Avalanche vs snowball
Enter your debts and one monthly budget. We simulate both payoff strategies month by month so you can see the exact interest and time difference.
Your debts
Avalanche payoff order
- 1. Credit card Amonth 19
- 2. Credit card Bmonth 21
- 3. Car loanmonth 29
Snowball payoff order
- 1. Credit card Bmonth 6
- 2. Credit card Amonth 22
- 3. Car loanmonth 29
How this is calculated
Each month we simulate both strategies with identical inputs: accrue interest on every open debt, pay the minimum on each, then put every remaining dollar of your budget on one target debt. Avalanche targets the highest APR; snowball targets the smallest balance. When a debt clears, its freed minimum rolls into the extra pool from the next month — the total budget never shrinks. When you have only one debt, both methods are identical and match the results from the Debt Payoff calculator by design.
Which one should you pick?
Avalanche is mathematically optimal — it always pays the least interest. Snowball wins on motivation: clearing your first small debt fast gives real momentum that keeps a lot of people going. The best method is the one you'll actually stick with. This tool shows you the exact dollar price of choosing momentum over math, so the tradeoff is a real number you can decide on, not a vibe.