Debt Payoff Calculator

Getting out of debt faster saves thousands in interest. Our Debt Payoff Calculator helps you choose the best strategy by showing you exactly how long each approach takes and how much interest you'll pay. Start by entering all your debts. For each debt, enter the name (e.g., "Chase Visa"), current balance, annual interest rate (APR), and minimum monthly payment. Add as many debts as you have — the calculator handles them all simultaneously. Enter your total monthly budget for debt repayment — this should be at least the sum of all minimum payments. Any extra money above minimums gets targeted toward one debt at a time, which is the core of both strategies. Select your strategy: • Avalanche Method — applies all extra money to the debt with the highest interest rate first. After that debt is paid, rolls its payment to the next highest rate. This method minimizes total interest paid and is mathematically optimal. Best for people motivated by saving money. • Snowball Method — applies all extra money to the smallest balance debt first regardless of interest rate. After payoff, rolls to the next smallest. This creates quick "wins" — seeing debts disappear gives psychological momentum. Research shows this emotional motivation helps many people stick to their plan. Best for people motivated by visible progress. • Custom Priority — you choose which debt to target first. Useful if you have strategic reasons to pay off a specific debt (closing a card, freeing a cosigner, removing a lien). Results show both avalanche and snowball simultaneously for direct comparison: total months to payoff, total interest paid, and amount saved by choosing avalanche. A yearly summary table tracks your payoff progress year by year. The difference between strategies is often hundreds to thousands of dollars and months of time — seeing this concretely helps you make a motivated, informed choice.