Debt Avalanche Calculator
Pay off your highest-interest debt first to minimize total interest paid.
Your Details
Debt 1
Debt 2
Debt 3
Extra Budget
How It Works
- Enter up to three debts with their balance, APR, and minimum payment.
- Enter any extra amount you can put toward debt each month.
- Press Calculate — the highest-APR debt gets the extra payment first.
How the Avalanche Works
Pay minimums on everything, then throw all extra money at the highest-APR balance first. Once it's paid off, move to the next highest — minimizing total interest paid.
Good to Know
- • Quick wins early on can help build momentum.
- • This method minimizes total interest paid across all debts.
- • Progress on the total balance can feel slower at first than the snowball method.
Important Notes
- • Supports up to three debts in this version.
- • Assumes fixed rates and consistent extra payments.
Snowball vs. Avalanche: The Trade-off
The snowball method pays off the smallest balance first regardless of interest rate, which tends to produce faster "wins" that can help sustain motivation. The avalanche method instead targets the highest-APR debt first, which minimizes total interest paid across all debts. The snowball method usually costs a bit more in total interest, but many people find the earlier sense of progress worth that trade-off.
Why the Extra Payment Rolls Forward
Once a debt is paid off, its minimum payment doesn't disappear from the budget — it gets redirected, along with your extra payment, to the next debt in line. That's what makes the snowball accelerate: each payoff frees up more money for the next target, so later debts tend to clear faster than the first one did.
Unpacking the Terminology
- Avalanche order — debts sorted highest APR to lowest, regardless of balance size.
- Interest minimization — the avalanche method's core advantage over the snowball approach.
Example Breakdown: Same Three Debts, Avalanche Order
Same balances as the snowball example: $1,200 at 27%, $3,000 at 24%, $6,000 at 12%:
Then $3,000 (24%), then $6,000 (12%) last, despite being the largest balance
In this particular case, avalanche and snowball happen to agree on the first target since the smallest balance also carries the highest rate — but in cases where they diverge, avalanche consistently produces less total interest paid across all debts by the time everything is cleared.
Snowball vs. Avalanche Savings Table
Same three debts, comparing total interest paid:
| Method | Total Interest |
|---|---|
| Snowball | Slightly higher |
| Avalanche | Minimum possible |
Watch For These Pitfalls With the Avalanche Method
- Losing motivation without early wins — the highest-rate debt isn't always the smallest, which can feel slower at first.
- Not recalculating order after a rate change — variable-rate debts can shift the optimal order over time.