How Long to Pay Off £10,000 Debt in the UK?
If you're staring at £10,000 of debt and wondering how long it'll take to clear, you're not alone. It's one of the most common debt amounts in the UK — roughly the average credit card balance plus an overdraft.
The honest answer? It depends on three things: your interest rates, your monthly payment, and which debts you tackle first.
Let me show you exactly how the numbers work.
The Short Answer
With a £10,000 total debt and £300/month to spare:
| Strategy | Time to Debt-Free | Total Interest Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum payments only | 9+ years | £8,000+ |
| Avalanche (highest rate first) | 3 years 2 months | £2,840 |
| Snowball (smallest first) | 3 years 4 months | £3,120 |
| Hybrid | 3 years 3 months | £2,980 |
The difference between minimum payments and a proper strategy? Six years and £5,000.
But these are averages. Your actual timeline depends on your specific debts. A £10,000 debt at 0% (like a promotional balance transfer) is completely different from £10,000 across a 39.9% overdraft and two credit cards.
What Affects Your Payoff Timeline
1. Your Interest Rates
This is the biggest factor. Here's how £10,000 behaves at different rates with a £300 monthly payment:
| Average Interest Rate | Time to Pay Off | Total Interest |
|---|---|---|
| 0% (promotional) | 2 years 9 months | £0 |
| 15% APR | 3 years 1 month | £1,980 |
| 25% APR | 3 years 6 months | £3,450 |
| 35% APR | 4 years 2 months | £5,120 |
If you have a mix of rates — say a 39.9% overdraft and a 22% credit card — your actual timeline sits somewhere in between, depending on how you prioritise payments.
2. Your Monthly Payment Amount
The more you can pay beyond minimums, the faster you're free:
| Monthly Payment | Time to Clear £10k at 25% APR |
|---|---|
| Minimums only (~£200) | 9+ years |
| £300 | 3 years 6 months |
| £400 | 2 years 6 months |
| £500 | 1 year 11 months |
Every extra £100/month cuts roughly 8-12 months off your timeline.
3. Which Debt You Pay First
This is where it gets interesting. With multiple debts, the order you attack them changes both the timeline and the total interest.
Avalanche (highest interest first): Mathematically optimal. You pay the least interest overall.
Snowball (smallest balance first): Slower on paper, but the quick wins keep you motivated.
Hybrid: Start with Snowball for momentum, then switch to Avalanche once you've cleared a debt or two.
The "best" strategy is the one you'll actually stick with for 3+ years.
Real Example: £10,000 Across Three UK Debts
Let's make this concrete. Here's a typical UK scenario:
| Debt | Balance | Rate | Type | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overdraft | £2,000 | 39.9% EAR | Overdraft | £50 |
| Credit Card 1 | £5,000 | 24.9% APR | Credit Card | £125 |
| Credit Card 2 | £3,000 | 19.9% APR | Credit Card | £75 |
| Total | £10,000 | £250 |
With £350/month available for debt (£100 above minimums):
Avalanche order: Overdraft → Card 1 → Card 2
Debt-free in: 2 years 11 months
Total interest: £2,640
Snowball order: Overdraft → Card 2 → Card 1
Debt-free in: 3 years 1 month
Total interest: £2,890
Hybrid (Snowball for 1 debt, then Avalanche): Overdraft → Card 2 → Card 1
Debt-free in: 3 years
Total interest: £2,760
Notice something? In this case, Avalanche and Snowball actually start with the same debt (the overdraft is both the smallest AND the highest rate). That's common — the strategies often overlap more than people expect.
The UK Overdraft Trap
One thing to watch: UK overdrafts use EAR (Equivalent Annual Rate), while credit cards use APR (Annual Percentage Rate).
A 39.9% EAR overdraft costs more than a 39.9% APR credit card because EAR already accounts for monthly compounding.
Most online calculators get this wrong — they're built for the US market where everything uses APR. If you're including a UK overdraft in your plan, make sure your calculator handles EAR correctly.
How to Calculate Your Exact Timeline
You could build a spreadsheet, but there's an easier way.
Step 1: List each debt with its balance, interest rate, rate type (APR or EAR), and minimum payment.
Step 2: Work out how much you can pay toward debt each month (income minus essentials minus a small emergency buffer).
Step 3: Use a calculator that compares multiple strategies on your actual numbers.
I built DebtRiot for exactly this. Enter your debts once, and it shows you how Snowball, Avalanche, Hybrid, and two other methods perform on YOUR situation — with your exact debt-free date for each.
Try the calculator — you can preview the first 3 months free before deciding if you want the full plan.
What If You Can't Afford £300/Month?
If your minimum payments already stretch your budget, the strategies above won't help much. When you can only pay minimums, there's nothing left to accelerate.
In that case, focus on:
Increasing the gap — Can you reduce any expenses? Pick up extra income?
Lowering your rates — Balance transfer to a 0% card? Negotiate with your bank?
Getting proper advice — If you're genuinely struggling, StepChange and National Debtline offer free, regulated debt advice.
The calculators and strategies in this guide work best when you have at least some money above minimums to work with.
Key Takeaways
£10,000 debt typically takes 2.5-4 years to clear with a focused strategy
Minimum payments only can stretch that to 9+ years and double your interest
The "best" strategy depends on your specific mix of debts and what keeps you motivated
UK overdrafts (EAR) cost more than the number suggests compared to credit cards (APR)
Every extra £100/month cuts roughly a year off your timeline
Your Next Step
Stop guessing. Enter your actual debts into DebtRiot's calculator and see your real debt-free date — not an estimate based on averages, but the actual month and year you'll make your final payment.
It takes about 3 minutes. And once you see that date, you'll know exactly what you're working toward.
