Debt Payoff Calculator
A debt payoff calculator turns your debts and a monthly budget into a plan. With four debts totaling $18,750 and $805 a month ($555 of minimums plus $250 extra), paying the highest APR first clears everything in 28 months with $3,112.97 of interest; paying the smallest balance first costs $3,263.80.
| Plan and payoff order | Debt-free | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Avalanche (shown)Store card → Medical bill → Visa card → Car loan | Mar 2029 | $3,112.97 |
| SnowballMedical bill → Store card → Visa card → Car loan | Mar 2029 | $3,263.80 |
| Custom orderMedical bill → Visa card → Store card → Car loan | Mar 2029 | $3,207.82 |
| Minimums only, no extraEach on its own | Feb 2034 | $10,315.75 |
Least interest here: avalanche. Snowball costs $150.83 more interest than avalanche with these debts, in exchange for clearing a balance sooner.
Show steps
- Monthly budget = all minimums + extra = $555.00 + $250.00 = $805.00. You pay this same amount every month until the last debt is gone.
- Avalanche order: highest APR first. Target list: Store card (28.99%), Visa card (24.99%), Car loan (6.9%), Medical bill (0%).
- Month 1: interest on each debt is its balance × APR ÷ 12, $231.78 in all. Every debt gets its minimum ($555.00), and the leftover $250.00 goes to Store card, so its payment is $295.00.
- Store card is paid off in month 6 (May 2027). Its minimum of $45.00 is not lost: it rolls over, together with the extra, to the next debt on the list.
- Payoff order: Store card in month 6, Medical bill in month 15, Visa card in month 22, Car loan in month 28.
- Add up the monthly totals: you pay $21,862.97 in all, which is $18,750.00 of balances plus $3,112.97 of interest.
- Paying only the minimums with no extra and no rollover would take 7 years 3 months and cost $10,315.75 in interest, so this plan saves $7,202.78 and 4 years 11 months.
Month-by-month plan (28 months)
| # | Date | Visa card | Store card | Car loan | Medical bill | Total paid | Interest | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 2026 | $170.00 | $295.00 | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $231.78 | $18,176.78 |
| 2 | Jan 2027 | $170.00 | $295.00 | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $223.54 | $17,595.32 |
| 3 | Feb 2027 | $170.00 | $295.00 | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $215.13 | $17,005.45 |
| 4 | Mar 2027 | $170.00 | $295.00 | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $206.53 | $16,406.98 |
| 5 | Apr 2027 | $170.00 | $295.00 | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $197.75 | $15,799.73 |
| 6 | May 2027 | $434.83 | $30.17 | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $188.79 | $15,183.52 |
| 7 | Jun 2027 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $180.53 | $14,559.05 |
| 8 | Jul 2027 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $172.21 | $13,926.26 |
| 9 | Aug 2027 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $163.74 | $13,285.00 |
| 10 | Sep 2027 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $155.12 | $12,635.12 |
| 11 | Oct 2027 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $146.33 | $11,976.45 |
| 12 | Nov 2027 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $137.39 | $11,308.84 |
| 13 | Dec 2027 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $128.28 | $10,632.12 |
| 14 | Jan 2028 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $119.00 | $9,946.12 |
| 15 | Feb 2028 | $465.00 | — | $290.00 | $50.00 | $805.00 | $109.55 | $9,250.67 |
| 16 | Mar 2028 | $515.00 | — | $290.00 | — | $805.00 | $99.93 | $8,545.60 |
| 17 | Apr 2028 | $515.00 | — | $290.00 | — | $805.00 | $89.08 | $7,829.68 |
| 18 | May 2028 | $515.00 | — | $290.00 | — | $805.00 | $78.03 | $7,102.71 |
| 19 | Jun 2028 | $515.00 | — | $290.00 | — | $805.00 | $66.78 | $6,364.49 |
| 20 | Jul 2028 | $515.00 | — | $290.00 | — | $805.00 | $55.31 | $5,614.80 |
| 21 | Aug 2028 | $515.00 | — | $290.00 | — | $805.00 | $43.62 | $4,853.42 |
| 22 | Sep 2028 | $258.00 | — | $547.00 | — | $805.00 | $31.71 | $4,080.13 |
| 23 | Oct 2028 | — | — | $805.00 | — | $805.00 | $23.46 | $3,298.59 |
| 24 | Nov 2028 | — | — | $805.00 | — | $805.00 | $18.97 | $2,512.56 |
| 25 | Dec 2028 | — | — | $805.00 | — | $805.00 | $14.45 | $1,722.01 |
| 26 | Jan 2029 | — | — | $805.00 | — | $805.00 | $9.90 | $926.91 |
| 27 | Feb 2029 | — | — | $805.00 | — | $805.00 | $5.33 | $127.24 |
| 28 | Mar 2029 | — | — | $127.97 | — | $127.97 | $0.73 | $0.00 |
| Total | $8,817.83 | $1,505.17 | $10,789.97 | $750.00 | $21,862.97 | $3,112.97 |
How to use the debt payoff calculator
- List each debt with its balance, APR and minimum monthly payment from your latest statement. Add up to 10 debts; leave out a mortgage if you are not trying to pay it off early.
- Enter the extra amount you can pay each month on top of the minimums. Zero is fine: the plan still rolls freed-up minimums forward.
- Choose a payoff order: Avalanche (highest APR first), Snowball (smallest balance first) or Custom (your own numbers in the Custom order column, 1 first).
- Read the debt-free date, then compare all three orders in the table, open Show steps for the reasoning, check the payoff timeline, and open the month-by-month plan to see what to pay on each debt.
How a debt payoff plan works
Every strategy here follows the same three rules, which match the CFPB’s Reducing Debt worksheet:
- Pay every minimum, every month. A missed minimum can bring a late fee and puts the whole plan behind.
- Send all extra money to one target debt, the first one on your list.
- Roll payments over. When a debt is paid off, its whole payment moves to the next debt on the list. Your total monthly budget stays the same until you are debt-free.
The only difference between the strategies is the order of the list.
Debt avalanche vs. debt snowball
The CFPB describes both approaches without ranking one above the other:
- Highest interest rate first (avalanche). Sort debts from the highest APR to the lowest. The debt that costs the most each month shrinks first, so this order usually pays the least total interest.
- Smallest balance first (snowball). Sort debts from the smallest balance to the largest. You clear whole debts sooner, which some people find easier to stick with, but it can cost more interest.
A custom order is useful when something else matters: a debt with a co-signer, a loan whose 0% promotion is about to end, or a bill you want gone first.
Worked example: four debts, three orders
| Debt | Balance | APR | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa card | $6,800 | 24.99% | $170 |
| Store card | $1,400 | 28.99% | $45 |
| Car loan | $9,800 | 6.9% | $290 |
| Medical bill | $750 | 0% | $50 |
The minimums add up to $555. With $250 extra, the budget is $805 a month.
Month 1 interest. Each debt is charged its balance × APR ÷ 12: Visa $6,800 × 0.2499 ÷ 12 ≈ $141.61, store card $33.82, car loan $56.35 and the medical bill $0, a total of $231.78.
Avalanche. The store card has the highest APR, so it gets the $250 extra: $45 + $250 = $295 in month 1. It is gone in month 6, and its $295 rolls to the Visa card. The medical bill finishes on its own minimum in month 15, the Visa card in month 22 and the car loan in month 28. Total interest: $3,112.97.
Snowball. The medical bill has the smallest balance, so it gets the extra and is paid off in month 3. Then the store card, the Visa card and the car loan. Debt-free in month 28, total interest $3,263.80, which is $150.83 more than the avalanche.
Custom (as listed). Visa card first: $3,207.82 of interest, also 28 months.
Minimums only. Paying just the $555 of minimums, each debt on its own with no rollover, takes 7 years 3 months and costs $10,315.75 in interest. Any of the three plans saves more than $7,000.
What changes the result the most
| Extra each month | Debt-free in | Avalanche interest | Snowball interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 (rollover only) | 47 months | $7,078.64 | $7,078.64 |
| $250 | 28 months | $3,112.97 | $3,263.80 |
| $500 | 20 months | $2,058.82 | $2,192.41 |
With the same total budget, every order finishes in about the same month; the order mostly changes the interest and how soon the first debt disappears. The size of the extra payment changes the timeline far more than the order does. With no extra at all, the two methods happen to target the same debts here and cost the same.
Common mistakes
- Not rolling payments over. If you stop paying a debt’s minimum once it is gone, your budget shrinks and the plan slows down.
- Adding new debt. New charges on a card you are paying down push every date back.
- Using the interest rate instead of the APR. Compare APRs from your statements.
- Expecting the exact cents. This calculator charges interest monthly (APR ÷ 12). Credit cards often use a daily rate, so their interest is slightly higher; use our credit card payoff calculator for one card with daily interest.
Results are estimates to help you plan, not financial advice. If the minimums are more than you can pay, contact your lenders or a nonprofit credit counselor before you miss a payment.
Sources
Checked November 2026.
- CFPB: How to reduce your debt (snowball and highest-interest-rate methods)
- CFPB Your Money, Your Goals: Reducing debt worksheet (PDF)
- CFPB: What is a “daily periodic rate” on a credit card?
Debt payoff practice quiz: 10 questions
Test yourself with 10 multiple-choice questions. Choose an answer and press Submit to see if you are right and why. Your score appears at the end.
The avalanche orders debts by APR, highest first. A has the highest APR, 22%.
The snowball orders debts by balance, smallest first. B has the smallest balance, $500.
Budget = 120 + 45 + 80 + 150 = $395. It stays the same until every debt is paid off.
Leftover = 600 − 450 = $150, which goes to the first debt on your list.
Rolling over keeps the total budget the same, so the freed $75 is added to the payment on the next target debt.
Sending extra money to the highest-rate debt removes the most expensive balance first, so less interest builds up overall.
Interest = 1,200 × 0.30 ÷ 12 = $30. The other $210 of the $240 payment reduces the balance.
Difference = 2,650 − 2,400 = $250. Some people accept this cost to clear a whole debt sooner.
Quiz complete
Frequently asked questions
Is the debt avalanche or the debt snowball better?
The avalanche (highest APR first) usually costs less interest. The snowball (smallest balance first) pays off whole debts sooner. In the example above the difference is $150.83; run your own debts to see how large it is for you.
How do I calculate my debt-free date?
Add your minimums and extra payment to get a monthly budget, charge each debt balance × APR ÷ 12 every month, pay the minimums, send the rest to the target debt, and repeat until every balance is zero. The calculator does this month by month.
What does it mean to roll over a payment?
When one debt is paid off, you keep paying the same total and move that debt's payment to the next debt on your list. This is what makes the plan speed up over time.
Should I include my car loan or student loan?
Include any debt you want in the plan. Low-APR loans usually end up last in the avalanche order, and every debt keeps getting its minimum payment either way.
What if my budget does not cover the minimums?
The plan needs the full minimums every month. If that is not possible, contact your lenders before you miss a payment; a nonprofit credit counselor can also help you look at options.
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