Debt Payoff Calculator
List your debts, pick a strategy, and see exactly when you'll be debt-free — and how much interest you'll pay along the way.
Your debts
Total balance over time
Snowball vs. avalanche
Both methods put every spare dollar toward one target debt while paying the minimum on everything else — the difference is which debt you target first. The avalanche method targets the highest interest rate first, which mathematically minimizes the total interest you'll pay. The snowball method targets the smallest balance first, clearing whole debts faster for a motivating string of quick wins, even if it costs a bit more in interest overall.
How the freed-up minimums work
Once a debt is paid off, its minimum payment doesn't disappear — it rolls into your extra payment, which then goes toward the next debt in line. That's what makes both methods accelerate over time: the amount you're throwing at your top-priority debt keeps growing as each smaller debt falls away.
Also useful: Multi-Loan Payoff Calculator and Budget Calculator.
Frequently asked questions
If you're confident you'll stick with the plan either way, avalanche saves the most money. If you've struggled to stay motivated with debt payoff before, snowball's faster early wins often matter more than the extra interest — use the strategy toggle above to compare both for your own numbers.
Most people leave their mortgage out of a debt payoff plan and focus on higher-rate consumer debt — credit cards, personal loans, car loans, student loans. Use the loan calculator to model mortgage payoff separately.
This calculator assumes every minimum gets paid every month. If that's not realistic right now, that's a sign to talk to a nonprofit credit counselor before a payoff strategy — missing minimums damages credit and often triggers penalty rates.