Compare snowball vs avalanche: $5,000 budget $400/mo (A 1000 @ 22% min $30, B 4000 @ 29.99% min $60)
Budget $400.00/mo • Total balance $5,000.00
Prefilled calculator
This embeds the multi-debt payoff tool with your scenario prefilled.
Snowball (smallest first)
Payoff order: Card A → Card B
Total interest: $1,098.45
Months: 16
Avalanche (highest APR first)
Payoff order: Card B → Card A
Total interest: $966.65
Months: 16
Explanation
This two-card scenario has $5,000.00 total balance with a $400.00/month payoff budget. Snowball and avalanche use the same budget — the only difference is which debt gets the extra payment.
Avalanche (highest APR first) saves about $131.80 in interest versus snowball here. Timelines are 16 months (avalanche) vs 16 months (snowball).
Time to payoff is essentially the same in months. Avalanche is still a strong default if your main goal is minimizing interest, while snowball can be easier to stick with.
Payoff order (snowball): Card A → Card B. Payoff order (avalanche): Card B → Card A.