Compare the two most popular debt payoff strategies to see which one saves you more money or time.
This is the total amount you can afford to pay across ALL debts combined each month.
Enter Your Debts
Payoff Comparison
Debt Snowball
Focus: Lowest Balance First
Total Interest Paid
0
Time to Debt Free
0 mo
Debt Avalanche
Focus: Highest Rate First
Total Interest Paid
0
Time to Debt Free
0 mo
Debt Avalanche vs. Debt Snowball: Understanding the Difference
Paying off debt is as much a psychological battle as it is a mathematical one. When developing a debt payoff plan, two primary strategies dominate personal finance discussions: the Debt Snowball and the Debt Avalanche (High Rate). While both lead to the same destination—becoming debt-free—the path and cost differ.
The Debt Snowball Method
The Debt Snowball method prioritizes momentum. You list your debts from the smallest balance to the largest balance, regardless of the interest rate. You pay minimums on everything, but throw every extra dollar in your budget at the smallest debt. Once that is paid off, you roll the money you were paying on it into the next smallest debt.
Pros: Quick wins boost motivation; simplifies the number of bills faster.
Cons: You will likely pay more in total interest over time.
The Debt Avalanche (High Rate) Method
The Debt Avalanche method prioritizes mathematics. You list your debts from the highest interest rate to the lowest interest rate. Like the snowball, you pay minimums on everything, but allocate all extra funds to the debt with the highest interest rate. This minimizes the compound interest working against you.
Pros: Mathematically optimal; saves the most money; usually results in getting out of debt slightly faster.
Cons: It may take longer to see the first debt completely eliminated, which can be discouraging.
How to Use This Calculator
This calculator simulates your month-by-month repayment journey using both strategies simultaneously based on your specific inputs:
Total Monthly Budget: Enter the absolute maximum amount you can dedicate to debt repayment each month. This must be higher than the sum of your minimum payments.
Debt Details: For each credit card, loan, or line of credit, enter the current balance, the annual interest rate (APR), and the minimum monthly payment required by the lender.
Compare: Click calculate to see side-by-side results. The tool will calculate exactly how much interest you will pay and how many months it will take to become debt-free under both scenarios.
Which Strategy Should You Choose?
If the "Total Interest Paid" difference is small, choose the Snowball method for the psychological boost. If the difference is significant (thousands of dollars), the Avalanche method is likely worth the discipline required to stick with it.
function formatCurrency(num) {
return "$" + num.toFixed(2).replace(/\d(?=(\d{3})+\.)/g, '$&,');
}
function getDebtInputs() {
var debts = [];
for (var i = 1; i 0) {
// If inputs are missing for a row that has balance, default to 0 to avoid breaking math
if (isNaN(rate)) rate = 0;
if (isNaN(min)) min = 0;
debts.push({
name: name,
balance: bal,
rate: rate,
minPayment: min,
originalBalance: bal // keep track for reference if needed
});
}
}
return debts;
}
function simulatePayoff(debtsInput, budget, strategy) {
// Deep copy debts to avoid modifying the original array for the second run
var debts = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(debtsInput));
var totalInterestPaid = 0;
var months = 0;
var active = true;
// Safety break
var maxMonths = 1200; // 100 years
while (active && months < maxMonths) {
months++;
var totalMinRequired = 0;
var activeDebtsCount = 0;
// 1. Calculate interest and sum minimums
for (var i = 0; i 0) {
activeDebtsCount++;
// Monthly interest
var monthlyInterest = debts[i].balance * (debts[i].rate / 100) / 12;
debts[i].balance += monthlyInterest;
totalInterestPaid += monthlyInterest;
// Sum mins
totalMinRequired += debts[i].minPayment;
}
}
if (activeDebtsCount === 0) {
active = false;
months–; // Adjust for the loop increment
break;
}
// 2. Sort debts based on strategy
// Filter only active debts to sort
var activeDebtsIndices = [];
for(var i=0; i 0) activeDebtsIndices.push(i);
}
if (strategy === 'snowball') {
// Sort by Balance Ascending
activeDebtsIndices.sort(function(a, b) {
return debts[a].balance – debts[b].balance;
});
} else {
// Sort by Rate Descending (Avalanche)
activeDebtsIndices.sort(function(a, b) {
return debts[b].rate – debts[a].rate;
});
}
// 3. Apply Payments
var availableBudget = budget;
// First, pay minimums on all debts
for (var i = 0; i 0) {
var payment = debts[i].minPayment;
// If balance is less than min payment, just pay balance
if (debts[i].balance < payment) {
payment = debts[i].balance;
}
debts[i].balance -= payment;
availableBudget -= payment;
// If debt paid off, fix precision
if (debts[i].balance 0 && activeDebtsIndices.length > 0) {
var targetIndex = activeDebtsIndices[0];
var targetDebt = debts[targetIndex];
if (targetDebt.balance > 0) {
var extraPayment = availableBudget;
if (targetDebt.balance < extraPayment) {
// Debt paid off with remainder
extraPayment = targetDebt.balance;
}
targetDebt.balance -= extraPayment;
if (targetDebt.balance < 0.01) targetDebt.balance = 0;
}
}
}
return {
months: months,
interest: totalInterestPaid
};
}
function calculateStrategy() {
var budget = parseFloat(document.getElementById('monthlyBudget').value);
var debts = getDebtInputs();
var errorDiv = document.getElementById('errorMsg');
var resultsDiv = document.getElementById('results-area');
// Validation
if (isNaN(budget) || budget <= 0) {
errorDiv.style.display = 'block';
errorDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter a valid monthly budget.";
resultsDiv.style.display = 'none';
return;
}
if (debts.length === 0) {
errorDiv.style.display = 'block';
errorDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter at least one debt with a balance.";
resultsDiv.style.display = 'none';
return;
}
// Check if budget covers minimums
var totalMin = 0;
for (var i = 0; i < debts.length; i++) {
totalMin += debts[i].minPayment;
}
if (budget 50) {
text = "Recommendation: The Avalanche Method will save you " + formatCurrency(interestDiff) + " in interest compared to the Snowball method.";
} else if (interestDiff < -50) {
// Rare case where snowball is better (usually due to cashflow timing weirdness), but technically Avalanche is always mathematically cheaper.
// However, floating point math or specific payment timing might show tiny differences.
text = "Both methods cost roughly the same. Choose the Snowball method for psychological wins.";
} else {
text = "It's a tie! The difference in interest is negligible. We recommend the Debt Snowball method to keep you motivated.";
}
document.getElementById('comparison-conclusion').innerHTML = text;
resultsDiv.style.display = 'block';
}