Your results will appear here.
Enter your values and press Calculate.
This calculator runs a month-by-month repayment simulation of the debt snowball method on your two debts. Every month it adds interest to each balance, pays the minimum on both debts, and throws your extra monthly payment at the smallest balance first. When the smallest debt is cleared, its whole payment rolls over to the next debt, which is what makes the payoff accelerate. Results are estimates for planning only, not professional financial advice.
The debt snowball method is a debt elimination strategy for paying off multiple debts. You list your debts from the smallest balance to the largest, pay the minimum on every debt, and put every extra dollar toward the smallest balance. When the smallest debt is gone, its entire payment rolls over to the next-smallest debt, so the amount attacking each remaining balance keeps growing, like a snowball rolling downhill. Interest rates are deliberately ignored when choosing the order: the goal is to clear whole accounts fast, because quick wins keep you motivated to finish the plan.
The avalanche method attacks the highest APR first and always produces the lowest possible total interest, while the snowball method attacks the smallest balance first and usually costs a little more. The size of the gap depends on your debts: if your highest-rate debt is also your smallest balance, both methods give nearly identical results; if a large balance carries a much higher rate than your small debts, the avalanche can save hundreds or thousands. This calculator is snowball-only, because its job is the payoff order that builds momentum; for a side-by-side cost comparison, see our debt payoff planner. The practical takeaway: the best method is the one you will actually finish.
Step 1: choose your currency. Step 2: enter Debt 1 and Debt 2 with their current balances, APRs and minimum monthly payments, using your latest statements rather than the original loan amounts. Step 3: enter the extra monthly payment you can commit beyond the minimums; set it to zero to see the minimums-only baseline. Step 4: read your results. The calculator sorts the debts smallest-balance first, runs the month-by-month simulation, and shows the payoff order, your debt-free date, the months to debt-free, the total interest and the total paid.
Take Debt 1 with a $1,500 balance at 18% APR and a $50 minimum, plus Debt 2 with a $4,000 balance at 12% APR and a $120 minimum, with $100 extra each month. The snowball order is Debt 1 then Debt 2: Debt 1 clears first because it is the smaller balance, and its $50 minimum then rolls into the attack on Debt 2. Result: debt-free in 28 months, paying $809.37 in total interest and $6,309.37 in total. Paying minimums only would take 56 months and cost $1,613.43 in interest, so the $100 extra saves 28 months and about $804 in interest.
Pros: you get quick wins because the first debt clears fast; visible progress keeps motivation high, which behavioral research links to actually finishing a payoff plan; and the method is simple to follow with no complex math. Cons: it usually costs more in total interest than the avalanche method; if your largest debt also has the highest rate, the expensive balance keeps growing while you clear small ones; and it still requires the discipline to roll every freed payment forward instead of spending it.
Raise the extra payment even modestly: it is the single biggest lever, and dollars paid early save interest for the rest of the plan. Never skip the rollover: when a debt clears, move its full former payment to the next debt instead of absorbing it into spending. Stop adding new charges to the debts you are paying down. Keep a small emergency fund so surprises do not land back on a credit card. Re-run the calculator whenever a balance or rate changes, especially after a promotional APR ends. These results are planning estimates based on fixed rates and on-time payments, not professional financial advice; confirm your actual figures with each lender.
You pay the minimum on every debt and put all extra money toward the smallest balance first. When that debt is paid off, its whole payment rolls into the next-smallest debt, and the amount attacking each remaining balance keeps growing until you are debt-free.
The avalanche method, which targets the highest APR first, always costs the same or less in total interest. The snowball method usually clears your first debt sooner, which helps many people stay motivated. If the interest gap on your debts is small, the method you will actually stick with wins.
It depends on your balances and rates. In the worked example on this page the snowball costs $809.37 in interest; the gap to the avalanche method is small when the highest-rate debt is also a small balance, and large when a big balance carries a much higher rate than the small debts.
Enormously. In the example above, $100 extra a month cuts the payoff from 56 months to 28 months and saves about $804 in interest, because extra money attacks principal directly. Even $50 a month changes the timeline visibly on high-rate debt.
Its minimum payment rolls over to the next debt in the snowball order, on top of your extra payment. That growing combined payment is the snowball effect, and it is why the payoff accelerates as each debt clears.
Under the snowball method, strictly smallest balance first, regardless of interest rate. List each debt's current balance, sort ascending, and attack the top of the list while paying minimums on the rest. This calculator does the sorting and the month-by-month math for you.
Most people run the snowball on consumer debts such as credit cards, personal loans and car loans, not the mortgage. A large, low-rate mortgage would dominate the simulation and hide what is happening with the rest, so plan it separately.
Then the balance never shrinks and may grow, no matter which method you use. The calculator reports an error if your payments cannot clear the debts within 100 years. Increase the extra payment, or talk to your lenders about hardship options, before the balance spirals.
No. They are estimates for educational and planning purposes, based on fixed APRs, on-time payments and no new charges. They are not professional financial advice. Confirm your actual balances, rates and minimums with each lender, and consider a nonprofit credit counselor if you are struggling with minimums.
Calculate monthly payments, total interest and payoff schedule for any loan.
Snowball or avalanche? See your debt-free date and total interest for your exact numbers.
See your payoff date, total interest, and the payment that gets you debt free.