If you’re carrying more than one loan or credit card, the order you pay them off in changes how much interest you pay and how long it takes to be debt-free — sometimes by thousands of dollars and years. This page has a calculator that compares two proven strategies side by side, plus a full set of calculators for every type of loan below.
Compare Your Payoff Strategy
Enter your debts below to see exactly how the two most common payoff strategies — Snowball and Avalanche — play out for your specific numbers.
Debt Snowball vs. Avalanche Calculator
Enter each debt you’re paying off, plus any extra you can put toward debt each month.
| Debt name | Balance ($) | APR (%) | Min. payment ($) |
|---|
Snowball vs. Avalanche: Which Should You Use?
❄️ Debt Snowball
Pay minimums on everything, then throw every extra dollar at your smallest balance first. Once it’s gone, roll that payment into the next-smallest.
- Best for: staying motivated with visible wins
- Trade-off: usually costs a bit more in total interest
🏔️ Debt Avalanche
Pay minimums on everything, then throw every extra dollar at your highest interest rate first, regardless of balance size.
- Best for: minimizing total cost mathematically
- Trade-off: first win can take longer if your highest-rate debt is also large
Neither is universally “correct” — the calculator above shows you the actual dollar difference for your specific debts, so you can decide whether the extra interest cost of Snowball is worth the motivation boost, or whether Avalanche’s savings are large enough to matter.
All Loan & Debt Calculators
Loans
Refinance & Equity
Note: links above point to pages we’re building next — update each href once that calculator page is live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most financial planners suggest keeping a small emergency fund (even $500–$1,000) before aggressively paying down debt, so a surprise expense doesn’t force you back onto a credit card.
It can, slightly — it affects your credit utilization ratio and average account age. Many people keep a paid-off card open with a small recurring charge instead of closing it.
Run your numbers through the calculator above — with only a debt or two, the difference is often small; with four or more debts at different rates, the gap can be significant.