Debt & loans

Debt payoff calculator

See exactly how fast you can be debt-free with the snowball or avalanche method, and how much interest each one actually costs you.

Your debts

Debt name Balance ($) APR (%) Min payment ($)

Snowball vs. avalanche

Snowball pays off your smallest balance first, regardless of interest rate. It's built for motivation, since you clear a full debt faster. Avalanche targets your highest interest rate first. It's built to minimize total interest paid.

Payoff order (recommended strategy)

    This is an estimate based on the numbers you entered, assuming consistent payments and no new debt added. Your actual payoff time may vary based on rate changes, fees, or missed payments.

    Snowball vs. avalanche: which one actually gets you out of debt faster?

    Both methods have you pay the minimum on every debt except one, which gets everything extra you can throw at it. The difference is which debt you target first.

    Snowball targets your smallest balance first, regardless of interest rate. Once it’s paid off, you roll its minimum payment into the next-smallest balance, and so on. The appeal is momentum — you clear a full debt off your list faster, which for a lot of people is the difference between sticking with a payoff plan and giving up on it.

    Avalanche targets your highest interest rate first. Mathematically, this almost always saves you more in total interest, since you’re cutting off the debt that’s costing you the most every month it exists.

    Which one is “better” depends on you, not the math. If you’ve tried to pay off debt before and lost motivation partway through, snowball’s quick wins might matter more than the extra interest it costs. If you’re disciplined about sticking with a plan regardless of visible progress, avalanche will save you real money.

    How to actually use the numbers this calculator gives you

    Enter every revolving or installment debt you’re carrying — credit cards, car loans, personal loans, student loans — with its current balance, APR, and minimum payment. The “extra monthly payment” field is whatever you can consistently put toward debt beyond the minimums; be honest about this number, since a plan built on an unsustainable extra payment will just get abandoned. Once your extra payments start shrinking a balance, it’s worth checking in on your overall net worth every few months too — debt payoff is one of the fastest ways to move that number.

    Common mistakes people make with debt payoff

    • Not including every debt. Leaving out a smaller card “because it’s not a big deal” throws off the whole payoff order.
    • Overestimating the extra payment. A plan that assumes $400/month extra when you can realistically only manage $150 isn’t a plan, it’s a wish.
    • Ignoring rate changes. Variable-rate cards can move; recheck your numbers every few months, not just once.
    • Before committing everything extra to debt, make sure you’ve got at least a small emergency fund in place — see the note in our FAQ below on sequencing the two.

    FAQ

    Does paying off debt hurt my credit score?

    Usually the opposite — paying down revolving balances typically improves your credit utilization ratio, which is a meaningful factor in your score.

    Should I stop contributing to retirement while paying off debt?

    Not usually, especially if there’s an employer 401(k) match — that’s often a guaranteed return higher than most debt’s interest rate. This is worth running past a financial advisor for your specific situation.

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