Debt Consolidation Calculator
Use this debt consolidation calculator to compare a loan vs your current debts and see whether the offer improves total cost, payoff time, monthly payment, and fees.
Your numbers
Example loaded: two credit cards and one personal loan compared with a 48-month consolidation loan at a 12.99% interest rate and a 3% origination fee.
Enter your current balances, APRs, minimum payments, and the loan offer you want to compare.
1) Current debts
2) Consolidation loan
How this calculator works
This calculator compares your current debts with a consolidation loan scenario using the loan amount, interest rate, optional disclosed APR, term, fees, and payment assumptions you enter.
The current debt estimate uses the existing balances, APRs, and payments. The consolidation estimate uses the loan interest rate for amortization, models the entered fees separately, and treats the optional disclosed APR as an informational comparison measure. It then compares monthly payment, payoff time, total interest, fees, and total cost.
Results
Consolidation tradeoff
Compare monthly payment relief, total cost, and payoff timing before deciding whether a consolidation loan improves the result.
Shared payoff timeline
Year-by-year view showing when each option becomes debt-free within the comparison window.
Current debts
Consolidation loan
Payment and interest estimates use the loan interest rate. The optional disclosed APR is informational only, and separately entered fees are modeled on their own.
- Current debts: Monthly interest is estimated using each debt's APR ÷ 12. You pay each fixed minimum, and any extra payment targets the highest APR first (Avalanche method).
- Current minimum payments are treated as fixed dollar amounts, not issuer-specific percent-of-balance formulas.
- Consolidation loan: Monthly amortization uses the loan interest rate ÷ 12 and a fixed payment unless you override it.
- The optional disclosed loan APR is shown for comparison only. It does not drive the loan payment or interest calculation.
- APR can include the interest rate and certain lender charges. Do not enter the disclosed APR as the interest-rate input when the same origination fee is also entered separately.
- If you override the loan payment, payoff time may be shorter or longer than the selected term.
- Fees are either rolled into the loan balance or treated as paid upfront and added to total cost.
- If fees are rolled into the balance, they become part of principal and accrue interest.
- Extra monthly payment is applied to the loan only when “Apply extra to loan?” is set to Yes.
- No promotional-rate changes, penalty-rate changes, late fees, prepayment penalties, or lender-specific minimum formulas are modeled.
How to interpret the comparison
Compare the monthly payment, total cost after interest and fees, and payoff time together. A lower payment can help cash flow, but it can also come from stretching the balance over a longer loan term.
When consolidation looks stronger
The loan has the clearest advantage when its lower interest rate still produces a lower total cost after fees and keeps the payoff timeline reasonable.
When the lower payment has a tradeoff
If the payment falls while payoff takes longer or total cost rises, the loan is improving affordability without improving the full repayment result.
When the current plan is competitive
If the current debts are cheaper, faster, or close to the loan result, switching may offer more convenience than financial savings.
Use the loan interest rate for the payment estimate, compare the lender's disclosed APR, and confirm the term, fees, amount financed, and prepayment rules before deciding.
What to test when the result is mixed
When consolidation helps in one area and hurts in another, change one assumption at a time to see what would materially improve the comparison.
Test the loan terms
Try a lower interest rate, shorter term, or smaller fee to see what the offer would need to beat your current payoff plan.
Test extra payments
A modest extra payment may make the current plan competitive or shorten the consolidation loan enough to reduce its total cost.
Test a payoff target
If affordability is the main concern, work backward from a payoff date to compare the monthly payment each option would require.
Debt consolidation calculator FAQ
How do I know if debt consolidation saves money?
Debt consolidation saves money when the new loan’s interest and fees are lower than the cost of keeping your current debts. A lower payment alone does not always mean the loan saves money, because a longer term can increase total cost.
Does debt consolidation lower monthly payments?
Debt consolidation can lower monthly payments if the new loan has a lower rate, longer term, or both. The tradeoff is that a longer term may keep the debt around longer even if the monthly payment is easier to manage.
Should I consolidate debt if the loan has fees?
Fees should be included in the comparison. A consolidation loan can still be worthwhile with fees, but only if the lower rate or better payment structure is strong enough to offset the added cost.
Should I enter the loan interest rate or the disclosed APR?
Enter the loan interest rate in the required rate field because that is the rate used to calculate amortization. Enter the lender's disclosed APR only in the optional APR field. APR can include the interest rate and certain loan charges, so using APR as the interest-rate input while also entering the same origination fee can count part of the cost twice.
Is a lower APR always better for debt consolidation?
A lower disclosed APR can be a useful initial comparison, but it does not settle the decision by itself. The loan term, monthly payment, amount financed, origination fee, other charges, and total repayment cost can still make the offer more or less expensive. This calculator uses the loan interest rate for payment modeling and treats separately entered fees as separate costs.
What is the difference between debt consolidation and paying debts separately?
Debt consolidation replaces multiple debts with one new loan. Paying debts separately keeps the original balances and rates in place, often using a strategy like avalanche repayment to target higher-rate debts first.
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