Debt Payoff Calculator

Both pay the minimum on every debt and direct all spare money at one target debt, rolling the freed-up payment onto the next debt as each is cleared. They differ only in which debt is targeted first. Avalanche targets the highest interest rate, which minimises total interest arithmetically. Snowball targets the smallest balance, which clears individual accounts sooner. This calculator runs both on the same figures and reports each outcome.

It depends entirely on the spread between the rates and the sizes of the balances. When the highest-rate debt is also the smallest, the two methods produce identical orderings and identical results. When a large balance carries the highest rate, the difference can be substantial. The comparison above shows the exact difference for the debts entered.

When a debt is cleared, its minimum payment does not disappear from the budget — it is added to the payment on the next target debt. The amount directed at the target therefore grows each time an account closes, which is why the later debts retire much faster than the first. Both methods here use this roll-over; it is not unique to the snowball ordering.

If the combined minimum payments do not exceed the interest accruing each month, the balance grows faster than it is repaid and no schedule terminates. Increasing the extra monthly payment, or correcting a minimum payment that was entered too low, resolves it. Schedules are also capped at 50 years.

They are treated differently, because they mean different things. A blank minimum is missing information, so the calculator withholds the plan and names the debt rather than assuming a figure — every debt is paid its minimum each month, and silently treating a blank as $0 would report a payoff date and an interest total for payments that are not being made. An entered 0 is honoured as a deliberate choice: that debt receives nothing until the extra payment reaches it, interest continues to accrue on it in the meantime, and the result flags that this is what was modelled.

That trade-off depends on the interest rates involved, whether an emergency fund exists, any employer retirement match, and personal circumstances that a calculator cannot see. This tool computes what happens to the debts under the figures entered and does not evaluate alternative uses of the money. A qualified financial professional can assess the full picture.

Any fixed-rate debt with a balance, a rate, and a minimum payment can be entered, including auto loans, personal loans, medical payment plans, and private student loans. Federal student loans with income-driven repayment, forgiveness tracks, or subsidised interest do not follow this arithmetic and should be modelled with the servicer's tools instead.

No. This calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is transmitted to Equity Rank or saved anywhere, and no account is required to use it.