Enter each debt and the extra you can pay every month. The calculator lists the order the snowball pays them off, the month you are debt-free, and how much interest and time you save compared with paying only the minimums. It also shows the avalanche order for comparison.
Track this in Budgetfold. Give each debt payment its own category, see it funded every month and watch the balances fall. The free plan covers this month’s budget.
Use Budgetfold freeThis is an estimate, not financial advice. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
With the debt snowball, the smallest balance goes first, whatever its interest rate. You pay every minimum, send all the extra to the smallest debt, and when it is paid off its minimum joins the extra and rolls onto the next smallest. The payment grows each time a debt disappears, which is the snowball.
| Debt | Balance | APR | Minimum | Snowball paid off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical bill | $850 | 0% | $50 | Month 4 |
| Credit card | $2,400 | 21% | $85 | Month 11 |
| Personal loan | $5,600 | 11% | $175 | Month 20 |
The minimums add up to $310, so $510 goes to debt every month. The medical bill gets $250 a month ($50 minimum plus $200 extra) and is gone in month 4. Its $250 then joins the credit card’s $85, and so on. All three are paid off in 20 months with $979 of interest. Paying only the minimums takes 40 months and $1,998 of interest, so the snowball saves about $1,018 and 20 months here. The avalanche order (credit card first) would save another $105. These are the numbers the calculator shows when it loads; change any line to see yours.
It simulates each month: it adds one month of interest to every balance (APR divided by 12), pays every minimum, then sends whatever is left of your monthly total to the target debt, spilling over to the next one when a debt hits zero. “Minimums only” pays each debt its own minimum with no extra and no rollover, which is what happens when nothing changes.
Rates stay fixed, nothing new is charged to the cards, and the monthly total stays the same until the end. Real statements compound daily and card minimums usually shrink as the balance falls, so your lender’s numbers will differ by a little. Promotional 0% periods, fees and variable rates are not modeled. Use the result to choose an order, then follow your statements.
Avalanche always costs the same or less interest. Snowball clears a first debt sooner, which many people find easier to stick with. When the rates are close, the gap is small and the plan you keep following matters more than the order. Read how the debt snowball method works, or track it by hand with a debt snowball spreadsheet.
List debts from smallest to largest balance, add up the minimums, and add your extra payment to the smallest debt. When it is paid off, move its whole payment to the next smallest. The calculator does the month-by-month math, including interest.
The one with the smallest balance, regardless of interest rate. A tie goes to the higher rate. The avalanche method instead starts with the highest rate.
Compared with paying only the minimums, usually a lot, because the payment grows each time a debt is cleared. In the example on this page it saves about $1,018 and 20 months. Your result depends on your balances, rates and extra payment.
The amount you can pay each month on top of all your minimum payments together. Even a small amount matters, because it grows every time a debt is paid off and its minimum rolls over.
Most people leave the mortgage out and plan for consumer debts: cards, personal loans, car loans and student loans. A large low-rate mortgage pushes the debt-free date out by years and hides the order that matters.
Budgetfold