limits. Extra payment needed = total balances − target balance, floored at $0 when you are already at or under the target. A card with no limit entered is excluded from its own percentage and contributes nothing to the totals’ limit side.
Divide the balance by the credit limit and multiply by 100. A $1,850 balance on a $6,000 limit is 30.83%. Overall utilization does the same sum with totals: add every balance, add every limit, then divide — $2,250 ÷ $8,000 = 28.125% in the worked example.
As general guidance, under 30% overall is the commonly advised ceiling and under 10% is generally the strongest position. There is no magic cliff at exactly 30% — lower is generally better, and the effect is gradual. These are conventions from common advice, not guarantees from any scoring model.
Both. Scoring models generally consider overall utilization and the utilization of individual cards, so one card at 90% can weigh on a score even when the overall figure is low. That is why the calculator shows every card separately and flags your highest one.
Work out 10% of your total limits, then subtract it from your total balances. On $8,000 of limits the target balance is $800, so balances of $2,250 need an extra $1,450 of payments. The target planner does this sum for 30%, 20%, 10%, 1% or any custom percentage.
Usually when the card issuer next reports — often around the statement closing date each month. A payment that lands after the statement has been produced may only show in the following cycle, so timing a payment just before the statement date is what changes the reported balance.
Yes — if fees or interest push a balance above its limit, utilization passes 100%, which is generally the worst position of all. The calculator shows the true figure rather than capping it, so an over-limit card is impossible to miss.
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