Debt Consolidation CalculatorFree online financial calculator — instant results, no sign-up
Compare current debts with one consolidation loan.
Estimates only, based on the inputs and assumptions shown. This is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Prices, rates and local rules may change; crypto scenarios do not predict returns. Confirm important decisions with a qualified professional.
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About the Debt Consolidation Calculator
This calculator compares the cost of paying off existing debts at your current payment level against consolidating them into a single fixed-rate loan. It helps borrowers evaluate whether replacing multiple high-interest debts with a new loan reduces overall interest and monthly obligations. The model accounts for loan origination fees financed into the new balance.
- Total debt
- The combined balance of all existing debts to be consolidated, in dollars.
- Current avg. rate
- The weighted average annual percentage rate (APR) across your existing debts, as a percentage.
- Current monthly payments
- The total amount currently paid each month across all debts, in dollars.
- New loan rate
- The annual interest rate (APR) offered on the new consolidation loan, as a percentage.
- New term
- The repayment period for the new loan, expressed in months.
- Fee
- The upfront origination or processing fee charged on the new loan, expressed as a percentage of the debt balance.
Formula and method
L = bal × (1 + fee / 100) New payment (m) = L × [r_new × (1 + r_new)^mo] / [(1 + r_new)^mo − 1] Current term (k) = −ln(1 − (bal × r_cur / curpay)) / ln(1 + r_cur) New total cost = m × mo Current total cost = curpay × k Savings = Current total cost − New total cost
- balTotal existing debt balance ($)
- feeLoan fee percentage added to the principal balance
- LTotal principal financed under the new loan ($)
- r_newMonthly interest rate of the new loan (New loan rate / 100 / 12)
- r_curMonthly interest rate of current debt (Current avg. rate / 100 / 12)
- moRepayment term of the new loan in months
- kNumber of months required to clear current debt at the current payment amount
- curpayCurrent total monthly payment amount ($)
- mCalculated monthly payment for the new loan ($)
The tool first inflates the debt balance by the origination fee percentage to get the total financed balance of the new loan, then uses standard amortization formulas to find the new fixed monthly payment and total repayment cost. For the existing debt, it calculates the number of months required to amortize the principal at the current rate and monthly payment using the standard number-of-periods formula. Net savings are computed by subtracting the new loan's total cost from the existing debt's total cost.
Worked example
These are the calculator's starting values and the results it actually produces for them.
Inputs
- Total debt20000 $
- Current avg. rate20 %
- Current monthly payments700 $
- New loan rate10 %
- New term36 months
- Fee3 %
Results
- New payment$664.70
- New total cost$23,929.35
- Current total cost$27,384.04
- Savings$3,454.69
How to use the Debt Consolidation Calculator
- 1Calculate the new financed loan balance by adding the percentage fee to the total debt.
- 2Compute the new fixed monthly payment using the new loan balance, interest rate, and term.
- 3Determine the remaining months needed to pay off the existing debt at the current monthly payment rate using logarithmic amortization.
- 4Multiply each monthly payment by its respective term to find total costs and subtract the new total from the current total to find savings.
Reading your result
A positive savings figure indicates that the consolidation loan lowers your total expenditure over time, even after factoring in origination fees. A lower new monthly payment frees up cash flow, but check whether the term is significantly extended, which can sometimes increase total interest if the new rate is not sufficiently lower. If savings are negative, maintaining your current payment strategy is more cost-effective.
Limitations
The calculation assumes current monthly payments remain constant until the existing debt is fully repaid, rather than declining as revolving balances drop. It also rolls the entire origination fee into the financed principal rather than paying it upfront out-of-pocket, and it assumes all existing debts share a single blended interest rate.
Common questions
What happens if my current payment is too low to cover the interest?+
If your current monthly payment is less than or equal to the monthly interest accrued on the debt balance, the existing debt can never be amortized, resulting in an undefined or mathematically invalid payoff period.
How does the loan fee impact my new payment?+
The percentage fee is multiplied by your debt balance and added directly to your starting principal, increasing both your monthly amortization payment and the total interest accrued over the life of the loan.
Does debt consolidation hurt my credit score?+
Applying for a new loan triggers a hard credit inquiry, which can temporarily dip your score, but paying off revolving credit card balances typically improves your credit utilization ratio over time.
Does the calculator save my information?+
Calculations run in your browser. While signed in, inputs and results are automatically recorded in account history; saving a result creates a separate saved record.
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Results are estimates for informational purposes and are not financial, medical or legal advice.