Debt consolidation calculator

List what you owe, with the limit on each card, then enter the loan offer. You'll see your card utilization before and after the loan pays the cards off, and the payment and total cost of both paths.

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The loan would save

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What this does to your utilization

Side by side

Your current path assumes you keep paying the same amount on each debt until it's gone, with no new charges.

Tips before you consolidate

Compare the total, not the paymentLook at the total paid on each side. A lower monthly payment can still be the more expensive choice.
Match the term to the old payoffTry a term close to how long your current payments would take. That shows the rate difference on its own.
Keep the paid-off cards at $0Consolidation only helps if the cards stay paid down. Keep them open if you like, but don't carry new balances on them.
Shop a few lendersRates and fees vary widely. Many lenders show a rate with a soft inquiry before you apply.

How the math works

Now: Each debt collects balance × APR ÷ 12 a month and gets its own payment until it's paid off
Loan size: Total owed ÷ (1 − fee rate) when the fee is taken out, or total owed × (1 + fee rate) when it's added
Loan payment: Loan × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)⁻ⁿ), where r is the rate ÷ 12
APR with the fee: The yearly rate at which the loan payments are worth exactly the balances paid off

Utilization

Only debts marked as credit cards count, and each needs its limit. The calculator assumes the loan pays every card to $0 and the cards stay open with no new charges.

Now: Total card balances ÷ total card limits, and each card's balance ÷ its own limit
After the loan: $0 ÷ the same total limits, which is 0% while the cards stay open
The loan: An installment account, measured against its original amount rather than in card utilization

FICO and VantageScore don't publish point values for utilization, so this shows ratios, never a predicted score. The guide on consolidation loans and utilization walks through the tradeoffs with the math.

Questions about this tool

What does a consolidation loan do to my credit utilization?

If the loan pays your cards to $0 and you keep them open, utilization on those cards drops to 0% while the debt sits in an installment loan, which isn't part of that ratio. The loan is a new account with a hard inquiry, and its balance is measured against the original loan amount instead.

When does a consolidation loan save money?

When its APR, with the fee counted, is lower than what you pay now and the term isn't so long that the extra months eat the savings. The side-by-side totals show whether that happens with your numbers.

Why can a lower payment cost more?

A lower payment often comes from a longer term. You pay interest for more months, so the total can end up higher even at a lower rate.

How does a consolidation loan affect credit?

Applying usually means a hard inquiry and a new account. Paying off cards with an installment loan lowers revolving utilization, which scoring models weigh, but running the cards back up undoes that.

What if the fee comes out of the loan?

Then you need to borrow a bit more to pay everything off. The calculator sizes the loan so the money you receive covers all the balances.

Guides behind the math

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