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Snowball vs avalanche calculator

Add your cards and see how the two best-known payoff methods compare, with your own balances, rates and minimums.

Card 1

What you owe today.

On your statement.

The amount your statement says is due each month.

Card 2

What you owe today.

On your statement.

The amount your statement says is due each month.

Card 3

What you owe today.

On your statement.

The amount your statement says is due each month.

Your minimums add up to $115 a month. Whatever you can add goes to one card at a time.

Print snowball planPrint avalanche plan

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Snowball: smallest balance first
$1,020
interest, debt-free in 2 years 2 months
Avalanche: highest rate first
$913
interest, debt-free in 2 years 2 months
Minimums only, no extra
$3,855
interest, debt-free in 9 years 1 month
The short version
Avalanche costs $108 less in interest than snowball. Snowball clears your smallest cards first, which some people find easier to stick with. Either way, paying extra and rolling freed-up minimums forward saves you about $2,942 compared with minimums only.

Total balance over time

$4,500$2,250$0Today2 yrs4 yrs6 yrs8 yrs
  • Minimums only: 9 years 1 month
  • Snowball: 2 years 2 months
  • Avalanche: 2 years 2 months

Your cards start at $4,500 in total. No new purchases are assumed.

Snowball payoff order

  1. Store card paid off in month 5
  2. Travel card paid off in month 11
  3. Main card paid off in month 26

Avalanche payoff order

  1. Store card paid off in month 22
  2. Main card paid off in month 23
  3. Travel card paid off in month 26
How we calculate this
Each month every card is charged interest at its APR divided by 12, and each minimum is paid. Everything else, your extra plus the minimums of cards already paid off, goes to the first card on the list. Minimums are kept at the amount you entered; real minimums shrink as balances fall. Fees, promotional rates and new purchases are not included.

How the two methods work

Both methods start the same way: pay the minimum on every card, then put every extra dollar on a single card. They differ only in which card gets the extra money.

The snowball targets the card with the smallest balance first. You clear cards quickly, which many people find motivating. The avalanche targets the card with the highest interest rate first. Over the whole payoff it costs the least in interest.

When a card is paid off, its minimum does not go back into your budget. It rolls onto the next card, so the amount you pay each month stays the same while the debt shrinks. That rolling payment is what makes both methods work, and it is why they beat paying minimums alone even with no extra money.

Which should you pick?

If the numbers above are close, pick the one you will stick with. A plan you follow beats a slightly cheaper plan you abandon. If one method saves a lot, that is worth knowing before you choose.

Neither method fixes the reason the balance grew. The most important step is the same for both: stop adding new charges to the cards you are paying off.

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