Snowball vs. Avalanche Calculator
Enter your debts and extra monthly payment once. Click "Compare" to run both strategies simultaneously and see the difference in total interest and payoff timeline.
Your Debts
| Debt Name | Balance ($) | APR (%) | Min. Payment ($) |
|---|
Extra Monthly Payment
Related Tools
- Debt Snowball Calculator — full snowball tool with month-by-month schedule
- Debt Avalanche Calculator — full avalanche tool with month-by-month schedule
- Credit Card Payoff Calculator
- Debt Payoff Calculator — single-debt payoff timeline
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your specific debts. If your smallest-balance debt also happens to have the highest APR, both methods choose the same debt first and results are identical. Otherwise, the avalanche tends to shorten the total timeline slightly by eliminating high-interest charges sooner.
Yes. When you click "Compare", the tool runs two independent month-by-month simulations — one with snowball logic (smallest balance first) and one with avalanche logic (highest APR first) — on the same set of debts and displays the results side-by-side.
If you only have one debt, or if your smallest-balance debt coincidentally also has the highest APR, both strategies will choose the same payoff order and produce identical results.
Use your browser's built-in print function (Ctrl+P / Cmd+P) to save or print the results. The page is styled to print clearly.
Switching strategies mid-way is possible but makes it harder to track your plan. Generally, pick a strategy and stick with it. If you started with snowball for motivation and now feel confident, switching to avalanche for the remaining debts can save some interest.