Debt Payoff Calculator: Snowball vs Avalanche
List your debts, add any extra amount you can put toward payoff each month, and compare the debt snowball (smallest balance first) against the debt avalanche (highest interest rate first) side by side.
Your debts
| Debt name | Balance ($) | APR (%) | Min. payment ($) |
|---|
Debt Snowball
Pay minimums on everything, throw extra at the smallest balance first.
Debt Avalanche
Pay minimums on everything, throw extra at the highest APR first.
How this is calculated
Each month, every debt accrues interest (APR ÷ 12), then required minimum payments are applied. Any extra payment — plus the minimum payments freed up from debts you've already paid off — is redirected to the next target debt in the strategy's order (smallest balance for snowball, highest APR for avalanche). The simulation runs until every balance reaches zero, capped at 50 years.
Which one should you pick?
Avalanche almost always saves more in total interest since it attacks the most expensive debt first. Snowball can save less in interest but often keeps people motivated longer, because early wins come from eliminating whole debts quickly. If the two methods land close in total interest, motivation is a reasonable tiebreaker.