Plan payoff of several debts with one monthly budget, and compare snowball (smallest balance first) with avalanche (highest APR first).
Enter your numbers to see the results.
| Debt | Paid off in month |
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| Debt | Paid off in month |
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| Month | Interest | Paid | Balance left |
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Estimate only, not credit or financial advice. Interest each month is the remaining balance times APR ÷ 12, rounded half-up to the cent. Card issuers that use average daily balance, penalty APRs, new charges, or fees will come out differently. The monthly budget stays fixed: every minimum, plus your extra payment, and a cleared debt’s minimum rolls to the next target. The schedule is capped at 600 months.
Last reviewed: November 11, 2026
Snowball and avalanche are two ways to use the same monthly budget on more than one debt. Snowball attacks the smallest balance first, so accounts drop off sooner and the leftover payment grows. Avalanche attacks the highest APR first, which is the path that usually cuts interest. This page always runs both and puts them side by side: months until you are debt-free, total interest, and the month each debt reaches $0.00. Enter up to ten debts, their APRs and minimums, and any extra amount you can add. A highlight calls out when avalanche saves interest or finishes earlier, and when both methods give the same result. An optional month-by-month table is collapsed by default.
If the first month’s interest on every active debt is already as large as the whole budget, the tool stops: “Your payments don't cover the monthly interest. Increase the extra payment.” If a plan would run past 600 months: “This budget doesn't pay the debts off within 50 years.”
Card A: $2,000 at 24.99%, minimum $50. Card B: $5,000 at 18.99%, minimum $125. Car: $9,000 at 6.9%, minimum $275. Extra payment: $200. Snowball and avalanche both finish in 29 months with $2,343.70 of interest. The order is the same: Card A in month 9, Card B in month 23, Car in month 29. Highlight: Both methods give the same result.
Store card: $800 at 29.99%, minimum $35. Visa: $4,500 at 22%, minimum $110. Personal loan: $7,000 at 11.5%, minimum $230. Extra payment: $0. Both methods take 46 months. Snowball interest is $4,582.19, and the order is Store card in month 35, Personal loan in month 36, Visa in month 46. Avalanche interest is $4,581.57, and the order is Store card in month 35, Personal loan in month 37, Visa in month 46. The interest difference is small, and the personal loan falls one month later under avalanche.
Medical: $1,200 at 0%, minimum $50. Card: $3,000 at 27%, minimum $90. Extra payment: $100. Snowball finishes in 22 months with $1,011.93 of interest: Medical in month 8, then the card in month 22. Avalanche finishes in 21 months with $748.32 of interest: the card in month 20, then Medical in month 21. Avalanche finishes one month sooner and with less interest, because it pays the 27% card first and lets the 0% balance wait.
One card: $10,000 at 21%, minimum $300, no extra. Both methods finish in 51 months with $5,139.61 of interest. With only one debt, the two methods are the same plan.
| Example | Snowball | Avalanche | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card A $2,000, Card B $5,000, Car $9,000, +$200 | 29 months, $2,343.70 | 29 months, $2,343.70 | Both methods give the same result |
| Store $800, Visa $4,500, Personal $7,000, +$0 | 46 months, $4,582.19 | 46 months, $4,581.57 | Same length; avalanche interest is slightly lower |
| Medical $1,200 at 0%, Card $3,000 at 27%, +$100 | 22 months, $1,011.93 | 21 months, $748.32 | Avalanche finishes sooner with less interest |
| One card $10,000 at 21%, min $300 | 51 months, $5,139.61 | 51 months, $5,139.61 | Both methods give the same result |
You pay every minimum, then put all leftover money toward the smallest balance. When that debt is gone, its minimum joins the payment on the next-smallest balance. In case 3, snowball clears the $1,200 medical bill in month 8 and the card in month 22.
The leftover money goes to the highest APR first, then the next-highest, regardless of balance size. In that same example, avalanche clears the 27% card in month 20 and the 0% medical bill in month 21, in 21 months with $748.32 of interest.
Avalanche is the cheaper path when the two differ, because high-APR balances shrink sooner. Snowball can feel faster at the start because small accounts disappear first. Sometimes the math is identical, as in case 1 (both 29 months and $2,343.70). This page always shows both so you can pick the plan you will actually follow.
Yes. The extra amount is added to the sum of all minimums and stays in the budget for the whole plan. Case 1 uses a $200 extra payment. Case 2 uses $0.00 and still finishes in 46 months, with only a small interest difference between the methods.
It can. Avalanche will usually leave a 0% balance for last, which is why case 3’s medical bill is paid in month 21 under avalanche and month 8 under snowball. 0% APR debts are allowed.
That page follows a single revolving balance and a payment you choose. This page is a payoff planner for several debts at once, with snowball and avalanche compared on the same budget. For a promo-APR transfer of one balance, use the Balance Transfer Savings calculator.
The tool will not run a payoff date. Raise the extra payment (or the minimums) until the budget is larger than the first month’s interest. A plan that would take more than 600 months is stopped with a message that the budget doesn’t pay the debts off within 50 years.
No. It is a free calculator that runs in the browser. You can use the side-by-side results — and the optional month-by-month table — the same way you would use a planner, without installing anything.