Debt Snowball Calculator: Snowball vs Avalanche Side by Side
Short answer: the avalanche method (highest APR first) costs the least interest, and the snowball method (smallest balance first) gives you the fastest first win. With four example debts totalling $21,000.00 and a $900.00 monthly budget, avalanche is debt-free in 27 months with $3,088.84 of interest, while snowball takes 28 months and $3,564.79, so avalanche saves $475.95. Snowball pays off its first debt in month 5, 12 months before avalanche clears its first one. Paying only the minimums would take 58 months and cost $7,064.93.
Which should you pick? Pick avalanche for the lowest total cost, or snowball if quick wins keep you going and the extra interest is small for your debts, which the calculator below shows. If your smallest balance also has the highest APR, both methods pay in the same order and cost the same.
Use the debt snowball calculator below to list each debt with its balance, APR, and minimum payment, then set the total you can pay each month and an optional one-time extra payment. It runs the snowball method, the avalanche method, and a minimums-only baseline side by side and shows your time to debt-free, total interest, the order your debts are paid off, a balance chart, and a month-by-month schedule you can download.
All figures are estimates that assume fixed minimum payments, no new charges, no fees, no missed payments, and APRs that do not change, with interest charged monthly on each balance. Your lenders’ figures may differ. This is not financial advice.
How to use this calculator
List your debts. For each debt, enter a name, the current balance, the APR, and the minimum monthly payment. Add up to 10 debts with Add another debt, or remove one you do not need.
Set your monthly budget. Enter the total you can pay toward all of your debts each month. It must be at least the total of your minimum payments; the quick buttons add a set amount on top of the minimums.
Add a one-time extra payment (optional). If you have a lump sum such as a bonus or tax refund, enter it. It is applied in month 1 to the first debt in each method’s order.
Compare the results. Read which method saves more interest, how many months each takes, and when each one pays off its first debt. The results update as you type.
Check the payoff order and schedule. Review the balance chart and the month-by-month table to see when each debt is paid off, or download the schedule as a CSV file.
Debt Snowball vs Avalanche Calculator
List your debts and what you can pay each month in total. See which payoff order gets you debt-free sooner and costs less interest.
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Interest saved with avalanche
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Debt-free sooner with avalanche
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First debt paid off
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Snowball
Smallest balance first
Debt-free in
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Total interest
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Total paid
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Payoff order
Avalanche
Highest APR first
Debt-free in
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Total interest
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Total paid
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Payoff order
Minimums only
Baseline: no extra, no rollover
Debt-free in
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Total interest
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Total paid
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Payoff order
Which should I pick?
Total balance over time
Snowball
Avalanche
Minimums only
Month-by-month balances
Estimates only, not financial advice. Assumes fixed-dollar minimum payments, no new charges or fees, rates that do not change, interest charged monthly, and the same total budget paid every month. Your lenders’ terms and minimum-payment rules may differ.
Whichever method you choose, write down your payoff order and set up your monthly payments so the full budget goes out every month. Re-run the calculator whenever a balance, APR, or your budget changes.
Debt snowball vs debt avalanche: what is the difference?
Both methods use the same monthly budget and the same rule: pay the minimum on every debt, then send every remaining dollar to one target debt. When the target is paid off, the money that was going to it, including its minimum payment, rolls to the next debt in line. The only difference is the order.
Debt snowball: target the smallest balance first, regardless of APR. You clear whole debts sooner, which can keep you motivated.
Debt avalanche: target the highest APR first, regardless of balance. Less of each payment goes to interest, so the total cost is lower.
Minimums only: pay just the minimum on each debt and stop paying a debt once it is gone. This is the baseline the calculator compares both methods with.
Which should you pick?
Run your own debts in the calculator above and look at the interest saved by avalanche. If the number is large, avalanche is the cheaper plan. If it is small, or the payoff order is the same, the snowball method may be worth it for the earlier wins. The examples below show how the gap changes.
The gap is largest when a high-APR debt is also one of the biggest balances. In the high-rate example below, avalanche saves $357.28, but snowball clears its first debt 14 months earlier.
The gap is small when you pay little beyond the minimums. At a $630 budget for the default debts, avalanche saves $7.48.
There is no gap when the smallest balance also has the highest APR, or when every debt is at 0% APR.
Either method beats minimums only. For the default debts, avalanche saves $3,976.09 and 31 months, and snowball saves $3,500.14 and 30 months.
Worked examples
These results come from this calculator. Each row compares snowball and avalanche with the same debts and the same monthly budget.
Debt snowball vs avalanche examples (estimates)
Scenario
Snowball: time, interest
Avalanche: time, interest
Avalanche saves
First debt paid off
Default: 4 debts, $21,000.00 owed, $900.00/month
28 months, $3,564.79
27 months, $3,088.84
$475.95, 1 month sooner
Snowball: month 5; avalanche: month 17
Default debts + $2,000.00 one-time extra payment
25 months, $2,744.71
24 months, $2,185.61
$559.10, 1 month sooner
Snowball: month 1; avalanche: month 12
Default debts, budget = minimums ($630.00/month)
44 months, $6,568.77
44 months, $6,561.29
$7.48, same month
Both: month 38
High-rate card is the biggest debt: $35,300.00 owed, $1,200.00/month
36 months, $7,763.38
36 months, $7,406.10
$357.28, same month
Snowball: month 2; avalanche: month 16
Smallest balance has the highest APR: $12,600.00 owed, $600.00/month
24 months, $1,716.20
24 months, $1,716.20
$0.00 (same order)
Both: month 3
All 0% APR: $9,000.00 owed, $500.00/month
18 months, $0.00
18 months, $0.00
$0.00 (no interest)
Both: month 6
The default debts are a $1,200.00 store card at 19.9% APR ($35.00 minimum), a $6,500.00 credit card at 24.9% ($195.00), a $3,500.00 personal loan at 11% ($110.00), and a $9,800.00 car loan at 7% ($290.00). The high-rate example uses an $800.00 medical bill at 0%, a $2,500.00 store card at 26.9%, a $14,000.00 credit card at 29.9%, and an $18,000.00 student loan at 5.5%.
How your monthly budget changes the result
Interest for the default debts at different monthly budgets. Paying more shortens both plans; the avalanche advantage is largest when there is some extra money but not enough to clear everything quickly.
Default debts: interest by monthly budget (estimates)
Monthly budget
Extra over minimums
Snowball interest
Avalanche interest
Avalanche saves
$630
$0
$6,568.77
$6,561.29
$7.48
$730
$100
$4,997.23
$4,538.62
$458.61
$800
$170
$4,279.31
$3,774.76
$504.55
$900
$270
$3,564.79
$3,088.84
$475.95
$1,000
$370
$3,063.27
$2,636.62
$426.65
$1,130
$500
$2,600.65
$2,230.86
$369.79
$1,500
$870
$1,840.79
$1,581.24
$259.55
How the calculator works
Interest: each month, every open debt is charged its balance times its APR divided by 12, rounded to the cent.
Payments: every open debt gets its minimum payment (or its full balance if smaller). The rest of the monthly budget goes to the target debt, and anything left after a debt is paid off moves to the next one in the same month.
Order: snowball sorts by smallest starting balance (ties go to the higher APR); avalanche sorts by highest APR (ties go to the smaller balance).
One-time extra payment: added to month 1 for snowball and avalanche. The minimums-only baseline does not use it.
Interest saved by avalanche is snowball’s total interest minus avalanche’s total interest. Total paid is your starting balances plus interest.
Limits: minimum payments are fixed dollar amounts, there are no new charges or fees, and APRs do not change. Each plan is capped at 600 months; beyond that the calculator shows Over 50 years.
The math was cross-checked against an independent model across hundreds of scenarios, including 0% APR debts, very small balances, budgets equal to the minimums, and plans that never pay off.
Debt snowball vs avalanche FAQ
Is the debt snowball or the debt avalanche better?
Avalanche costs less, snowball feels faster. Paying the highest APR first never costs more interest than paying the smallest balance first. In the default example, four debts totalling $21,000.00 with a $900.00 monthly budget, avalanche saves $475.95 and finishes 1 month sooner. Snowball clears its first debt 12 months earlier, which many people find easier to stick with. The better method is the one you will keep following every month.
How does the debt snowball method work?
You pay the minimum on every debt and put all remaining money toward the debt with the smallest balance. When it is paid off, its minimum payment rolls into the next-smallest balance, and so on. In the default example, snowball pays off the $1,200.00 store card in month 5, the personal loan in month 13, the credit card in month 23, and the car loan in month 28.
How does the debt avalanche method work?
You pay the minimum on every debt and put all remaining money toward the debt with the highest APR. When it is paid off, the money you were paying on it moves to the next-highest APR. In the default example, avalanche pays off the 24.9% credit card in month 17, then the store card in month 19, the personal loan in month 22, and the car loan in month 27.
How much money does the avalanche method save?
It depends on how far apart your APRs are and how much extra you pay. For the default debts, avalanche saves $7.48 at a $630 budget (minimums only), $458.61 at $730, $504.55 at $800, $475.95 at $900, $426.65 at $1,000, $369.79 at $1,130, and $259.55 at $1,500. When a high-rate card is also one of the largest debts, the gap is bigger: $357.28 in the second example on this page.
When do snowball and avalanche give the same result?
When your smallest balance also has the highest APR, the next-smallest has the next-highest APR, and so on, both methods pay the debts in the same order. In the example with Card A, Card B, and a loan and a $600.00 budget, both are debt-free in 24 months with $1,716.20 of interest. If every debt is at 0% APR, the order cannot change the cost either: the 0% example costs $0.00 and takes 18 months with both methods.
Why do people choose the snowball method if it costs more?
Because a debt disappears sooner. Clearing a small balance early removes a bill and a minimum payment, which can make it easier to keep going. In the high-rate example on this page, snowball pays off its first debt 14 months before avalanche, for $357.28 more interest in total. If the extra cost for your debts is small, the faster first win may be worth it to you.
What happens to my minimum payment when a debt is paid off?
In both methods it stays in your monthly budget and rolls into the next debt in line, so the amount going to the target debt grows over time. That rollover is why both methods beat paying only the minimums. For the default debts, snowball saves $3,500.14 and avalanche saves $3,976.09 in interest compared with minimums only, which takes 58 months.
Should I put a lump sum toward my debt?
A one-time extra payment cuts interest with either method. Adding $2,000.00 in month 1 to the default example brings snowball to 25 months and $2,744.71 of interest and avalanche to 24 months and $2,185.61, so avalanche then saves $559.10. The calculator applies the lump sum to the first debt in each method’s order.
What if I can only afford the minimum payments?
Keep paying the same total each month even after a debt is paid off, and both methods still help. With the default debts and a $630 budget, exactly the minimums, snowball and avalanche are both debt-free in 44 months instead of 58 months with minimums only, and avalanche saves $7.48 over snowball. If your budget is below the total of your minimum payments, the calculator shows an error, because neither method can work.
How does the calculator work out interest and payoff time?
Each month, every open debt is charged its APR divided by 12 on the current balance, rounded to the cent, and then gets its minimum payment. The rest of the budget goes to the target debt, and money left over after a debt is paid off moves to the next one in the same month. Plans that would take more than 600 months show Over 50 years.