DebtlessFree debt snowball and avalanche calculator
Last reviewed
Enter balances, APRs and minimums to compare payoff dates. Results update as you type, privately in your browser.
Your debts
Start with the sample below. Change any number and the comparison updates instantly.
| Method | Debt-free | Months | Interest | Total paid |
|---|
Keep this payoff plan on your iPhone
The free Debtless app keeps balances and logged payments on your device and adds the already-shipped Cash Flow and Custom orders.
The download includes your debt names, balances and comparison. It is created on your device only when you request it; no data is sent to us. Refresh clears the calculator inputs.
Payoff milestones by debt
Avalanche milestones
| Order | Debt | Payoff month | Estimated date |
|---|
Snowball milestones
| Order | Debt | Payoff month | Estimated date |
|---|
Avalanche month-by-month
| Month | Target debt | Payment | Interest | Remaining balance |
|---|
Snowball month-by-month
| Month | Target debt | Payment | Interest | Remaining balance |
|---|
How this calculator orders your debts
Snowball sends the extra payment to the smallest balance first. Avalanche sends it to the highest interest rate first. Both keep every other minimum payment current, then roll a finished debt's payment into the next target. See the full tradeoff in debt snowball vs. avalanche.
How the calculator works
Every month it adds one month of interest to each balance (APR divided by 12), pays every minimum, then sends your extra money to one focus debt. Avalanche focuses on the highest APR. Snowball focuses on the smallest balance. When a debt is paid off, its minimum rolls into the extra for the following months, so your total monthly payment stays the same until the last debt is gone.
The "minimums only" row pays each fixed minimum and nothing more, with no rollover. It is there to show what the extra payment and the rollover are worth.
- Rates and minimum payments are treated as fixed, with no new charges, fees or promotional rates.
- The model stops at 60 years. A result beyond that limit is not a prediction that a debt can never be paid off.
- Results are estimates for planning, not financial advice. Your statements are the final word.
Worked example: $8,600 across three debts
The calculator opens with a sample: a $600 store card at 18% APR with a $30 minimum, a $3,000 credit card at 26% with a $90 minimum, and a $5,000 personal loan at 12% with a $160 minimum. The minimums total $280. The sample adds $100, for a $380 monthly budget.
| Method | Months to debt-free | Interest paid |
|---|---|---|
| Avalanche, $380 a month | 28 | $1,712 |
| Snowball, $380 a month | 28 | $1,766 |
| Minimums only, $280 a month to start | 60 | $3,522 |
Example payoff milestones
Starting in October 2026, the same three-debt example produces these estimated milestones. The date is the month in which the model reduces that debt to zero.
| Method | Order | Debt | Payoff month | Estimated date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche | 1 | Credit card | 20 | |
| Avalanche | 2 | Store card | 21 | |
| Avalanche | 3 | Personal loan | 28 | |
| Snowball | 1 | Store card | 5 | |
| Snowball | 2 | Credit card | 21 | |
| Snowball | 3 | Personal loan | 28 |
Both methods finish in 28 months here, and avalanche saves $54 in interest. The bigger difference is against minimums alone: the extra $100 and the rollover take 32 months off the plan and cut the interest roughly in half.
Avalanche or snowball?
Avalanche never costs more interest than snowball on the same budget. Snowball closes the first account sooner. If the two dates are close, pick the one you will stick with. The longer comparison is in snowball vs. avalanche: which debt goes first?, and how to make a debt payoff plan covers gathering the numbers from your statements.
Credit card, personal loan and car loan payoff calculator
Every row in the calculator above takes the same four inputs: balance, APR, minimum payment and the extra you can send it. Enter just one row, such as the $3,000 credit card at 26% or the $5,000 personal loan at 12% in the sample above, and the same tool works as a single-debt credit card payoff calculator, personal loan payoff calculator or car loan payoff calculator, since a car loan uses the same balance, APR and minimum payment as any other debt.
Debt snowball calculator and debt avalanche calculator, no spreadsheet needed
The Avalanche and Snowball rows in the results table above are already a debt avalanche calculator and a debt snowball calculator running side by side, updating live as you change a balance, APR or payment. That replaces building a manual debt snowball spreadsheet to compare the two payoff orders by hand.
Questions
Is this debt payoff calculator free?
Yes. It is free, it has no signup, and the math runs in your browser. The balances you type are not sent anywhere or automatically saved. You can choose to download a comparison file on your device.
What is the debt avalanche method?
With the avalanche method you pay every minimum, then send all of your extra money to the debt with the highest APR. When it is gone, its payment moves to the next highest rate. On the same monthly budget, avalanche pays the least interest.
What is the debt snowball method?
With the snowball method you pay every minimum, then send all of your extra money to the debt with the smallest balance. It can cost a little more interest than avalanche, but you close your first account sooner, which helps some people keep going.
Why does paying only the minimums take so long?
Most of a minimum payment on a high-rate card goes to interest, so the balance barely moves. In the example on this page, minimums alone take 60 months and cost $3,522 in interest. Adding $100 a month and rolling finished payments forward cuts that to 28 months.
Does it work for car loans, student loans and medical bills?
Yes. Any debt with a balance, a rate and a monthly payment works. Use 0 for the APR on interest-free debts such as many medical payment plans.
How accurate is the payoff date?
It is an estimate. The calculator compounds interest monthly and assumes fixed rates, fixed minimums and no new charges or fees. Real card minimums usually fall as the balance falls, and lenders calculate interest daily. Your statements are the final word.
Is this also a credit card or personal loan payoff calculator?
Yes. Enter one debt, such as the $3,000 credit card at 26% or the $5,000 personal loan at 12% in the sample above, and it works as a single-debt credit card, personal loan or car loan payoff calculator. Balance, APR, minimum and extra payment work the same for any loan type.
Does this replace a debt snowball spreadsheet?
Yes. The Avalanche and Snowball rows already run a debt avalanche calculator and a debt snowball calculator side by side, updating live as you type, so there is no need to build a separate debt snowball spreadsheet.
Keep the plan on your iPhone
Debtless is a free debt snowball app for iPhone that compares Snowball, Avalanche, Cash Flow and Custom payoff orders. It runs this same month-by-month math and keeps it up to date as you log payments. No account, no bank linking, no ads, no subscription.