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Debt Payoff Calculator

See your debt-free date, two ways

List your debts, add whatever extra you can put toward them each month, and we will run the numbers both ways: the snowball method (smallest balance first) and the avalanche method (highest interest rate first). You get a debt-free date, the total interest you would pay, and the payoff order for each. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.

Your results

Snowball

Smallest balance first. Quick wins keep you going.

  • Debt-free in
  • Total interest:
  • Total paid:

Avalanche

Highest rate first. The cheapest path on paper.

  • Debt-free in
  • Total interest:
  • Total paid:

Payoff order and dates

DebtBalanceAPRPaid off (snowball)Paid off (avalanche)

Your month-by-month plan ()

WhenDo this

Assumptions: rates stay fixed, you stop adding new debt, and your total monthly payment stays the same the whole way through. When one debt is paid off, its payment rolls into the next debt on the list. Real credit card minimums shrink as balances drop, but keeping your payment steady is exactly why this plan beats paying minimums. Cards compound interest daily, so treat the totals as close estimates.

Want a partner while you work the plan? Book a free Financial Freedom Assessment and we will look at your payoff plan together.

How to choose between snowball and avalanche

The avalanche is the better deal mathematically. It clears your most expensive debt first, so less interest piles up. The snowball wins on behavior. Knocking out a whole account in the first month or two feels real, and that feeling is what keeps people paying extra in month nine.

Run both above and look at the gap. When the avalanche saves a few thousand dollars, take the avalanche. When it saves $80 and three weeks, pick the one that keeps you motivated. We wrote up the full comparison, with examples, in our snowball vs. avalanche post.

If a payment is becoming hard to make at all, deal with that before optimizing. Our guide to requesting credit card forbearance covers what to say to your card company.

Common questions

The avalanche almost always costs less in interest. The snowball gives you faster wins, and people tend to stick with it. The best method is the one you will still be following a year from now. If the avalanche only saves a small amount, the motivation of the snowball is often worth more.
Set aside a small starter emergency fund first, usually $1,000 or about one month of essentials, so a surprise bill does not land back on a credit card. Then attack the high-interest debt. Once it is gone, build the full 3 to 6 month fund. Our emergency fund calculator gives you your number.
Usually no. This calculator is built for consumer debt: credit cards, car loans, personal loans, medical bills, and student loans. A mortgage is typically the last debt you pay extra on, after everything else is gone and your retirement saving is on track.
Lowering your rate can help, but only if the spending that created the debt has stopped. Watch for balance transfer fees of 3% to 5%, and know exactly what the rate becomes when the promo ends. Either way, you still need the payoff plan.
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This calculator is education and planning math, not individualized financial advice. The results follow your inputs and the assumptions noted above; your full picture may point a different way.