Debt Payoff

This calculator shows how long a debt takes to clear and what it costs in total interest, given a balance, a rate, and a monthly payment. The relationship between payment size and payoff time is not linear — small increases above the minimum produce disproportionately large reductions in both time and interest, because every extra dollar reduces the balance that all future interest is charged on.

With several debts, the order you attack them in matters. Two strategies dominate. The avalanche method targets the highest interest rate first while paying minimums on the rest; it is mathematically optimal and always produces the lowest total interest. The snowball method targets the smallest balance first, clearing individual debts sooner and producing visible wins earlier. Snowball costs more in interest, sometimes materially. It also has a documented behavioural advantage: people are more likely to stick with it. The best strategy is the one you actually complete.

Minimum payments deserve particular scrutiny on revolving credit. Credit card minimums are typically calculated as a small percentage of the outstanding balance, so they fall as the balance falls. Paying only the minimum therefore stretches repayment out for many years and can cost more in cumulative interest than the original purchase. Paying any fixed amount above the minimum breaks that pattern.

If your rate is high, look at whether refinancing or a balance transfer changes the arithmetic before optimising payment order. Moving a balance to a materially lower rate does more than any reordering can. Weigh transfer fees and check what rate applies once any promotional period ends. Everything runs in your browser — no login, no upload, and no figure you enter leaves the page.