Debt payoff toolkit
Highest interest rate first: the mathematically cheapest way out of debt. Interest grows fastest on your highest APR balance, so killing it first removes the most expensive dollar you carry.
Tick the debts to include. Results update as you type.
A bonus, tax refund or any lump sum. It goes to your target debt in that month.
Estimates only. Not financial advice. This calculator assumes no new charges, no fees, and constant payments. Freed up minimums roll into the next highest APR debt. Some simpler calculators skip this, which understates how fast the avalanche really is.
See both methods on these exact debts: compare snowball vs avalanche side by side.
Same three debts as the snowball demo: $1,200 at 18.99%, $4,800 at 24.99%, $9,500 at 11.99%, with $200 extra a month. The avalanche attacks the 24.99% Visa first, debt free in 2 years and 10 months with $3,557.74 of interest, which is $104.76 less than the snowball order on identical debts. Against minimums alone (5 years, 7 months, $8,744.54), either method is a different universe.
The savings grow with the spread between your rates. One card at 29.99% next to a loan at 7% is where the avalanche earns its name. Every month the expensive balance survives, it bleeds. With rates bunched together (say 19% vs 21%), the methods are nearly identical and the choice barely matters. Our snowball vs avalanche guide shows exactly where the crossover sits.
Enter each debt with its balance, APR and minimum payment, plus any extra amount you can pay monthly. The calculator orders your debts highest APR first, then simulates month by month: interest accrues, payments land, and every freed payment rolls into the next target. You get the payoff order, your debt free date and total interest. The math assumes no new charges.
Yes, every time, because the most expensive debt dies first. On typical card debts the gap is a few hundred dollars, not thousands. The honest question is which plan you will actually follow for years, because the method you quit saves nothing. Run both on this page and the snowball calculator and compare with your own numbers.
Then the order between those two changes nothing about the interest. The calculator breaks the tie by smaller balance first, which also gives you the faster first win. Either order costs exactly the same, so do not overthink it.
Because the finish date is set by your total monthly payment, not by the order. Order changes the interest; the date only moves when the interest saved is large enough to pull it closer. Raise the extra payment and watch both the date and the interest move.
You can, but with minimums only the method barely matters, because there is nothing extra to aim. The calculator will show you exactly how slow that road is. Even $50 extra a month, aimed at the highest APR balance, changes the picture completely. That is the number worth finding in your budget.