Debt Payoff Planner Review: An App for Tracking and Managing Multiple Debts

Bottom line: Debt Payoff Planner is a good choice if you want a free app that allows you to track and manage different types of debt easily.

At a glance

What is Debt Payoff Planner, and how does it work?

Debt Payoff Planner is an app that helps manage your debt and pay off your loans. For individuals struggling with significant debt, whether credit card debt or loan debt, this app can help you prioritize and quickly pay off the amount you owe.

To begin using Debt Payoff Planner, you must create an account and log in. You'll need to add each debt along with details, such as the starting balance, minimum payment amount, and APR. You'll also need to note how much extra money you can put toward your debt.

After doing this, you'll be presented  with a debt-payoff plan. You can find this under the Plan section of the app. Debt Payoff Planner will show you how quickly you can pay off your debt and give you insight into how extra payments can help you settle your loans quicker. It will also calculate when your debt will be paid off, assuming you follow the plan. 

Within the Strategy portion of the app, you can toggle between three methods of debt reduction -- debt snowball or debt avalanche, or custom -- which allows you to organize your debts in a custom order of your choosing. You'll need to manually update the app when you make payments. Doing this will keep your payoff plan accurate and help you track your progress. You can record and track payments under the Track section of the app. 

Debt Payoff Planner offers two app versions, an earlier version (DPP1) and a newer version (DPP2). For the following Debt Payoff Planner review, we will focus on the features included in the latest app version. Keep reading to discover more about this debt payoff app. 

Top perks

There are lots of things to like about Debt Payoff Planner. We offer more details below.

It's free to download

If you're struggling to pay off debt, you may not want to commit to a paid app right now. You can use Debt Payoff Planner without spending any money and get many benefits out of its features. Other debt payoff apps require a subscription, so this perk stands out.

Offers three different payoff plan options

This app features three different options to help you with your debt reduction:

• Debt Snowball: This method prioritizes tackling your smallest debt total first
• Debt Avalanche: This method priorities tackling high-interest debt first
• Custom: This method allows you to customize the position of your debts and prioritize paying off whichever debts you choose first

Having three options gives you control over your debt-payoff plan. Some people prefer to see a personal loan with the lowest balance paid off first, as it can be more motivating. Others prefer to tackle a credit card balance or other high-interest debt first to avoid paying extra long-term interest charges. With a custom payoff strategy, you get to choose the order or your debts, allowing you to decide which debts you want to pay off first.

Visually shows your debt

Debt Payoff Planner includes a graph of your total debt. The graph will break down everything you owe so you can visualize your progress. The app also shows your entire debt-payoff progress as a percentage. These visual representations can help keep you motivated throughout your debt-payoff plan.

See how extra payments help pay off debt faster

Debt Payoff Planner allows you to map out extra payments. If you have extra money to throw down toward a personal loan, this is a great way to pay off debt and improve your credit score more quickly. This debt-management app will show you how much faster you can pay off your debt if you make regular extra payments.

Provides educational resources

The app includes links to educational resources to help improve your financial literacy. This will allow you to learn more about the different types of debt-payoff strategies and other helpful financial tips and personal finance resources.

What could be improved

There's no such thing as a perfect personal finance app. These are a few areas we feel Debt Payoff Planner has room for improvement.

Some limitations in the free app

While many excellent features are  included in Debt Payoff Planner's free version, some limitations exist. You'll need to upgrade to the app's pro version  if you want an ad-free experience, advanced planning tools, more detailed graphs and charts, and the ability to export and print your plan.

Ad-free experience requires a paid plan

If you get annoyed by seeing ads within apps, you should know that the free version of Debt Payoff Planner has ads. You must upgrade to the app's pro version to eliminate this feature.

You must manually make and record payments

Debt Payoff Planner doesn't integrate with your outside financial or bank accounts. Instead, you'll have to make manual payments outside of the app and then record them in the app. If you want to automate your debt-payoff plan, this app won't make that possible.

Requires you to enter specific data about debt

You'll need to enter everything you owe to get the most out of this app. This includes details like the type of loan, the starting balance, the minimum payment amount, and APR.

If you want an app that offers automation: Qoins is an app that helps you automate your debt payoff. With this app, you'll link your checking account and choose to round up every purchase or set aside a certain amount of money every few days. These additional funds are then automatically applied as extra payments to your debts at the end of the month. While this is a convenient feature, Qoins is a paid app. You may want to stick with Debt Payoff Planner if you need a free app and don't mind making manual payments.

If you want an app that displays real-time account data: Mint is a free app that allows you to connect your financial accounts. Doing this lets you see where your total debt and your current bank account balances stand. This app doesn't provide a debt-payoff strategy, but it does outline your debts and shows you when each upcoming bill is due. It also has reminders and alert capabilities. But you may want to stick with Debt Payoff Planner if you want to focus strictly on creating a debt-payoff plan.

Debt Payoff Planner has a free app version with some limitations. The free plan uses ads to cover the cost. A pro version without ads is also available as an individual or a friends and family subscription.  An individual pro plan costs $6 per month or $24 yearly. A family and friends pro plan, which you can share with four other people, costs $9 per month or $36 per year. 

Debt Payoff Planner is an excellent choice for anyone ready to take action and tackle their debt. The app provides users with a payoff strategy, shows debt-payoff progress visually, and educates you on how extra payments can pay down debt faster.