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Debt payoff calculator

Snowball or avalanche: when each plan makes you debt-free.

Reviewed by Victor Yuki Matusita on . First published .

Your numbers stay on your device
$

On top of all the minimums.

Monthly budget

$725.00/mo

With this budget, the snowball makes you debt-free in 2 years 8 months with $3,695 of interest, and the avalanche in 2 years 7 months with $3,212.

Debt 1
$
%
$
Debt 2
$
%
$
Debt 3
$
%
$
Debt 4
$
%
$
Snowball
Debt-free in
2 years 8 months
Interest
$3,695
Payoff order
Debt 2, Debt 4, Debt 1, Debt 3
Avalanche
Debt-free in
2 years 7 months
Interest
$3,212
Payoff order
Debt 1, Debt 2, Debt 4, Debt 3

B pays $484 less interest and is done 1 month sooner.

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Balance by year

How to use the debt payoff calculator

  1. Enter each debt with its balance, APR and minimum payment. Add up to 10.
  2. Type how much you can pay each month on top of the minimums.
  3. Compare the snowball and the avalanche: the months to debt-free, the interest and the order.
  4. Open the balance by year, or save the plan as a PDF or a CSV.

How the two methods are worked out

The method

Budget = sum of the minimums + extra. Each month: interest on every debt (balance × APR ÷ 12, rounded to the cent), then the minimum on every debt, then what is left of the budget to the first debt in the chosen order.

The month ends when every payment is applied, and the loop runs until all balances are zero. Both methods use the same budget, so the difference is only the order.

Assumptions

  • Each month you pay the minimum on every debt, and the rest of the budget (the minimums plus the extra) goes to one debt at a time.
  • Snowball pays the smallest starting balance first; avalanche pays the highest APR first. Ties keep the order you entered.
  • When a debt is paid off, its minimum stays in the budget and rolls to the next debt.
  • Interest of each debt is its APR divided by 12, times its balance, rounded to the cent. No new charges are added.

Worked example

This is the example the calculator opens with, worked out by the same engine you use above.

You enter
Extra payment per month$200.00
Debt 1$4,800.00, 24.99%, $120.00
Debt 2$1,200.00, 19.99%, $35.00
Debt 3$9,500.00, 7.9%, $260.00
Debt 4$3,600.00, 11.5%, $110.00
You get
Monthly budget$725.00
Snowball: Debt-free in2 years 8 months
Snowball: Interest$3,695.36
Snowball: Payoff orderDebt 2, Debt 4, Debt 1, Debt 3
Avalanche: Debt-free in2 years 7 months
Avalanche: Interest$3,211.79
Avalanche: Payoff orderDebt 1, Debt 2, Debt 4, Debt 3

With this budget, the snowball makes you debt-free in 2 years 8 months with $3,695 of interest, and the avalanche in 2 years 7 months with $3,212.

Sources

Read the guide: Snowball vs avalanche, with numbers

Educational tool

This calculator is an educational tool, not financial advice. Your lenders set the interest and minimum payments on your debts.

Questions about paying off debt

What is the debt snowball?

You pay the minimum on every debt and put everything extra on the smallest balance. When it is gone, its payment goes to the next smallest. The CFPB describes it as paying the smallest balance first.

What is the debt avalanche?

The same plan, but the extra goes to the debt with the highest interest rate first. It usually pays less interest; how much less depends on your debts.

Which one should I choose?

The calculator shows both on your own debts. Some people prefer the quick wins of clearing small balances; others prefer paying less interest. Both work if you keep paying.

What if a minimum payment is lower than the interest on that debt?

That debt grows while the extra goes elsewhere. The plan still works as long as the whole budget is larger than the interest of the first month; otherwise the calculator says how much budget is needed.

Privacy

Your numbers stay on your device. The calculator runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere, and the link you copy keeps the numbers after the #, a part of the address your browser never sends.