List your debts and a monthly budget. We'll run both strategies month by month: the avalanche (highest rate first) saves the most interest, the snowball (smallest balance first) gives you the fastest first win.
How this works. Each month we add interest to every debt (its annual rate ÷ 12), pay the minimum on all of them, then put every remaining dollar of your budget toward one target debt — the highest-rate debt for the avalanche, the smallest-balance debt for the snowball. When a debt is cleared, its payment rolls into the next. Results are estimates; actual minimums, interest posting, and fees vary by lender. This is an independent tool, not financial advice.
You attack the debt with the highest interest rate first while paying minimums on the rest. Mathematically this always costs the least interest and usually clears everything soonest, because you're starving the most expensive debt first.
You attack the smallest balance first, regardless of rate. You clear individual debts quickly, and each "paid off" win builds momentum. It can cost a little more interest than the avalanche, but for many people the psychological boost is what keeps them going.
If the interest difference is small, pick the method you'll actually stick with. If it's large, the avalanche is worth the discipline. Considering one lower-rate loan instead? Try the debt consolidation calculator, or for a single card see the credit card payoff calculator.