When will you be debt-free?
This debt payoff calculator shows your debt-free date and interest under the snowball and avalanche methods, side by side.
Your debts
The numbers are an example. Replace them with yours. Everything is worked out in your browser.
The avalanche saves you $212 in interest. The snowball clears your first debt 12 months sooner.
Two routes down to zero
Your total balance month by month. Each numbered marker is a debt you clear for good.
Debts cleared, in order
- Exit 1Visa17 months in
- Exit 2Store card30 months in
- Exit 3Personal loan30 months in
- Exit 4Car loan35 months in
Minimums only: 8 years, 3 months and $9,336 interest. This plan saves $5,388.
Month-by-month scheduleAvalanche, 35 months
| Date | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance left | Paid off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month in | $780.00 | $236.21 | $543.79 | $22,056.21 | |
| 2 months in | $780.00 | $229.51 | $550.49 | $21,505.72 | |
| 3 months in | $780.00 | $222.73 | $557.27 | $20,948.45 | |
| 4 months in | $780.00 | $215.84 | $564.16 | $20,384.29 | |
| 5 months in | $780.00 | $208.84 | $571.16 | $19,813.13 | |
| 6 months in | $780.00 | $201.74 | $578.26 | $19,234.87 | |
| 7 months in | $780.00 | $194.54 | $585.46 | $18,649.41 | |
| 8 months in | $780.00 | $187.21 | $592.79 | $18,056.62 | |
| 9 months in | $780.00 | $179.77 | $600.23 | $17,456.39 | |
| 10 months in | $780.00 | $172.24 | $607.76 | $16,848.63 | |
| 11 months in | $780.00 | $164.57 | $615.43 | $16,233.20 | |
| 12 months in | $780.00 | $156.79 | $623.21 | $15,609.99 | |
| 13 months in | $780.00 | $148.90 | $631.10 | $14,978.89 | |
| 14 months in | $780.00 | $140.87 | $639.13 | $14,339.76 | |
| 15 months in | $780.00 | $132.73 | $647.27 | $13,692.49 | |
| 16 months in | $780.00 | $124.45 | $655.55 | $13,036.94 | |
| 17 months in | $780.00 | $116.05 | $663.95 | $12,372.99 | Visa |
| 18 months in | $780.00 | $107.99 | $672.01 | $11,700.98 | |
| 19 months in | $780.00 | $101.41 | $678.59 | $11,022.39 | |
| 20 months in | $780.00 | $94.75 | $685.25 | $10,337.14 | |
| 21 months in | $780.00 | $88.03 | $691.97 | $9,645.17 | |
| 22 months in | $780.00 | $81.23 | $698.77 | $8,946.40 | |
| 23 months in | $780.00 | $74.36 | $705.64 | $8,240.76 | |
| 24 months in | $780.00 | $67.41 | $712.59 | $7,528.17 | |
| 25 months in | $780.00 | $60.40 | $719.60 | $6,808.57 | |
| 26 months in | $780.00 | $53.30 | $726.70 | $6,081.87 | |
| 27 months in | $780.00 | $46.13 | $733.87 | $5,348.00 | |
| 28 months in | $780.00 | $38.89 | $741.11 | $4,606.89 | |
| 29 months in | $780.00 | $31.57 | $748.43 | $3,858.46 | |
| 30 months in | $780.00 | $24.16 | $755.84 | $3,102.62 | Store card, Personal loan |
| 31 months in | $780.00 | $17.84 | $762.16 | $2,340.46 | |
| 32 months in | $780.00 | $13.46 | $766.54 | $1,573.92 | |
| 33 months in | $780.00 | $9.05 | $770.95 | $802.97 | |
| 34 months in | $780.00 | $4.62 | $775.38 | $27.59 | |
| 35 months in | $27.75 | $0.16 | $27.59 | $0.00 | Car loan |
Which should you pick?
Both methods pay every minimum. They differ in where the spare money goes first.
Snowball
Smallest balance first. Whole debts disappear early.
Avalanche
Highest rate first. You pay the least interest.
Take the snowball if you need early wins to keep going. Each cleared debt frees its minimum for the next one, so your payments grow as you go.
Take the avalanche if the plan will hold without early wins. It always costs the least, and the gap grows when your highest rate sits on a big balance.
Close call? If the two totals are within a few hundred dollars, pick the method you will actually stick with. Finishing matters more than the method.
How to use the calculator
- List every debt you are paying off. Use the balance, the APR and the minimum payment from your latest statement. Leave out a debt if you do not want it in the plan.
- Enter an extra monthly amount. This is money above all your minimums. Try a few amounts; the results update as you type.
- Read the two signs. The big one is the cheaper method, with its debt-free date and total interest. The line under them says how much the avalanche saves and how much sooner the snowball clears your first debt.
- Follow the route. The chart shows your total balance falling to zero, with a numbered marker each time a debt is cleared. Open the month-by-month schedule to download it as a CSV or copy a link to share your plan.
A worked example
Here are four debts totaling $22,600, with minimums adding up to $580 a month. Add $200 extra and the monthly budget is $780. That is the same as the example loaded in the calculator above.
| Debt | Balance | APR | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store card | $1,100 | 9.9% | $35 |
| Visa | $4,200 | 22.9% | $95 |
| Personal loan | $7,500 | 14.5% | $190 |
| Car loan | $9,800 | 6.9% | $260 |
| Plan | Debt-free in | Total interest | First debt cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimums only | 8 years, 3 months | $9,336 | month 37 |
| Snowball | 2 years, 11 months | $4,160 | month 5 (Store card) |
| Avalanche | 2 years, 11 months | $3,948 | month 17 (Visa) |
Two things stand out. First, the extra $200 a month is worth far more than it looks: against minimums only it saves about $5,388 in interest and cuts the time from 8 years, 3 months to 2 years, 11 months. Second, the method matters much less than the extra payment. The avalanche saves $212 over the snowball here because the Visa (22.9%) has a higher rate than the Store card (9.9%), even though the Store card is smaller.
The snowball clears the Store card in month 5; the avalanche clears the Visa in month 17. That early win is the whole case for the snowball. Whether it is worth $212 to you is a personal call, not a math question.
Debt snowball vs debt avalanche: which is better?
Avalanche means paying the debt with the highest interest rate first while paying minimums on the rest. With fixed rates it is the cheapest of the common methods. Snowball means paying the smallest balance first. It is not the cheapest, but each cleared debt removes a bill and a login, and the freed minimum rolls onto the next debt.
- If your highest-rate debt is also your smallest, the two methods give the same plan and the same cost. Many real lists are close to this.
- If your highest rate sits on a large balance (a big card at 25% plus small loans at 8%), the avalanche gap grows. See the avalanche calculator for an example where the difference is large.
- If you have struggled to keep a plan going before, the snowball's early wins can matter more than the interest. A 2012 study by Gal and McShane in the Journal of Marketing Research, using records from about 6,000 customers of a debt settlement company, found that people who closed off individual accounts were more likely to clear all their debt. It shows a link, not proof that the snowball causes success, but it fits what many people report. The snowball calculator shows when each debt closes.
- Either way, do not skip a minimum payment. Missed payments bring fees and can raise your rates.
What this calculator assumes
- Interest compounds monthly at APR / 12, rounded to the cent each month.
- Rates stay fixed. Promotional 0% periods, variable rates and fees are not modeled.
- You pay the same total every month: all minimums plus your extra. Freed-up minimums are not spent elsewhere.
- You take on no new debt while paying these off.
- The plan stops at 600 months (50 years). If your debts are not cleared by then, the tool says so instead of giving a date.
Estimates, not advice. Your lender's statement is the final word on what you owe. If you are struggling to meet minimums, a free nonprofit credit counseling agency, such as a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, can talk through options. See the disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
Is the debt snowball or the debt avalanche better?
The avalanche always costs the least interest, because it sends spare money to the highest rate first. The snowball costs a little more but clears whole debts sooner, which some people find easier to stick with. For four debts totaling $22,600 paid at $780 a month, the gap is $212 over 2 years, 11 months. Run your own numbers: if the two totals are close, pick the one you will actually follow. If the avalanche saves hundreds or thousands, that is a good reason to use it.
How does this debt payoff calculator work out the debt-free date?
Each month it adds interest (balance x APR / 12) to every debt, pays every minimum, and then puts all the spare money on the target debt. When a debt is cleared, its minimum payment is not spent elsewhere: it joins the pile for the next debt. It repeats until every balance is zero and counts the months. The first payment is assumed to be next month. The methodology page lists every rule and the test cases.
What if my minimum payment is lower than the monthly interest?
Then the balance grows instead of shrinking, which is called negative amortization. The calculator flags any debt where this happens. It can still produce a payoff plan if your extra payment is large enough to get ahead of the interest, but if the total you pay each month does not beat the total interest charged, there is no payoff date and the tool tells you so rather than showing a misleading one.
Should I include my mortgage?
Usually not. A mortgage has a low rate, a long fixed term and often tax or inflation effects that make it behave differently from cards and personal loans. Most people use a debt payoff plan for cards, store accounts, personal loans, car loans, student loans and medical bills, and keep the mortgage on its own schedule. You can add it if you want to see the effect, but the extra money will not go to it under either method until the higher-priority debts are gone.
Where does the extra payment come from?
It is whatever you can add on top of all your minimums every month, for example from trimming spending or from a pay rise. Enter 0 to see the minimums-only plan. Small increases matter more than they look: in the example, the extra $200 a month takes the finish date from 8 years, 3 months down to 2 years, 11 months.
Is my data saved or sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. The numbers are remembered in your own browser storage so they are there next time, and the share link puts them in the web address. Nothing is uploaded to a server. Clear your browser data or press Clear all to remove them.
Does this work outside the United States?
Yes. Choose US dollar, British pound, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar or Singapore dollar. The currency setting only changes the symbol and number format. The math is the same for any currency with monthly payments and an annual interest rate. Fees, rate changes and local rules for specific products are not modeled.