Free calculator
Debt snowball and avalanche calculator
Enter your debts and an extra monthly payment, and see the snowball plan (smallest balance first) and the avalanche plan (highest interest first) side by side: the month you are debt-free, the total interest, and the exact payoff order. Free, no signup, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Your debts
The three rows are examples. Overwrite them with your own balances.
Month-by-month schedule
How to use the calculator
- Type each debt: a name, the current balance, the APR from your statement, and the minimum monthly payment. Add up to 10 debts. The three rows shown are examples, so overwrite them.
- Enter the extra amount you can put toward debt every month on top of the minimums. Enter 0 to see the minimums-only plan.
- Read the two result cards. Each shows the month you are debt-free, the total interest, and the order the debts are cleared in.
- Open the month-by-month schedule to see every balance, or download it as a CSV to open in Excel or Google Sheets.
Snowball or avalanche: how to read the result
If the avalanche card shows a lower interest total, the difference is the price of paying the smaller debts first. If the two cards are within a few dollars and a month or two, your rates are close enough that the order barely matters, and you can choose the one you will stick with. If one debt has a much higher rate than the rest, the gap grows and the avalanche is the cheaper route.
Both plans finish on the same month when the debts are similar in size and rate, because they spend the same total every month. The difference is where each dollar lands first.
How the calculation works
The calculator uses only the numbers you type. It does not assume a rate, a fee or a credit score, and it does not model new borrowing or a changing minimum.
Worked example: a 1,000.00 balance at 12% APR with a 100.00 payment. Month 1 interest is 1,000.00 x 12 / 12 / 100 = 10.00, so the balance becomes 1,010.00, and after the 100.00 payment it is 910.00. Month 2 interest is 9.10, and so on until the balance reaches zero.
If your budget is not larger than the monthly interest, the balance never falls and the calculator tells you so instead of showing a payoff date. Results are an estimate: real lenders may compound daily, change rates, or apply payments on different dates.
Questions
What is the difference between the debt snowball and the debt avalanche?
Both methods pay the minimum on every debt and send all spare money to one target debt. The snowball targets the smallest balance first, so you clear debts quickly. The avalanche targets the highest APR first, which is the order that costs the least interest. This calculator runs both on your numbers so you can see the real gap.
Which one saves more money?
For the same monthly budget, the avalanche never pays more interest than the snowball, because it always attacks the most expensive debt first. The size of the saving depends entirely on how different your APRs are. If your rates are close together the two plans finish within weeks of each other, and the calculator will show that.
Why does the snowball sometimes make sense anyway?
Clearing small debts first removes whole payments from your list sooner, and some people stay on a plan longer when they see debts disappear. If the extra interest shown by the calculator is small, a plan you keep following is worth more than a plan you abandon.
What happens to a minimum payment after a debt is paid off?
It is rolled into the target debt. The calculator keeps your total monthly payment constant: the sum of all starting minimums plus your extra amount. When a debt is cleared, the money that was going to it goes to the next debt in the order, which is why payoff speeds up over time.
Where do I find my APR and minimum payment?
Both are printed on your monthly statement or in your lender's online account. If a card shows a monthly rate instead of an APR, multiply it by 12. If your minimum changes with your balance, enter today's figure: the calculator holds it fixed, which is the usual way to plan.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you type is uploaded or stored. Reload the page and it is gone.
Last reviewed 2026-10-10 by the sheetfolk team.