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Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Enter each card's balance, APR and minimum payment, add whatever extra you can afford, and compare the debt snowball against the debt avalanche.
You get the payoff date, total interest and payoff order for both methods, so you can see exactly what the cheaper ordering is worth. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is stored.
Your cards and debts
Add every revolving balance you are paying down. Loans work too.
Paid on top of all the minimums, aimed at the target debt
You owe $6,900.00 and are putting $415.00 a month toward it — $215.00 of minimums plus $200.00 extra.
Debt free in
1 year 9 months
Using the avalanche (highest APR first) method.
- Total balance
- $6,900.00
- Total interest
- $1,480.51
- Total repaid
- $8,380.51
- Monthly payment
- $415.00
Estimates based only on the numbers you entered. New spending, fees, promotional 0% periods and daily compounding are not included.
Track your real cardsA free Finwise account tracks card balances, limits and payments alongside your net worth.
Debt snowball
Smallest balance first
- Debt free in
- 1 year 9 months
- Total interest
- $1,573.04
Payoff order
- 1. Store card$900.00 at 27.5% APRMonth 5$52.86 interest
- 2. Card 2$1,800.00 at 18.9% APRMonth 11$204.56 interest
- 3. Card 1$4,200.00 at 24.99% APRMonth 21$1,315.62 interest
Debt avalanche
Highest APR first
- Debt free in
- 1 year 9 months
- Total interest
- $1,480.51
Payoff order
- 1. Store card$900.00 at 27.5% APRMonth 5$52.86 interest
- 2. Card 1$4,200.00 at 24.99% APRMonth 18$977.53 interest
- 3. Card 2$1,800.00 at 18.9% APRMonth 21$450.12 interest
Balance falling month by month
Both lines start at the same total. The avalanche pulls ahead because less of each payment is lost to interest.
Snowball vs avalanche, in plain terms
Both methods pay the minimum on every card and send one extra amount at a single target card. The only difference is which card gets targeted first.
- 1. Snowball targets the smallest balance. The first card disappears quickly, and its payment rolls into the next one. Cheapest in willpower, slightly more expensive in interest.
- 2. Avalanche targets the highest APR. Your most expensive interest stops accruing first, which always costs the least overall — but the first payoff can feel slow.
- 3. The extra payment does the real work. Minimums are often close to the monthly interest, so the money above the minimum is what actually shrinks the balance.
- 4. Rolling payments accelerate everything. Each cleared card frees its payment for the next, so the last balances fall far faster than the first.
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