About the Debt Payoff Calculator
Debt Payoff Calculator helps you plan how to clear several debts at once, such as credit cards, a car loan and a store card. Enter each debt's balance, yearly interest rate and minimum payment, add how much extra you can pay each month, and choose a method. With the avalanche method, extra money goes to the debt with the highest interest rate first, which costs the least interest. With the snowball method, it goes to the smallest balance first, which clears debts sooner and can keep you motivated. The tool shows when you will be debt-free, the total interest, how much you save compared with paying only the minimums and the order in which each debt is cleared. When a debt is paid off, its minimum payment rolls over to the next one. The results are estimates for fixed rates and do not include new spending, fees or changes in your rates.
Updated September 2026
How to use the Debt Payoff Calculator
- 1Enter each debt: a name, the balance, the yearly interest rate and the minimum monthly payment.
- 2Add more debts with the Add a debt button, or remove ones you do not need.
- 3Enter the extra amount you can pay each month on top of the minimums.
- 4Choose the avalanche or the snowball method.
- 5Read the debt-free time, the interest, the savings and the payoff order.
Choosing between snowball and avalanche
Both methods use the same total budget. The only difference is which debt receives the extra money first. The avalanche attacks the most expensive debt and saves the most interest. The snowball attacks the smallest debt and gives you the quickest sense of progress, because the number of open accounts falls sooner.
The tool shows both results side by side. For many people the difference is a few hundred, and sometimes only a few tens, so consider your habits as well as the maths.
How to use the results
- Keep paying at least all the minimums on time to avoid fees and damage to your credit record.
- Aim the extra amount at the debt named first in the payoff order.
- When a debt is paid off, add its whole payment to the next one.
- Try a larger extra amount to see how much sooner you would be free.
- Check the savings compared with the minimums to see why extra payments matter.
A worked example
With a credit card of 4,500 at 22 percent, a car loan of 9,000 at 7 percent and a store card of 1,200 at 26 percent, and minimums of 120, 220 and 45, paying only the minimums keeps you in debt for about five and a half years, with roughly 5,100 in interest. With an extra 200 a month, the avalanche plan clears all three in about two and a half years, and the interest falls to roughly 2,100. The order is the store card first, then the credit card, then the car loan.
Change the numbers to your own accounts to see your plan. A larger extra payment early on has the greatest effect.
Tips and related tools
Look for ways to lower rates: a balance transfer, a consolidation loan or a call to your lender. Loan Calculator and Amortization Calculator show the cost of a single loan in detail, and Compound Interest Calculator shows how interest builds on a balance. Budget tools and Savings Goal Calculator can help you find the extra money each month.
This calculator is for planning and is not financial advice. If you are struggling with debt, talk to a free debt advice service in your country.
Features
- Up to 12 debts at once
- Avalanche and snowball methods compared
- Rolls freed-up minimums into the next debt
- Time to be debt-free and total interest
- Savings compared with minimum payments only
- Payoff order with the month each debt ends
- Any currency symbol
Frequently asked questions
What is the debt snowball method?
You pay the minimum on every debt and put all extra money on the debt with the smallest balance. When it is paid off, you add its payment to the next smallest one, and so on, so the payments roll up like a snowball. It costs a little more interest than the avalanche method, but quick wins keep many people going.
What is the debt avalanche method?
You pay the minimum on every debt and aim the extra money at the debt with the highest interest rate. When it is gone you move to the next highest rate. This method costs the least in interest and is usually the fastest way to be debt-free, though the first debt may take longer to clear.
Which method is better?
Mathematically the avalanche is never worse, and the tool shows the difference for your numbers. If the two results are close, the snowball can be a good choice because clearing small debts early feels rewarding. The best plan is the one you will stick to.
Why does it say I will never pay off a debt?
If the minimum payment is not larger than the interest added each month, the balance never falls. For a 5,000 debt at 24 percent, the monthly interest is 100, so a minimum of 100 or less keeps you stuck. Add extra money aimed at that debt or increase the payment.
Does the plan include the payments I already make?
Yes. The minimums you enter are your regular payments, and the extra amount is money you can add on top. Together they make a fixed budget each month, and when a debt is cleared its minimum is passed on to the next debt.
What are the limits of this calculator?
It uses fixed rates, monthly interest and no new borrowing, and it stops after 100 years. Real cards have varying minimums that shrink with the balance, fees and promotional rates, so use the results as a plan, and check them against your statements.