Debt Avalanche vs Snowball Calculator
Debt avalanche vs snowball: compare total interest, months to payoff and payoff order on your own balances, APRs and minimum payments. How it works
Use the Debt Avalanche vs Snowball Calculator
About the Debt Avalanche vs Snowball Calculator
On the default example, a $5,000 card at 22%, an $8,000 car loan at 7.5% and a $12,000 student loan at 5.5% with $200 extra a month, avalanche and snowball give the same result: $3,286.67 of interest and 40 months, because the card has both the highest APR and the smallest balance. With a $1,000 store card at 5% beside a $10,000 card at 25%, avalanche costs $3,655.59 in interest and snowball $4,087.87, a gap of $432.28.
Three examples, both orders
| Debts and extra payment | Avalanche interest | Avalanche months | Snowball interest | Snowball months | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default: card $5,000 at 22%, car loan $8,000 at 7.5%, student loan $12,000 at 5.5%; $200 extra | $3,286.67 | 40 | $3,286.67 | 40 | $0.00 |
| Card A $12,945 at 29.8% (min $405), card B $13,971 at 15% (min $274), loan C $252 at 8.8% (min $208); $356 extra | $6,752.25 | 28 | $6,753.58 | 28 | $1.33 |
| Store card $1,000 at 5% (min $25), credit card $10,000 at 25% (min $250); $200 extra | $3,655.59 | 31 | $4,087.87 | 32 | $432.28 |
Difference is snowball interest minus avalanche interest. Both orders use the same minimums, extra payment and monthly interest of APR ÷ 12.
Balance by year, default example (avalanche)
| Year | Paid this year | Interest this year | End balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,700.00 | $1,927.46 | $18,227.46 |
| 2 | $8,700.00 | $964.88 | $10,492.34 |
| 3 | $8,700.00 | $374.33 | $2,166.68 |
| 4 | $2,186.67 | $20.00 | $0.00 |
A year-end summary. The page also has a month-by-month schedule for either order: in month 1 the avalanche order pays $725.00, of which $196.67 is interest, leaving $24,471.67.
How to use this tool
- Enter each debt: a name, the balance, the APR and the minimum payment. Add or remove rows as needed.
- Enter the extra monthly payment on top of all minimums (0 if none).
- Compare total interest, months to payoff, payoff order and the interest difference, then read the Recommendation card.
- Read the balance chart (avalanche, snowball and minimums only) or open the month-by-month schedule for either order.
Frequently asked questions
- Which saves more money, debt avalanche or snowball?
- Avalanche, by an amount that depends on how far apart the rates are and how big the high-rate balance is. The pair in the answer above, a small card at 5% and a large one at 25%, costs $432.28 less with avalanche. Three debts with closer rates in the table differ by $1.33.
- When does the order not matter?
- When both orders pick the same debts in the same sequence, or when the gap is small. On the default debts the two results are identical, $3,286.67. On a three-debt example with a $252 balance at 8.8%, avalanche is $1.33 cheaper. The tool says Either when the interest difference is under $50.
- Does the snowball method work better for staying on track?
- Possibly, but the evidence is thin. In the study cited below, clients of one debt-settlement firm who closed more accounts were more likely to finish the program. It was observational and did not measure total interest, so it says something about motivation and nothing about cost. This page measures cost only: the interest each order charges on your numbers.
- What happens to a minimum payment when a debt is paid off?
- It joins the pool. Each month the pool is the extra payment, the minimums of debts already cleared and any part of a minimum a debt did not need that month. The pool goes to the target debt, then to the next one when that clears.
- How much does an extra $200 a month save?
- On the default debts, with no extra payment the total interest is $6,144.49 over 60 months. With $200 extra it is $3,286.67 over 40 months, which is about $2,858 less interest and 20 months sooner. Paying only each debt’s own minimum, without passing a cleared debt’s minimum on, costs $6,471.57 over 83 months: the third line on the chart.
- Does it include fees or changing interest rates?
- No. Interest each month is balance × APR ÷ 12 at the rate you enter, with no fees, new charges or promotional rate that ends. If payoff would pass 720 months (60 years) in an order, the tool says so for that order: when only the other order pays off, it says which one does not, and when neither does, it shows no comparison.
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