Debt Payoff Calculator
A debt payoff calculator takes each debt's balance, interest rate and minimum payment and shows the month you will be debt-free, the total interest you will pay, and how the snowball and avalanche methods compare. Enter your debts below. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Your debts
Add up to 10. The rows below are an example: replace them with your own numbers.
Estimates only. Assumes fixed rates, no new charges and the same minimum every month. Not financial advice, and Ledgewise is not a lender.
How does this debt payoff calculator work?
The calculator adds a month of interest to every open debt, pays every minimum, and sends the rest of your monthly budget to one target debt. It repeats this month by month until every balance is zero, then reports that month and the total interest paid.
- Each month, interest is added to every open debt: the balance times the yearly rate, divided by 12, rounded to the nearest cent.
- Every open debt then gets its minimum payment.
- Your monthly budget is all the minimums plus your extra amount, and it stays the same. Whatever is left after the minimums goes to one target debt.
- When a debt reaches zero, its minimum is not spent elsewhere; it rolls onto the next target. This is why paying off debts speeds up.
- If a debt is not cleared within 600 months (50 years), the calculator says so instead of showing a date.
How is the payoff order chosen: snowball or avalanche?
The snowball method targets the smallest balance first, whatever its rate. The avalanche method targets the highest interest rate first. Everything else is the same, so the calculator runs both on your numbers and lets you compare. For a step-by-step walk through of one method, see the snowball method debt calculator.
- Snowball: smallest balance first. You usually clear the first debt sooner, which some people find easier to stick with.
- Avalanche: highest rate first. It almost always costs the least interest, and it saves the most when your biggest rates sit on your biggest balances.
- A tie in balance (snowball) or rate (avalanche) is broken by the other measure.
Worked example
Three debts, plus $200 extra a month: a store card ($1,200 at 9%, $40 minimum), a credit card ($6,000 at 26%, $150 minimum) and a car loan ($9,000 at 7%, $180 minimum).
| Plan | Debt-free in | Total interest | Payoff order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimums only | 94 months | $9,936.38 | No order, nothing extra |
| Snowball, +$200 | 35 months | $3,239.44 | Store card, credit card, car loan |
| Avalanche, +$200 | 34 months | $2,936.55 | Credit card, store card, car loan |
In this example avalanche saves $302.89 in interest and finishes one month sooner than snowball, and against paying only the minimums the snowball plan saves $6,696.94 and the avalanche plan $6,999.83, because the $200 extra and each cleared debt's minimum roll into the next debt. The calculator above recomputes these for your numbers.
What do I need to enter?
Each debt needs three numbers, all on your latest statement:
- Balance: what you owe today, not the original loan.
- APR: the yearly interest rate. A rough average is fine for a first look.
- Minimum payment: the smallest amount due each month.
The calculator returns the debt-free date, the total interest, and the month each debt is cleared. Try a bigger extra amount and watch the date move: a small extra payment early shortens the whole plan because it also frees the next minimum sooner.
How can I pay off debt faster?
Pay more than the minimums, and send every extra dollar to one target debt. Four habits do most of the work:
- Add any extra amount, even $25, and compare the date.
- Put windfalls such as a tax refund on the target debt.
- Ask your lender for a lower rate. Higher-rate debts cost the most per dollar owed.
- Keep paying the old minimum on a cleared debt, so it rolls onto the next one.
Ledgewise keeps this plan next to your monthly budget, so the money for the extra payment is already planned. It also has call scripts and letters for asking for a lower rate; you send them, and Ledgewise never contacts anyone. See how it compares in Ledgewise vs YNAB and Ledgewise vs Debt Payoff Planner.
Which other debt calculators can I use?
- Debt calculator: a plain overview of what a debt calculator does and how to read it.
- Snowball method debt calculator: the smallest-balance-first plan, step by step.
- Debt repayment calculator: a year-by-year repayment timeline and what a bigger payment changes.
What do people ask about this calculator?
How does the debt payoff calculator work?
You enter each debt's balance, interest rate (APR) and minimum payment, plus an optional extra amount per month. The calculator adds a month of interest to every open debt, pays every minimum, then puts the rest of your monthly budget on one target debt. When a debt is paid off, its minimum rolls onto the next target.
What is the difference between the snowball and avalanche methods?
The snowball method pays the smallest balance first. The avalanche method pays the highest interest rate first. Both pay the minimum on every other debt. Avalanche almost always costs the least interest; snowball usually clears the first debt sooner.
Is there a separate debt calculator or debt repayment calculator?
The same engine powers three focused pages: a debt calculator overview, a snowball method debt calculator, and a debt repayment calculator with a year-by-year timeline. This page is the one that compares both methods on several debts at once.
Does the calculator save or send what I type?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser, and the amounts you enter are not sent to Ledgewise or anyone else.
How accurate is the debt-free date?
It is an estimate. It assumes fixed interest rates, no new charges, and minimum payments that stay the same every month. Real card minimums usually shrink as the balance falls, and variable rates change, so your lender's figures can differ.
What if my payment does not cover the interest?
The balance would not go down, so the calculator says it is not paid off within 50 years. Raise the minimum or add an extra amount until the payment is bigger than the interest added each month.
Is the calculator free?
Yes, with no sign-up. Ledgewise itself has a free plan with no time limit, and Premium adds the full payoff plan next to your monthly budget.
Keep the plan, not just the estimate. Add each debt in Ledgewise and see the debt-free date next to your monthly budget. The free plan has no time limit.
Start freeWritten by Robert Afanu, founder of Ledgewise. About the founder.