Debt Consolidation Calculator
List your debts, then try a consolidation loan or a balance transfer card. See your new monthly payment, what it costs in all and whether it's worth it.
Credit cards, store cards, personal loans, overdrafts. Use what you really pay each month on each one.
Consolidation loan
Paying your old total on the new loan clears it sooner, if the lender allows overpayments.
Balance transfer card
The fee has to fit inside it. Highest-rate debts move first.
Balance left, year by year
How your consolidation is worked out
Your debts as they are, the new loan or card, then the total cost of each.
- 1
Your debts now
$12,000 owedavg 21.5%, $400/moClear in 58 months
- 2
The new loan
Borrow $12,50011.5% over 48 mo= $326 a month
- 3
Total cost
Now: $6,216 interestNew: $3,153 + $500= $3,653 in all
- 4
Worth it?
Saves $2,56210 months soonerFee back by mo 6
Read more: the formula, a worked example and notes
Consolidating means paying off several debts with one new loan or card, so you have a single payment, ideally at a lower rate. Whether it helps comes down to one thing: does the new debt cost less in total, interest plus fees, than your debts would as they are? A lower monthly payment alone doesn't tell you, because it often comes from a longer term.
The formula
as they are: each month, for each debt: interest = balance × APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100, then balance = balance + interest − its payment
loan amount = your debts ÷ (1 − fee % ÷ 100) when the fee comes out of the loan (or debts + the fee amount)
loan payment = loan amount × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−months), where r = loan APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100
card balance = debts moved × (1 + transfer fee % ÷ 100); intro rate for the intro months, then the rate after
total cost = all the interest + the fee
you save = total cost as they are − total cost of the new option
break-even = the first month when the interest saved so far covers the fee
Worked example
Three debts: a credit card of $6,000 at 24.99% (paying $180 a month), a store card of $1,500 at 29.99% ($60) and a personal loan of $4,500 at 14% ($160). That's $12,000 at an average rate of 21.49%, and $400 a month.
As they are: month 1 interest is $6,000 × 24.99 ÷ 1,200 = $124.95 on the card, $1,500 × 29.99 ÷ 1,200 = $37.49 on the store card and $4,500 × 14 ÷ 1,200 = $52.50 on the loan. Each keeps its own payment: the personal loan is cleared in month 35, the store card in month 40 and the credit card in month 58. Total interest: $6,215.52.
Consolidation loan at 11.5% over 4 years with a 4% fee taken out of the loan: to get $12,000 you borrow $12,000 ÷ 0.96 = $12,500 (fee $500). With r = 11.5 ÷ 1,200 = 0.0095833, (1 + r)^48 = 1.58061, so the payment is $12,500 × 0.0095833 ÷ (1 − 1 ÷ 1.58061) = $119.79 ÷ 0.36733 = $326.11 a month, $73.89 less than now. The 48 payments (unrounded, $326.1127 each) add up to $15,653.41, so the interest is $3,153.41 and the total cost $3,153.41 + $500 = $3,653.41. You save $6,215.52 − $3,653.41 = $2,562.11 and are debt-free 10 months sooner. The interest saved passes $500 in month 6 (break-even). Counting the fee, the real yearly rate is 13.70%.
Balance transfer card at 0% for 18 months, 3% fee, then 24.99%: the fee is $12,000 × 3% = $360, so the card starts at $12,360. Paying $400 a month, $12,360 − 18 × $400 = $5,160 is left when the 0% ends. That takes 16 more payments at 24.99%, so 34 months in all, with $912.14 of interest: $1,272.14 including the fee. To clear it before the offer ends you'd pay $12,360 ÷ 18 = $686.67 a month.
| Same $12,000 of debt | A month | Months | Interest + fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| As they are | $400.00 | 58 | $6,215.52 |
| Avalanche, same $400 (no new credit) | $400.00 | 45 | $5,726.75 |
| Loan, 11.5%, 4 years, 4% fee | $326.11 | 48 | $3,653.41 |
| Same loan, paying the old $400 | $400.00 | 38 | $2,927.74 |
| Card, 0% for 18 months, 3% fee | $400.00 | 34 | $1,272.14 |
| Card, paying $686.67 to clear it at 0% | $686.67 | 18 | $360.00 |
When consolidating is (and isn't) worth it
- Worth it when the new rate, with the fee counted, is clearly lower than your average rate, and you keep the term short.
- Careful when the lower payment comes from a much longer term: it can cost more overall. Paying your old total on the new loan avoids this.
- Balance transfer cards win if you can clear most of the balance in the intro period. Missing a payment can end the offer early on many cards, and whatever is left after the intro is charged the higher rate.
- Don't run the old cards back up. Consolidation only helps if the cleared cards stay cleared.
- Not ready for new credit? The debt payoff calculator plans the avalanche or snowball with what you pay now.
Assumes rates and payments stay the same, payments are made on time once a month and interest is charged monthly on the balance (APR ÷ 12). Card minimums usually fall as the balance falls; here each debt keeps the payment you enter. On a card with a credit limit, the part that stays behind keeps its old payment and the card gets the rest. Fees, rates and terms vary by lender and country, so use the figures from your own offer. Amounts are not rounded to cents, so lenders' figures may differ by a few cents. Checked on 11 October 2026.
Common questions
Is debt consolidation worth it?
It is worth it when the new loan or card costs less in total, interest plus fees, than your debts would as they are. In the example, $12,000 of card and loan debt costs $6,215.52 in interest over 58 months; a 4-year loan at 11.5% with a 4% fee costs $3,653.41 in all, saving $2,562.11 and 10 months, with a lower payment.
Can a consolidation loan cost more?
Yes. A lower monthly payment often comes from a longer term, and more months of interest plus the fee can add up to more than you pay now. The calculator flags this as "lower payment, higher cost". Keeping up your old monthly total on the new loan is the easy fix: in the example it clears the loan in 38 months instead of 48.
Is a balance transfer card better than a loan?
If you can clear most of the balance in the 0% period, a card is usually cheaper. In the example, a card at 0% for 18 months with a 3% fee costs $1,272.14 against $3,653.41 for the loan. But $5,160 is still owed when the offer ends and is then charged 24.99%, so paying $686.67 a month to clear it in time is the safest plan.
What is the break-even point?
It is the month when the interest you have saved so far, compared with your debts as they are, finally covers the fee you paid. In the example the loan's $500 fee is won back by month 6 and the card's $360 fee by month 2. If the fee is never won back, consolidating only buys a lower payment.
Should I consolidate or use the avalanche method?
Try both. Paying your current $400 a month with every cleared payment rolled onto the highest-rate debt (the avalanche) clears the example debts in 45 months and saves $488.77 with no new credit. The loan and the card save more here because their rates are much lower, but the avalanche needs no application or fee.
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