Debt Snowball vs Avalanche Calculator
List your debts, add whatever extra you can throw at them each month, and see both payoff strategies head-to-head: which clears your debt faster, which saves the most interest, and the exact order each debt disappears.
Your Debts
On top of all minimums: this is what powers both strategies.
Total monthly budget
$590
$290 + $300
Snowball · smallest balance first
Debt-free in
2 years
Payoff order
- 1Personal loanmonth 8
- 2Credit cardmonth 24
Total interest compared
Avalanche saves $643 in interest: the mathematically cheapest route. Snowball clears your first debt in 8 months. Quick wins keep you going.
Estimates for education only, assuming fixed rates, monthly compounding and a constant total budget (freed-up minimums roll into the next debt).
Related guides
Methodology
How this calculator works
Built by Andrés Soler · Updated
Formula
- Monthly budget = sum of all minimum payments + your extra amount (the same every month)
- Each month: add one month of interest to every balance, pay every minimum, then send whatever is left to the target debt.
- Snowball targets the smallest balance first; avalanche targets the highest APR first. When a debt is cleared, its minimum rolls into the next target.
Assumptions & limits
- Rates and minimum payments stay fixed and no new debt is added.
- The simulation stops at 100 years if the budget can’t keep up with the interest.
- Rate basis: an effective annual rate (E.A.) is converted to its monthly equivalent, (1 + E.A.)^(1/12) − 1; a nominal APR is divided by 12. E.A. is the default in Spanish (Colombian convention), APR in English (U.S. convention).
Educational estimates, not financial advice. Check important decisions with your lender or a licensed advisor.
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