Debt snowball calculator
Smallest balance first. See your payoff order, interest and debt-free date, with the avalanche shown for comparison.
Your debts
The numbers are an example. Replace them with yours. Everything is worked out in your browser.
The snowball costs $193 more in interest than the avalanche. The snowball clears your first debt 13 months sooner.
Your route down to zero
Your total balance month by month. Each numbered marker is a debt you clear for good.
Debts cleared, in order
- Exit 1Medical bill4 months in
- Exit 2Store card11 months in
- Exit 3Visa22 months in
- Exit 4Personal loan29 months in
- Exit 5Student loan49 months in
Minimums only: 10 years, 3 months and $9,001 interest. This plan saves $4,589.
Month-by-month scheduleSnowball, 49 months
| Date | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance left | Paid off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month in | $595.00 | $200.79 | $394.21 | $24,305.79 | |
| 2 months in | $595.00 | $198.77 | $396.23 | $23,909.56 | |
| 3 months in | $595.00 | $196.73 | $398.27 | $23,511.29 | |
| 4 months in | $595.00 | $194.67 | $400.33 | $23,110.96 | Medical bill |
| 5 months in | $595.00 | $190.92 | $404.08 | $22,706.88 | |
| 6 months in | $595.00 | $185.88 | $409.12 | $22,297.76 | |
| 7 months in | $595.00 | $180.77 | $414.23 | $21,883.53 | |
| 8 months in | $595.00 | $175.58 | $419.42 | $21,464.11 | |
| 9 months in | $595.00 | $170.33 | $424.67 | $21,039.44 | |
| 10 months in | $595.00 | $164.98 | $430.02 | $20,609.42 | |
| 11 months in | $595.00 | $159.57 | $435.43 | $20,173.99 | Store card |
| 12 months in | $595.00 | $153.74 | $441.26 | $19,732.73 | |
| 13 months in | $595.00 | $147.78 | $447.22 | $19,285.51 | |
| 14 months in | $595.00 | $141.75 | $453.25 | $18,832.26 | |
| 15 months in | $595.00 | $135.61 | $459.39 | $18,372.87 | |
| 16 months in | $595.00 | $129.38 | $465.62 | $17,907.25 | |
| 17 months in | $595.00 | $123.06 | $471.94 | $17,435.31 | |
| 18 months in | $595.00 | $116.62 | $478.38 | $16,956.93 | |
| 19 months in | $595.00 | $110.09 | $484.91 | $16,472.02 | |
| 20 months in | $595.00 | $103.45 | $491.55 | $15,980.47 | |
| 21 months in | $595.00 | $96.71 | $498.29 | $15,482.18 | |
| 22 months in | $595.00 | $89.85 | $505.15 | $14,977.03 | Visa |
| 23 months in | $595.00 | $84.67 | $510.33 | $14,466.70 | |
| 24 months in | $595.00 | $80.09 | $514.91 | $13,951.79 | |
| 25 months in | $595.00 | $75.45 | $519.55 | $13,432.24 | |
| 26 months in | $595.00 | $70.77 | $524.23 | $12,908.01 | |
| 27 months in | $595.00 | $66.05 | $528.95 | $12,379.06 | |
| 28 months in | $595.00 | $61.29 | $533.71 | $11,845.35 | |
| 29 months in | $595.00 | $56.47 | $538.53 | $11,306.82 | Personal loan |
| 30 months in | $595.00 | $51.82 | $543.18 | $10,763.64 | |
| 31 months in | $595.00 | $49.33 | $545.67 | $10,217.97 | |
| 32 months in | $595.00 | $46.83 | $548.17 | $9,669.80 | |
| 33 months in | $595.00 | $44.32 | $550.68 | $9,119.12 | |
| 34 months in | $595.00 | $41.80 | $553.20 | $8,565.92 | |
| 35 months in | $595.00 | $39.26 | $555.74 | $8,010.18 | |
| 36 months in | $595.00 | $36.71 | $558.29 | $7,451.89 |
How does the debt snowball method work?
- Write down every debt with its balance, rate and minimum payment.
- Order them by balance, smallest first. Rates do not affect the order.
- Pay the minimum on all of them. Put everything extra on the first debt in the list.
- When a debt is cleared, take its whole payment (minimum plus extra) and move it to the next debt.
- Repeat until the last debt is gone.
The important detail is step 4. The total you pay each month stays the same from the first month to the last. Only where it goes changes.
A worked example with five debts
This example has a small 0% medical bill, two cards, a personal loan and a student loan: $24,700 in total. Minimums add up to $445 a month, and the plan adds $150, for a fixed monthly budget of $595.
| Debt | Balance | APR | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical bill | $600 | 0% | $25 |
| Store card | $1,400 | 19.9% | $40 |
| Visa | $3,200 | 21.9% | $80 |
| Personal loan | $5,500 | 12% | $150 |
| Student loan | $14,000 | 5.5% | $150 |
Here is where the $595 goes in the first month, in the month the Medical bill is cleared (month 4), the month after that, and the month after the Store card is cleared.
| Month | Medical bill | Store card | Visa | Personal loan | Student loan | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $175.00 | $40.00 | $80.00 | $150.00 | $150.00 | $595.00 |
| 4 | $75.00 | $140.00 | $80.00 | $150.00 | $150.00 | $595.00 |
| 5 | $0.00 | $215.00 | $80.00 | $150.00 | $150.00 | $595.00 |
| 12 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $295.00 | $150.00 | $150.00 | $595.00 |
In month 1 the Medical bill gets the extra on top of its minimum. Once it is cleared in month 4, nothing changes in the total: the payment simply moves to the Store card. By the time the Store card is cleared in month 11, the next debt is receiving a payment far larger than its own minimum.
The whole plan takes 4 years, 1 month and costs $4,412 in interest. The avalanche finishes in 4 years, 1 month with $4,219 of interest. So in exchange for clearing debts in months 4, 11, 22, 29, 49, the snowball costs $193 more than the cheapest order. The avalanche's first debt, the Visa, goes in month 17; the snowball's first goes in month 4.
When is the debt snowball a good fit?
- You have several small balances. Clearing the first couple of small debts early cuts bills, due dates and the chance of a missed payment.
- Your rates are close together. If your rates sit within a few points of each other, the order changes the interest much less, though large balances can still make the gap worth checking.
- You need visible progress. A plan you abandon in month 8 saves nothing. Many people find a cleared account more motivating than a slightly lower total.
When to be careful
- One large balance carries a very high rate. The snowball leaves it for last, and that is where the extra cost builds. Check the avalanche figure in the calculator before you commit.
- A promotional rate is about to end. A 0% balance that reverts to 25% next quarter should be treated as a high-rate debt, not a free one.
- You spend the freed-up payment. The snowball only works if the rolled-over money keeps going to debt.
Want to see the cheapest order for your own list? Use the side-by-side debt payoff calculator or the debt avalanche calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the debt snowball method?
You list your debts from the smallest balance to the largest, ignoring interest rates. You pay the minimum on every debt, and put every spare dollar on the smallest one. When it is gone, you add its old payment to the next smallest. The payment on the debt you are attacking grows like a rolling snowball, which is where the name comes from.
Does the snowball cost more than the avalanche?
It never costs less, and the gap ranges from nothing to thousands of dollars. For the five debts in the worked example on this page, the snowball pays $4,412 in interest against $4,219 for the avalanche, a gap of $193 over 4 years, 1 month. The gap depends on how far apart your interest rates are and where the highest rate sits. If the highest-rate debt is also the smallest, the plans are identical.
What happens to the minimum payment when a debt is paid off?
It stays in your budget. In the example, the Medical bill minimum of $25 does not go back to your spending money in month 5: it is added to the payment on the next debt in line. That is the part that makes the snowball accelerate, and the calculator does it automatically. If you spend the freed-up payment instead, you have a different plan, and it will take longer.
Should a 0% debt go first in a snowball?
If it is the smallest balance, the strict snowball says yes, and this page's example does exactly that with a 0% medical bill. It costs nothing extra to clear it first, and removing it frees a payment. It does, however, delay the higher-rate debts by a few months compared with the avalanche. If a 0% promotion is about to end and jump to a high rate, treat it as a high-rate debt instead and move it up.
What if two debts have almost the same balance?
Pick the one with the higher interest rate. The calculator breaks exact ties that way. When balances are within a few percent of each other, order matters very little, so you are free to choose the one that is more annoying to keep paying.
Can I change the order if I need to?
The calculator sorts by starting balance and keeps that order. If your situation changes, for example a lender raises a rate, enter the new balances and rates and the plan is rebuilt from today.