Debt Payoff Calculator

Find out how fast you can be debt-free and exactly how much interest you'll save. Enter each debt's balance, interest rate and minimum payment, add any extra you can put toward debt each month, and compare the two most popular strategies — the snowball (smallest balance first) and the avalanche (highest rate first). Updates as you type.

Snowball vs avalanche — which should you use?

Both methods start the same way: you pay the minimum on every debt so nothing goes delinquent. The difference is where your extra money goes:

• Avalanche — attack the highest interest rate first. This is the mathematically optimal choice: it kills your most expensive debt fastest, so you pay the least total interest and finish soonest.
• Snowball — attack the smallest balance first. You clear whole debts quickly, which builds momentum and motivation. It can cost slightly more interest, but the psychological wins help many people actually stick with the plan.

Whichever you pick, the magic is the roll-over: when one debt is paid off, its payment doesn't disappear — it piles onto the next debt. That's why the payoff accelerates and why an extra $50–$200 a month can cut years off the timeline.

This is an educational estimate using fixed rates and constant payments. Real cards may change rates, add fees, or set minimums as a percentage of the balance. Not financial advice.

FAQ

What is the difference between the debt snowball and avalanche methods?

The snowball method pays off your smallest balance first (after minimums on everything), then rolls that payment into the next-smallest — it builds momentum and motivation. The avalanche method targets the highest interest rate first, which mathematically saves the most money and time. This calculator runs both so you can compare the exact difference.

Which method pays off debt faster?

The avalanche method (highest interest rate first) is always at least as fast and cheap as the snowball, because it kills your most expensive debt first. The snowball can be slightly slower and cost a little more interest, but many people stick with it better because paying off a whole debt early feels rewarding. The calculator shows both so you can weigh speed against motivation.

How does paying extra each month help?

Every extra dollar goes straight to principal, so it stops accruing interest immediately. Because that freed-up payment then rolls onto the next debt, the effect compounds — even a small extra payment can cut months or years off your payoff and save a large amount of interest. Change the extra payment and watch both totals update.

Does this account for minimum payments?

Yes. Each month it pays the minimum on every debt first (so nothing goes delinquent), then throws all remaining money — your extra payment plus any freed-up minimums from debts already paid off — at the target debt. That rolling payment is what makes both methods accelerate over time.

More calculators: loan payment calculator, savings goal calculator, compound interest calculator, and the full tools list.

The extra payment has to come from somewhere — our guide on making a budget you'll actually stick to shows how to free it up. Prefer a spreadsheet that does it for you? Our Debt Payoff Tracker runs snowball & avalanche and tracks every balance automatically (Excel / Google Sheets).