Debt Payoff Calculator (Snowball vs. Avalanche)

What this debt payoff calculator does

Most people juggling more than one credit card or loan have a rough idea of what they owe but no real sense of when it'll actually be gone. This tool takes every balance, interest rate, and minimum payment you enter, adds whatever extra cash you can throw at debt each month, and simulates the payoff month by month — the same way a spreadsheet would, just without you having to build one.

It runs two strategies at once so you can see the trade-off instead of guessing:

• Debt Snowball — pay off the smallest balance first, roll that payment into the next-smallest, and repeat. Slower on paper, but the quick wins keep people motivated when they'd otherwise give up.
• Debt Avalanche — attack the highest interest rate first. It's the mathematically cheapest route and usually saves real money, especially if one card is sitting at 24%+ APR.

How to use it

Add a row for each debt — credit cards, car loans, personal loans, student loans, whatever you're carrying — with its current balance, APR, and minimum monthly payment. Enter how much extra you can realistically put toward debt every month on top of the minimums, pick a strategy, and the calculator instantly shows your debt-free date, total interest paid, and the exact order debts get knocked out in.

A couple of real examples

Say you're carrying a $4,500 credit card at 22.9% APR and a $9,800 car loan at 6.5% APR, paying the minimums plus $100 extra a month. Snowball clears the card first (smaller balance) for an early motivational win; Avalanche also happens to clear the card first here since it also carries the higher rate — but change the numbers so a big low-rate balance is smaller than a small high-rate one, and the two methods will send your extra payment in a different order, and the total interest gap becomes real money.

If you've got three or more debts — say two credit cards and a personal loan — the gap between Snowball and Avalanche gets more noticeable, and this is exactly the situation where eyeballing it in your head stops working and you need the actual math.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, debt snowball or debt avalanche?

Avalanche pays less total interest, always, because it targets the priciest debt first. Snowball can still be the better real-world choice if quick wins are what keep you sticking to the plan — this calculator shows you the actual dollar difference so you can decide with real numbers instead of a gut feeling.

Does this calculator account for interest compounding monthly?

Yes. Each month it applies that month's interest to every remaining balance before minimum and extra payments are subtracted, the same way your card issuer or lender actually calculates it.

What if I can't afford all the minimum payments?

This tool assumes minimums are being paid on every debt; it's built for figuring out how to accelerate payoff with extra cash, not for triaging which minimum to skip — if you're behind on minimums, talk to a nonprofit credit counselor before anything else.

Can I add more than two or three debts?

Yes — click "Add Another Debt" as many times as you need. There's no cap on how many balances you can compare a payoff plan across.

Is my financial information saved anywhere?

No. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded, stored, or sent to a server.