List your debts, choose Snowball or Avalanche (or compare both), and see exactly when you'll be debt-free.
List every debt you're carrying — balance, interest rate, and minimum payment — and this tool works out exactly when you'll be debt-free, how much interest you'll pay along the way, and in what order each debt clears. Every debt always gets its minimum payment first; any extra you add, plus the full minimum payment freed up from a debt you've already cleared, rolls onto whichever debt your chosen strategy targets next.
Snowball attacks your smallest balance first, regardless of interest rate — clearing a debt completely, fast, builds momentum and keeps you motivated, even if it isn't always the cheapest path mathematically. Avalanche attacks your highest interest rate first — this is almost always the lower-cost strategy overall, since it stops the most expensive debt from accruing interest the soonest. Neither is wrong; they optimize for different things — Snowball for momentum, Avalanche for total cost. Compare both runs the exact same numbers through both strategies and gives you one plain-language headline telling you which one wins for your specific debts, and by how much.
If any debt's minimum payment doesn't even cover its own monthly interest, this tool flags it immediately — that debt would never shrink on its own no matter how long you waited, since the balance would keep growing every month. It's worth raising that minimum before trusting any payoff plan built on top of it.
Jack has three debts and an extra 200 a month he can put toward paying them off faster:
| Debt | Balance | Rate | Min. payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Card | 5,000 | 22% | 150 |
| Personal Loan | 3,000 | 15% | 100 |
| Car Loan | 12,000 | 7% | 300 |
| Strategy | Debt-free in | Total interest | Payoff order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowball | 2 years 7 months | 3,024 | Personal Loan (mo. 11) → Credit Card (mo. 22) → Car Loan (mo. 31) |
| Avalanche | 2 years 7 months | 2,818 | Credit Card (mo. 17) → Personal Loan (mo. 21) → Car Loan (mo. 31) |
Both strategies clear every debt in exactly the same 31 months here, since the total monthly budget is identical either way — but Avalanche saves Jack 207 in interest by knocking out the 22% credit card's interest charges sooner, even though Snowball clears his smallest debt (the Personal Loan) first. Compare both would show Jack this exact headline automatically, without him having to run the numbers twice himself.
Payoff order shows the precise month each debt clears, in the order your chosen strategy tackles them — not the order you entered them in. Below that, a yearly table tracks interest paid, principal paid, and total remaining balance across every year of the plan, so you can see the shape of your progress, not just the final date.
Disclaimer: This tool is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are hypothetical estimates based on your inputs and do not guarantee future performance. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions; we accept no liability for losses arising from use of this calculator. This tool may make mistakes — please verify all results independently.