Debt Snowball vs Avalanche

Both throw every spare dollar at one debt at a time while paying minimums on the rest. The avalanche method targets the highest interest rate first, which mathematically minimises the total interest you pay. The snowball method targets the smallest balance first, so you clear whole debts quickly and get early, motivating wins. This tool runs both on your actual debts so you can see the real trade-off.

The avalanche always pays the least total interest, because it kills your most expensive debt fastest. The gap can be small or large depending on your rates. If your highest-rate debt is also a large balance, avalanche wins clearly; if your rates are similar, the two are close and the psychological momentum of the snowball may be worth more than a few dollars of interest.

When one debt is fully paid, its minimum payment does not disappear - it rolls onto the next target debt on top of your extra payment. So your monthly firepower against debt stays constant and the payoff accelerates as you go, like a snowball rolling downhill. This calculator models that rollover month by month for both strategies.

Enormously - and non-linearly. Because interest compounds against you, every extra dollar above the minimums both clears principal and stops future interest. Raising your extra payment shortens the payoff dramatically and cuts total interest. Try increasing it above and watch both the months and the interest fall.

If your combined minimums barely exceed the interest accruing, your balances hardly move and payoff can take decades - or never happen. This tool flags when minimums plus your extra are too low to clear the debt. The fix is to free up more cash for payments, lower a rate (for example by consolidating), or both.

Yes. Alvest tracks your liabilities alongside your assets for a true net-worth picture, and helps you weigh paying down high-interest debt against investing - often the highest-return, lowest-risk move you can make. You can start free.