Loans & Debt
Debt Consolidation Calculator
Compare paying your debts as you do now against one consolidation loan: how long it takes, total interest and fees, and what happens to your monthly payment.
What you owe now
First debt
Second debt
Third debt
The consolidation loan
What this means
On these numbers the loan wins: $4,614 less in interest and fees, and $110 less each month. Most of that comes from swapping high card rates for one lower rate.
The catch is what happens to the cards. Paid off is good; paid off and quietly used again is how people end up with the loan and new balances. Keep them open if it helps your credit, but out of your wallet.
These are estimates from the figures you entered. Your actual offer, fees and payoff terms are in the loan disclosure, so compare against that before you commit.
Build on it
These are estimates to help you think, not personalized legal, tax, or investment advice, and not a promise of any result.
This calculator puts up to three debts you pay today beside a single consolidation loan. Enter each balance, its rate and what you pay on it, then the loan's rate, term and fee, and it shows how long each path takes, what each costs in interest and fees, and how your monthly payment changes.
Why it matters: a consolidation loan is usually sold on the lower monthly payment. Sometimes that lower payment comes from a better rate, and you save. Sometimes it comes mostly from a longer term, and you pay more in total even at a lower rate. This calculator tells you which one you are looking at.
How to use it
Enter what you pay now
Each debt's balance, its APR and the amount you actually pay on it each month, all from your statements. Leave a row at $0 to skip it. The calculator keeps paying each debt the way you do today until it is gone.
Enter the loan you were offered
The APR on the offer (not the lowest rate in the ad), the term in years, and the origination fee. Fees are usually taken out of the loan, so you borrow a little more than you owe to clear everything.
Read the total, not just the payment
Compare the total interest and fees on both sides. If the loan's payment is lower but its total is higher, the page says so. Try a shorter term and see whether the payment still fits.
Behind the numbers
Rate versus term
Two things lower a monthly payment: a lower rate and a longer term. A lower rate saves you money. A longer term only spreads the same debt over more months, and every extra month carries interest. Most consolidation offers use some of each, so the total cost is the number that tells them apart.
Origination fees
Many personal loans charge a fee of a few percent, taken out before the money reaches you. On a loan big enough to clear your debts, that fee is borrowed too, and you pay interest on it for the whole term. It belongs in the comparison.
The cards after the loan
Consolidation moves the balances; it does not close the accounts. If the cards get used again, you end up with the loan and new balances. The plan works when the old cards stay paid off.
The math behind it
Today: each debt is charged a month of interest at its APR divided by twelve, then your payment comes off, and that repeats until the balance is gone. Payments on a cleared debt stop rather than moving to the others, because that is what keeping things as they are means. The loan: enough is borrowed that, after the fee comes out, every debt is paid, and that amount is repaid in level monthly payments over the term. The comparison is total interest today against interest plus the fee on the loan.
Worked example
$14,500 across three cards at 24%, 27% and 29%, paid at $450 a month in total, takes 5 yr 3 mo and about $10,486 in interest. A 5-year loan at 12% with a 5% fee means borrowing $15,263, paying $339.53 a month, and about $5,872 in interest and fees: $110 less a month and about $4,614 less overall. But a single $10,000 balance at 15%, paid at $350 a month, clears in 3 years for about $2,449; a 7-year loan at 12% with the same fee cuts the payment to $185.82 and costs about $5,609, or $3,160 more.
Match the term to today
Pick a loan term no longer than it would take you to pay the debts off now. At a lower rate over the same time, the loan almost always wins. Stretch the term past that and check the total before you sign.
Common questions
Does debt consolidation save money?
Only when the loan's rate, fee and term together cost less than what you pay now. A lower rate on a similar term usually does save. A much longer term can cost more overall even at a lower rate. Enter your own numbers above and the calculator shows the total on both sides.
Why is my payment lower but the total higher?
Because the loan runs longer than your current payoff. Spreading the same debt over more months lowers each payment and adds months of interest. That can still be a reasonable trade if you need the breathing room, as long as you choose it knowing the cost.
Is a balance transfer card better than a consolidation loan?
It can be, if you can pay the balance off before the promotional rate ends and the transfer fee is small. A loan has a fixed payment and a fixed end date, which some people find easier to stick to. Compare the total cost of each offer you actually qualify for.
Will consolidating hurt my credit score?
Applying usually brings a hard inquiry, which can dip a score briefly. Paying the cards down can lower how much of your available credit you are using, which tends to help. Missing payments on the new loan would hurt far more than either.
Go deeper
The calculator gives you a number. The Debt Management Brick teaches you what to do with it, in plain English. And if you’re not sure where to start, the free BrickScore Assessment checks your whole foundation in about 5 minutes.
first the number, then the move