SAME DEBTS. SAME MONTHLY BUDGET.
Debt Snowball vs Avalanche Calculator
Using the same monthly debt budget, what changes when you pay off the smallest balance first instead of the highest APR? Compare the interest cost, debt-free date, and first account paid off.
Your Debt Payoff Comparison
No additional payoff amount exists initially. As debts are paid off, their payment capacity rolls into the remaining debts.
Snowball
Smallest remaining balance first.
- Months to Debt-Free
- Debt-Free In
- Debt-Free Date
- Total Interest
- Total Paid
- First Debt Eliminated
- First Payoff Date
Payoff Order
Snowball Payoff Milestones
Full Monthly Plan — Portfolio Summary
The CSV includes every debt separately. This table totals the portfolio each month.
| Month | Date | Beginning Balance | Payment | Interest | Principal | Ending Balance |
|---|
Avalanche
Highest APR first.
- Months to Debt-Free
- Debt-Free In
- Debt-Free Date
- Total Interest
- Total Paid
- First Debt Eliminated
- First Payoff Date
Payoff Order
Avalanche Payoff Milestones
Full Monthly Plan — Portfolio Summary
The CSV includes every debt separately. This table totals the portfolio each month.
| Month | Date | Beginning Balance | Payment | Interest | Principal | Ending Balance |
|---|
The Numerical Tradeoff
Amounts use full precision internally and are displayed to cents. Adding rounded rows may differ slightly from the full-precision totals. A negative principal amount means interest exceeded that debt’s payment in that month.
How This Debt Payoff Calculator Works
The snowball method pays the minimums on every debt, then directs extra money toward the smallest remaining balance. The avalanche method directs extra toward the highest APR. Both use exactly the same debts, interest model, start date, and total monthly debt budget.
Each month, interest equals the beginning balance × APR ÷ 100 ÷ 12. After interest and capped minimum payments, the extra pool goes to the strategy’s priority debt. Any unused amount cascades immediately to the next debt in the same month. The monthly budget stays fixed after a debt is paid off.
Priority uses balances remaining after that month’s interest and minimums. Snowball ties use higher APR, then original input order. Avalanche ties use smaller remaining balance, then original input order. Debts paid off in the same month are listed in original input order.
The first payment is one month after the start date. A January 31 start uses February’s last day and then March 31. Dates use calendar arithmetic without time-zone conversion. Plans are bounded at 1,200 months (100 years); an individual minimum below monthly interest is allowed when the portfolio’s extra payment can cover it.
Planning Limitations
This is a planning estimate using fixed starting balances, APRs, minimum payments, and a monthly interest approximation. It is not a lender or issuer payoff quote. Daily interest, variable APRs, new charges, fees, changing minimum payments, payment timing, and promotional rates are not modeled. Snowball and avalanche show a numerical tradeoff; neither is universally better for every person.
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