Debt Payoff Planner Review 2023

review-rating
Debt Payoff Planner is an excellent choice if you're looking to become debt-free but would like to outsource the heavy lifting of preparing a plan.
9/10
Cost
9/10
Ease of use
9/10
Features
9/10
Services
8.5/10
According to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report, U.S. household debt neared $17 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2022 as mortgage balances, auto loans, credit card debt, and student loans all witnessed increases.
There aren't many things people agree on these days, but becoming debt-free is not only something most would agree on, but it is also considered a major financial milestone in anyone's life. However, taking back control of your finances and repaying debt is no easy task. First, you must identify the right debt management tool, which can be tricky given how many such apps exist. Becoming debt-free requires a lot of planning, and figuring out the best strategy can be confusing.
That's where Debt Payoff Planner comes in, providing a step-by-step plan to become debt-free. You tell the app how much money you can set aside each month toward debt repayment, and it calculates when you'll become debt-free. Budgeting your income will help you get a regular monthly amount to pay the debt faster. Your ability and willingness to pay more than the minimum determine how quickly you can become debt-free.

What is Debt Payoff Planner

As the name suggests, Debt Payoff Planner is a personal finance tool that helps create a debt repayment plan and saves you some of the tedious legwork associated with strategizing such a plan. The debt tracker shows you the amount that should be paid each month for each debt, so you never go off track. Not only does Debt Payoff Planner provide a summary of your debt picture (like the total amount owed by you and your total monthly payments), but it also shows the expected month you'll become debt-free, so you never lose sight of the end goal. You can choose either the highest interest or lowest balance as your payoff order depending on your needs.
Debt Payoff Planner breaks down your debt-free journey into bite-sized steps that can be quickly followed. You can choose from its eight built-in loan categories or customize them.

How does Debt Payoff Planner work?

Using Debt Payoff Planner is relatively easy, and the UI is user-friendly. You can download the free app for both iOS and Android phones. However, users of the pro version can only access the website version. In my experience, the pro version does offer bang for your buck and is worth shelling out the extra money for.
Debt Payoff Planner Review 2023
Once you download the app on your phone, you can either create a free account or get going as a guest without creating an account. Once you're in, you can begin adding information on your debt — what's the total amount due, the minimum payment, APR, how much you can set aside each month, etc. You can also add information on any debt consolidation loan you may have. The app will calculate your payments and provide you with an expected debt-free date upon providing that information.
Debt Payoff Planner Review 2023
You can add eight different loan categories — credit cards, student loans, auto loans, medical loans, mortgages, personal loans, taxes, and other custom loans.

How much does Debt Payoff Planner cost?

The app is free to download and is supported by ads. The ad-free pro version costs $2 per month.
The free version has limited features, and they've put the best options behind a paywall. The paid version gives you browser access, is ad-free, allows you to print your plan and compare APR for credit cards, and provides charts for a more comprehensive look at your financial situation. 
Given the many features you get in the pro version, it is worth it.

Debt Payoff Planner features

No account needed

My biggest gripe with using any service is creating an account to utilize their services. But you can use Debt Payoff Planner without the need for an account. That said, creating an account does have its perks, such as access to data from multiple devices and backed-up online storage of your data, to name a few.

Different payoff strategies (Pro feature)

You can choose from four debt payoff methods — the debt snowball methodthe debt avalanche method, the debt snowflake, or a custom plan suited to your personal needs. In short, debt snowball prioritizes the repayment of your smallest debt total first, while debt avalanche prioritizes debt with high-interest rates. A debt snowflake uses a sizeable one-time payment from a bonus at work, a tax refund, or an extra payday.
Debt Payoff Planner Review 2023
The debt snowball approach is considered the best plan for an early win, while debt avalanche is theoretically the fastest way to pay off debt. The downside of the debt avalanche approach is that if the loan with the highest interest also has the highest balance, it may be long before you see any significant progress in your debt payoff plan.

Unlimited debt and payments (Pro feature)

You can add up to 10 different types of debt in the free version, but there's no upper cap in the paid pro version. Likewise, you can keep track of an unlimited number of payments. You can also set up payment reminders for upcoming payment plans that you'll receive through email.

Strategy chooser (Pro feature)

The strategy chooser makes it easy to determine the best payoff method. Once you've input your debt information and data you'd like to be debt-free, Debt Payoff Planner will provide you with the best strategy to achieve your goal. It will compare debt snowball vs. debt avalanche, and you can then choose whatever plan works best for you.
Debt Payoff Planner Review 2023

All the charts

Looking at data in graphics significantly puts things into perspective, and there's no shortage of those in Debt Payoff Planner. The free version shows charts on how your debt balance is decreasing over a period of time. The pro version offers an additional chart that details interest accrued and the monthly planned payment.
Debt Payoff Planner Review 2023

Set up reminders (Pro feature)

You can receive email reminders of upcoming due dates, so you don't have to worry about late fees. In addition, you can also set up reminders for a credit card's anniversary and annual fee. Because many credit cards charge a yearly fee on the anniversary date, it helps to track when this is so you may transfer a balance or cancel that card before incurring a fee.

Who is Debt Payoff Planner best for? 

This is an excellent tool for anyone who has trouble finding and sticking to the best plan to repay debt. In addition to its feature-rich services, the app also points out articles on how to pay off student loans, auto loans, and credit cards faster. Also, there are some tips on credit card balance transfers and strategies for debt consolidation.

Who shouldn't use Debt Payoff Planner?

If you're good at money management, have a solid, fool-proof debt repayment strategy in place, and stick to it, then you do not necessarily have to use this service.

Pros and cons

Pros
  • You don't need an account to use its services.
  • The pro version is very feature-rich.
  • The app provides access to free educational content. 
Cons
  • Limited features in the free version.
  • Access through a web browser is limited to pro-version users.
  • You can't link your bank account to the app for direct payments, and hence updates have to be made manually in the app.

Debt Payoff Planner vs. competition

App
Cost
Platform
Linked accounts
Debt Payoff Planner
Free with ads. Ad-Free pro version costs $2 per month
Android, iOS, browser (pro only)
No
Debt Free
$0.99
iOS
No
Credit Karma
Free
Android, iOS and browser
Yes

Debt Free

Debt Free is ranked a top-selling app on the Apple App Store's finance section. In addition to all the bells and whistles of other debt repayment apps, Debt Free includes a payoff date calculator, a loan calculator, and a mortgage calculator to help you decide on monthly payments. You can track unlimited debts and set up payment due date notifications. The app also provides passcode protection, so your financial information remains private.

Credit Karma

Credit Karma is generally associated with budgeting, but it is an all-encompassing app to organize your finances, from paying your bills on time each month to paying off debt. With Credit Karma, you can see all your accounts in one place, including bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage accounts, and any personal loans. It provides free credit monitoring services, and you can set up alerts and reminders for various tasks such as late fees, low balances, or unusual account activity.

FAQs

Do I have to pay to use Debt Payoff Planner?
There are two versions of the app: An ad-supported free version and an ad-free premium version that also unlocks a host of other features.
Can I link my bank account with Debt Payoff Planner?
No. If you make a payment on a loan, you'll have to manually make changes within the app for it to reflect your financial picture accurately.
Can I set up a reminder before payment on a loan is due?
Only the paid pro version offers that functionality.

The bottom line

Debt Payoff Planner is an excellent choice if you want to become debt-free but would like to outsource the heavy lifting of preparing a plan. It has many features suited to your personal needs and provides free educational content. In the free version, you can add up to eight loan categories like auto loans, personal loans, credit cards, and up to 10 types of debt (the pro version doesn't have a cap). You can create your own if a loan doesn't fit a category. It boasts over one million downloads across Google Play and App Store and has a 4.7-star rating.

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