Rank every debt, roll every freed payment forward, and see the exact month you become debt-free.
Pay off the debt with the highest APR first if you want to spend the least money — that is the avalanche method. Pay off the smallest balance first if you want a quick visible win to stay motivated — that is the snowball method. Either way you keep paying every minimum and pour every spare dollar at one target until it is gone, then roll that whole payment onto the next debt. This tool runs both plans on your real numbers and tells you the debt-free date, the total interest, and how much the smarter plan saves.
Both methods start from one number: your total monthly debt budget. Each month every debt accrues interest, you pay the minimum on all of them, and whatever budget is left over is the "extra" that attacks a single target debt. The only thing that differs is which debt is the target.
highest-APR debtsmallest-balance debtAvalanche always wins on total dollars; snowball usually clears your first account a little sooner. The bigger the APR spread between your debts, the more the avalanche is worth — and the harder it is to justify snowball on math alone.
Change any balance, APR, or the budget on the left and every number above re-runs instantly in your browser.
Switching methods saves a few hundred dollars here. Raising the budget changes the timeline far more, because extra dollars skip the interest that would have compounded for years. Method is the tie-breaker; how much extra you can send is the real lever.
| Move | Effect on payoff time | Effect on interest |
|---|---|---|
| Switch snowball → avalanche | ~1 month faster | ~$626 less |
| Add $50/month to the budget | Several months faster | Hundreds less |
| Add $150/month to the budget | Roughly a year faster | Far larger saving |
| Cut the 24% APR via consolidation | Faster on both plans | Lower on both plans |
| Estimates based on the default example. Rerun with your numbers above. | ||
Both methods pay the minimum on every debt and throw all spare money at one target. The avalanche targets the debt with the highest APR first; the snowball targets the smallest balance first. Avalanche minimizes total interest. Snowball produces a paid-off account sooner, which many people find more motivating.
The avalanche method always saves the most interest because it kills the most expensive debt first. With the default example — $6,000 at 24%, $3,500 at 18%, $1,200 at 9%, and a $650 monthly budget — avalanche costs about $1,981 in interest versus $2,607 for snowball, a saving of roughly $626 and one month faster.
This calculator assumes a typical credit-card minimum of the greater of $25 or 2% of the current balance on every debt, then sends all remaining budget to the target debt. As balances fall, minimums fall, so more money rolls toward the target each month — the snowball effect.
If the budget only covers minimums, there is no extra to accelerate either method and balances barely move because interest eats most of each payment. The fix is to raise the budget or lower the rates. Even an extra $50 a month materially shortens the timeline.
A debt consolidation loan or 0% balance transfer can lower your blended rate, which speeds up either method. It only helps if the new rate (plus any fee) is genuinely lower than your weighted-average APR and you stop adding new charges. Otherwise you have just moved the balance.
Debt settlement means deliberately stopping payments so a company can negotiate a reduced lump sum. It can wreck your credit for years, the forgiven amount may be taxable income, and fees are steep. The CFPB and FTC warn that many people end up worse off. Treat it as a last resort after credit counseling.
Yes. Lowering revolving balances reduces your credit utilization ratio, one of the largest scoring factors. Keep paid-off cards open so your total available credit stays high and your utilization stays low.
If the interest gap between methods is small and you have struggled to stay motivated, the snowball's quick first win can keep you going. If the gap is large or your highest-rate debt is also large, the avalanche saves real money. The best plan is the one you will actually finish.
A small starter cushion of about $1,000 prevents a surprise expense from going straight back onto a high-rate card and unraveling the plan. Build that buffer first, then accelerate payoff, then grow a full three-to-six-month emergency fund.
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. Share links include the numbers as visible URL parameters, so avoid sharing a link if the balances are private.
Educational only, not financial advice. Real lender minimums, interest methods, and fees vary — check your card agreements and statements. Consider a nonprofit credit counselor before debt settlement.