Credit card
$4,500
- Minimum
- $150/mo
- Extra
- —
Debt Payoff Strategist
Compare Avalanche vs Snowball methods and become debt-free faster
Add Your Debts
Enter all your debts to create your personalized payoff plan
3 debts added
%
Any extra amount you can pay above minimum
Your Monthly Budget
Available for Extra Debt Payments
$900
Your debts
$34,500 outstanding
22.5% · High
Auto loan
$12,000
- Minimum
- $260/mo
- Extra
- —
Student loan
$18,000
- Minimum
- $190/mo
- Extra
- —
Choose Your Strategy
Lowest interest
Avalanche Method
Pay the highest interest rate first.
- Debt-free
- December 2028
- Total interest
- $2,191
- Time
- 2 years, 1 month
- Saves the most money on interest
- Best for high-rate debts
- Needs discipline
- Slower early wins
Best for: People who want to save the maximum amount of money.
Earliest wins
Snowball Method
Pay the smallest balance first.
- Debt-free
- December 2028
- Total interest
- $2,191
- Time
- 2 years, 1 month
- Quick psychological wins
- Easier to stick with
- Costs more interest overall
- Can take longer to clear
Best for: People who need the motivation to keep going.
Avalanche always costs less interest - that is what it minimises. It is not reliably faster: it pays more interest early, so it retires less principal early on. Snowball costs more and buys earlier wins. Pick the one you will stick with.
Avalanche
You will be debt-free in
2 years, 1 month
December 2028
- Starting balance
- $34,500
- Total interest
- $2,191
- Total repaid
- $36,691
- Monthly budget
- $1,500
Payoff progress100%
- First payment made
- Quarter debt-free
- Halfway there
- Three quarters done
- Debt-free
Avalanche vs snowball
Avalanche saves $0 in interest, finishing at the same time. Snowball costs more and takes debts off your list sooner.
Debt-free timeline comparison
Total remaining balance each month, both methods on the same budget
Interest paid by debt
What each debt costs under each method
Payment allocation over time
As debts clear, their minimums roll into the extra
Total cost comparison
Total interest under each method - the difference is what the choice is worth
- Avalanche50%
- Snowball50%
- Avalanche interest$2,191
- Snowball interest$2,191
- Avalanche costs $0 less in interest over the life of these debts.
Payoff schedule
25 months · which debt takes the surplus each month
25 of 25 rows
| Month | Debt being paid | Minimum | Extra | Interest | Balance | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Credit card | $600 | $900 | $224 | $33,224 | 4% |
| #2 | Credit card | $600 | $900 | $205 | $31,929 | 8% |
| #3 | Credit card | $600 | $900 | $185 | $30,614 | 11% |
| #4 | Credit card | $600 | $900 | $164 | $29,278 | 15% |
| #5 | Credit cardcleared | $600 | $900 | $144 | $27,922 | 19% |
| #6 | Auto loan | $450 | $1,050 | $129 | $26,551 | 23% |
| #7 | Auto loan | $450 | $1,050 | $122 | $25,174 | 27% |
| #8 | Auto loan | $450 | $1,050 | $115 | $23,789 | 31% |
| #9 | Auto loan | $450 | $1,050 | $108 | $22,396 | 35% |
| #10 | Auto loan | $450 | $1,050 | $100 | $20,996 | 39% |
| #11 | Auto loan | $450 | $1,050 | $93 | $19,589 | 43% |
| #12 | Auto loan | $450 | $1,050 | $85 | $18,174 | 47% |