Debt Payoff Calculator

This calculator creates a cash-flow sequence from the numbers you supply: each debt’s balance, APR, and minimum payment, plus one total amount available each month. It adds monthly interest to unpaid balances, pays the minimums, and puts the portion left over toward the strategy you select. When a balance reaches zero, the amount that had been assigned to it is available for the next priority in the following cycle.

The result is useful for comparing the same set of assumptions. It is not a payoff quote, a lender instruction, or a recommendation to close accounts, miss a required payment, or choose one strategy over another. Before entering a plan, copy the balance, APR, minimum payment, promotional-rate end date, and due date from each current statement.

The page uses the same order every month: first it adds interest at balance × APR ÷ 12; next it pays the entered minimum on each active debt; finally, it directs any budget remaining to the selected priority. That order matters. A payment made late, a rate that changes, a fee, a new charge, or a creditor that applies a payment differently can move a real payoff date.

For example, imagine two debts: a $600 balance at 24% APR with a $35 minimum and a $1,800 balance at 12% APR with a $60 minimum. With a $200 total monthly budget, the first modeled month adds $12.00 and $18.00 of interest respectively before payments. The $95 of minimums is applied; the remaining $105 follows the strategy. The calculator then repeats that process on the new balances. This is a reproducible estimate, not a substitute for the account statements.

Snowball directs the extra amount to the smallest entered balance first. Avalanche directs it to the highest entered APR first. Both modes keep minimum payments in the model for the other active debts and roll freed payment capacity forward after a payoff. The difference is the order—not an assumed change in income, interest rate, or creditor policy.

The Snowball vs. Avalanche guide walks through the distinction with the same kind of inputs. Compare both on this page rather than relying on a generic claim about which method is “best.” If the input rates or balances are incomplete, the dollar difference between the strategies will be incomplete too.

The minimum-only comparison runs the same month-by-month interest calculation using only the minimum payment supplied for each debt. It helps show how much the fixed monthly budget changes the model. It cannot know whether a creditor will recalculate its minimum, whether a promotional APR will end, or whether a minimum payment is sufficient to amortize the balance under future account terms.

If the sum of your current minimums already exceeds the amount you can pay, do not treat a calculator result as permission to skip payments. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s debt-reduction guidance emphasizes making a plan from bills and interest information. You can also use the Budget Calculator to make the monthly amount visible before comparing payoff sequences.

• APR and promotions: use the current APR and record when any promotional rate changes.
• Required minimum: use the statement amount, not a percentage remembered from a prior month.
• Payment timing: this calculator uses monthly periods and does not model the account’s daily-balance method or due-date cutoffs.
• New activity: do not assume no new charges if that is unlikely; rerun the plan after material changes.
• Fees and special terms: late fees, annual fees, deferred-interest promotions, settlement offers, and secured debts need their actual terms reviewed separately.

For a single revolving balance, the Credit Card Payoff Calculator can make one payment-versus-interest scenario easier to inspect. For a fixed loan, use the Loan Calculator rather than treating it as an identical credit-card account.