Snowball and avalanche plans for all your debts side by side, with dates and interest
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Updated on 24 Oct 2026.Five example debts totalling $23,000, with $750 of minimums and $200 extra a month, are cleared in 29 months and $3,703.77 of interest by the snowball order and in 28 months and $3,499.99 by the avalanche order. Paying only the minimums takes 66 months and costs $7,116.36.
Enter each debt on its own row: a name, the balance, the APR and the minimum payment.
Press "Add a debt" for more rows; leave a row blank or remove it to drop it.
Enter the extra amount you can pay each month on top of all the minimums.
Compare the snowball and avalanche columns: debt-free date, total interest and the order debts are cleared.
Open "Month by month" to see what goes to each debt every month.
This calculator takes every debt you have, each with its balance, APR and minimum payment, and works out three plans month by month: the snowball, the avalanche, and paying only the minimums. The plans sit side by side with the debt-free date, the total interest and the order the debts are cleared.
The two orders. Both plans pay every minimum and send the rest of the budget to one debt at a time. The snowball picks the smallest balance first; the avalanche picks the highest APR first. When a debt is cleared, its minimum is not spent elsewhere: it rolls into the next target, so the monthly budget stays the same until the last debt goes. Ties are broken plainly: a balance tie goes to the higher APR, an APR tie to the smaller balance, then to the row order.
Which is cheaper. The avalanche usually pays less interest, because each extra dollar stops the dearest interest. The snowball clears whole debts sooner, which some people find easier to stick with. On the example debts the difference is $203.78 and one month. When some minimums do not cover their own interest, the order matters much more: the snowball can let a large, dear debt grow while it clears small ones.
How the interest works. Each month a debt is charged its APR divided by 12, rounded to the cent, then paid. Card issuers that compound daily charge a few cents more. A plan that has not finished after 50 years is stopped and labelled: "never" when the total owed did not fall, "over 50 years" when it did. A debt whose minimum does not beat its interest never clears on minimums alone, and the page says which one.
What it does not do. It does not model new purchases, fees, promotional 0% periods ending, balance transfers or variable rates. Blank rows are ignored. The currency setting changes only the symbol. For one card in detail, including its minimum-payment formula, use the Credit Card Payoff Calculator.
Both methods pay every minimum and put all spare money on one debt at a time. The snowball targets the smallest balance first, so whole debts disappear sooner. The avalanche targets the highest APR first, so less interest is paid overall. On five example debts with $200 extra a month, the avalanche saves $203.78.
Paying the highest APR first costs the least interest in almost every case. A small balance with a similar rate can reasonably go first if clearing it quickly keeps the plan going. A debt whose minimum does not cover its own interest should come first either way, because on minimums alone its balance only grows.
The answer depends on the total owed, the APRs and the monthly budget. With $23,000 across five example debts, $750 of minimums and $200 extra a month, the avalanche finishes in 28 months. Paying only the minimums, with no roll-over from cleared debts, takes 66 months. Enter your own debts for your date.
Once a debt is paid off, its old minimum payment is added to the payment on the next target instead of being spent. The monthly budget stays the same, so each later debt is cleared faster. Even with no extra money, rolling payments over cut the example debts from 66 months on minimums to 39 months.
A payment that does not beat the month's interest leaves the balance the same or larger. At 24% APR, a $10,000 balance charges $200 of interest in the first month, so a $150 minimum never clears it. The calculator names any debt in that position and stops a plan after 50 years.
No. Every plan assumes no new borrowing, no late or annual fees, fixed rates and no promotional periods ending. Interest is the APR divided by 12 each month, rounded to the cent, so a card that compounds daily will charge a few cents more. Rerun the plan after each statement to keep it current.
Formula only: no rates or limits are read from an official source.
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