Debt Payoff Calculator

In the worked example above — $34,500 across three debts with $200 extra a month — avalanche is debt-free in 48 months, 1 month sooner than snowball's 49 months, and costs $317 less in total interest ($7,175 vs. $7,491 for snowball). That is the general rule: avalanche, which targets your highest interest rate first, never pays more interest than snowball, and usually finishes at least as soon. Snowball, which targets your smallest balance first, clears a full account sooner even when it isn't the cheapest account to clear first — and the account you actually finish is the one that's worth the most.

It depends on your balances, interest rates, minimum payments, and how much extra you add each month — enter your own numbers above to see your date. In the worked example, minimums alone take 115 months, while $200 extra a month cuts that to 48 months with the avalanche plan and saves $10,515 in interest.

Keep a small emergency fund so one surprise expense doesn't become new debt, then attack high-interest debt before investing. With average card APRs near 21% in 2026 (Federal Reserve, G.19), no reliable investment return beats the guaranteed return of clearing a balance at that rate.

No — it fixes every debt's minimum payment at the amount you enter for the whole payoff, while a real card's minimum usually falls as the balance falls. Because this calculator's minimums stay fixed (and larger than a shrinking real one), it can pay a card off sooner and show less total interest than what actually happens — treat the payoff time as a floor, not a ceiling.