Debt Snowball vs Avalanche Calculator Australia
Compare paying off your smallest debt first with paying off your highest interest debt first, and see when you could be debt free.
All amounts are in Australian dollars (AUD).
Adjust your plan
Move the sliders or enter exact amounts.
Debt 1
Set the balance to 0 to leave it out.
Debt 2
Set the balance to 0 to leave it out.
Debt 3
Set the balance to 0 to leave it out.
Your estimate
Updates instantly as your numbers change.
Avalanche: highest rate first
2 yr 8 mo
About $2,653 in interest.
Snowball: smallest balance first
2 yr 8 mo
About $2,780 in interest.
Interest the avalanche saves
$127
Compared with the snowball for these debts.
How this calculator works
Each month every debt gets its minimum payment. Your extra payment, plus the minimums of debts already cleared, goes to one target debt: the smallest balance for the snowball, or the highest interest rate for the avalanche. Interest is added monthly on the remaining balance.
Important assumptions
- Interest rates and minimum payments stay the same until each debt is paid off.
- Interest is charged monthly, and no new borrowing or fees are added.
- Plans longer than 50 years are shown as not paying off.
These results are general illustrations only and are not financial advice. Actual outcomes can differ.
Turn the estimate into a living plan
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Common questions
Terms explained
- FIRE number
A FIRE number is the invested amount you need for your investments to cover your yearly spending, often 25 times annual spending.
- Compound interest
Compound interest is earning returns on your past returns as well as on the money you put in.
- Real return
A real return is an investment return after inflation, which shows how much your buying power actually grew.
- Net worth
Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe.