---
title: "Debt Consolidation Calculator: New Loan vs Paying as Now"
description: "Compare credit cards and loans paid as you pay them now with a consolidation loan quote: minimum payments, fixed payments, origination fee, payoff month…"
url: https://theloanweek.com/calculator/debt-consolidation/
updated: 2026-09-28
site: "The Loan Week"
language: en
---

# Debt consolidation calculator

Put your cards and loans next to one consolidation loan offer. See the monthly payment, the month you would be debt-free and the total you would repay, fee included.

Change inputs and assumptions

With this loan quote you would repay

$7,762.46 less

Totals include interest and the entered fee, from today until each path is paid off. Based on the terms you entered; not an offer, approval or promise of savings.

- **Loan payment**: $381.23 a month
- **Debt-free with the loan**: 48 months
- **Debt-free paying as now**: 221 months

Source: Your entered balances and quote; CFPB and FTC consolidation guidance. Illustrative defaults until you enter your own figures. [How we source and check every figure](https://theloanweek.com/sources/).

## Paying as now, or one loan

The loan pays off $13,500.00 of debt. Its $710.53 fee is taken from the proceeds, so the loan is $14,210.53.

**USD, from today until each path is repaid**

| Measure | Pay debts as now | Consolidation loan | Loan, paying today's total |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| First month's payment | $514.95 | $381.23 | $514.95 |
| Debt-free after | 221 months | 48 months | 33 months |
| Fee paid in cash | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Interest | $12,561.63 | $4,088.65 | $2,764.15 |
| Total repaid | $26,061.63 | $18,299.18 | $16,974.67 |
| Cost above today's balances | $12,561.63 | $4,799.18 | $3,474.67 |

Paying the loan with the same $514.95 you pay across your debts this month adds $133.72 a month to its principal and clears it in 33 months. Check that the lender allows extra payments without a charge.

Payments on the current path fall over time as minimum payments shrink and debts are paid off, so compare the whole timeline below, not only the first month.

## Your debts today

**Each debt on its own, paid as entered; USD**

| Debt | How it is paid | Balance | APR | First payment | Repaid after | Interest |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Debt 1 | Card, minimum only (interest + % of balance), 1% with a $35.00 floor | $6,000.00 | 24.99% | $184.95 | 221 months | $10,906.62 |
| Debt 2 | Card or credit line, fixed amount | $3,500.00 | 21.99% | $150.00 | 31 months | $1,108.60 |
| Debt 3 | Installment loan, fixed payment | $4,000.00 | 12.00% | $180.00 | 26 months | $546.41 |
| All debts |  | $13,500.00 |  | $514.95 | 221 months | $12,561.63 |

## Year by year

**Balance owed and total paid so far at the end of each year, USD**

| End of year | Owed, paying as now | Paid so far, as now | Owed on the loan | Paid so far, loan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | $9,901.95 | $6,061.31 | $11,314.58 | $4,574.79 |
| 2 | $5,878.41 | $11,883.88 | $8,018.89 | $9,149.59 |
| 3 | $4,178.48 | $14,769.85 | $4,268.30 | $13,724.38 |
| 4 | $3,703.74 | $16,233.23 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 5 | $3,282.94 | $17,530.35 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 6 | $2,909.95 | $18,680.10 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 7 | $2,579.33 | $19,699.22 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 8 | $2,286.28 | $20,602.55 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 9 | $2,026.53 | $21,403.25 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 10 | $1,796.28 | $22,112.97 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 11 | $1,592.20 | $22,742.07 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 12 | $1,411.30 | $23,299.68 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 13 | $1,250.95 | $23,793.95 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 14 | $1,108.22 | $24,232.66 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 15 | $947.59 | $24,652.66 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 16 | $741.88 | $25,072.66 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 17 | $478.45 | $25,492.66 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 18 | $141.10 | $25,912.66 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |
| 19 (month 221) | $0.00 | $26,061.63 | $0.00 | $18,299.18 |

[Download monthly CSV](https://theloanweek.com/calculator/debt-consolidation/?d1_kind=card_min_interest&d1_balance=6000&d1_apr=24.99&d1_payment=35&d1_min_pct=1&d2_kind=card_fixed&d2_balance=3500&d2_apr=21.99&d2_payment=150&d2_min_pct=1&d3_kind=loan&d3_balance=4000&d3_apr=12&d3_payment=180&d3_min_pct=1&d4_kind=none&d4_balance=0&d4_apr=0&d4_payment=0&d4_min_pct=1&rate=13&months=48&fee_pct=5&fee_method=deducted&format=csv)

The CSV has every month for each path and each debt's totals. Copying the URL shares your inputs; query values can stay in browser history and hosting logs.

## Method and limits

**Each debt, as now.** Every month, interest is the APR divided by 12 on the balance carried in. A fixed payment stays the same until the debt is gone. A minimum-only card pays either that month's interest plus the entered share of the balance, or the entered share of the balance after interest, but never less than the dollar floor. When a debt is paid off, its payment stops; it is not moved to the others.

**The loan.** A fixed-rate loan for the entered term, with equal monthly payments. A fee taken from the proceeds means borrowing the balances divided by (1 − fee), so the money received still pays every debt. A financed fee is added to the balance; a cash fee is paid at the start. The third column pays the same loan with the total you pay across your debts in the first month.

Not modeled: new card spending, late fees, penalty or promotional rates, balance-transfer offers, daily interest and statement dates, variable rates, credit approval and effects on your credit. Paying off cards and then using them again is a common reason consolidation costs more, as the CFPB and FTC warn.

Card statements carry a minimum payment warning with the issuer's own payoff estimate for the balance shown. If it differs from this estimate, the issuer's formula or rates differ from what you entered.

Sources checked September 28, 2026. Publisher review due December 28, 2026, or sooner if the guidance changes.

[Reset illustrative example](https://theloanweek.com/calculator/debt-consolidation/) · [Personal loan fee calculator](https://theloanweek.com/calculator/personal-loan-fees/) · [Personal loan calculator](https://theloanweek.com/calculator/personal-loan/)

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## Questions

### Does a consolidation loan always save money?

No. A lower rate helps, but a longer term, an origination fee or new card spending after the payoff can make the total larger. The calculator shows the total for the terms you enter; it is not a promise of savings or an approval.

### How are card minimum payments modeled?

Each month interest is the APR divided by 12 on the balance, then the minimum is either that interest plus a share of the balance, or a share of the balance after interest, never less than the dollar floor you enter. Card agreements state the actual formula; your statement's minimum payment warning shows the issuer's own payoff estimate.

### Why is there a third column?

It pays the new loan with the same total you pay across your debts in the first month. That separates the effect of the lower rate from the effect of simply paying less each month.

### What happens when one of my current debts is paid off?

Its payment stops and is not moved to the other debts, because that is how most people pay when they pay each bill as it comes. Moving freed-up payments to other debts would shorten the current path.

### Are my inputs saved?

The form uses a URL query, which can remain in your browser history and hosting logs. Scenario pages are private and no-store, and they never send your figures to analytics.

## Sources

- [CFPB: consolidating credit card debt](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-consolidating-my-credit-card-debt-en-1861/). Understand why the debt built up, compare with adjusting spending or asking creditors, and beware of offers that seem too good to be true. CFPB last reviewed September 2, 2026; checked September 28, 2026.
- [FTC: how to get out of debt](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-get-out-debt). Debt consolidation loans combine debts into one payment; most have costs such as points, and secured versions put your home at risk. Checked September 28, 2026.
- [Regulation Z: minimum payment warning and repayment estimates](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1026/section-1026.7). Card statements must show how long minimum-only payments take, calculated with the account's own minimum payment formula (12 CFR 1026.7(b)(12) and Appendix M1). eCFR text as of September 14, 2026; checked September 28, 2026.

Page calculations or content last changed September 28, 2026. Observation and retrieval dates are listed per source above. [How we calculate](https://theloanweek.com/methodology/).