What does debt consolidation really cost?
Compare the cost of keeping the debts with the cost of the new loan. Use the same balances and no new charges.
Consolidation cost is the new loan interest plus required fees. It saves money only when that total is lower than the remaining cost of the debts you replace.
- Use each current balance, APR, and fixed payment.
- Add the proposed loan fee before comparing.
- Compare payoff months as well as payment.
- The catch: a lower payment can add years and interest.
Use one balance and two repayment paths
The calculator models fixed current payments and no new charges.
Model the current debts
Project each balance using its APR and fixed entered payment.
Model the new loan
Calculate the payment, interest, fee, and gross amount needed.
Compare the deltas
Show payment change, cost change, and payoff-time change.
Monthly relief and lifetime savings are separate results
A lower payment can steady cash flow
More monthly room can reduce missed-payment risk.
The debt may last longer
A longer term can cost more even with a lower rate.
Do not buy payment relief at an unchecked total cost
A useful result shows both numbers in the same sentence.
More likely to fit
- The new loan lowers modeled cost after fees.
- The payment fits your normal budget.
- The balances are paid off and stay paid off.
Less likely to fit
- The new rate is not lower enough to cover the fee.
- The lower payment comes only from a much longer term.
- You need debt relief because the payment still does not fit.
Short answers before you move debt
What costs belong in the comparison?
Count current interest, new interest, origination fees, and any cash paid upfront.
Why gross up a deducted fee?
The loan must deliver enough net cash to pay the selected balances.
Does the calculator use changing card minimums?
No. It holds the entered payments fixed so the assumption stays visible.
What if a current payment does not reduce the balance?
That path does not amortize. Raise the payment or use another debt option.
Sources and method
Sources checked August 28, 2026. Provider prices and rankings are outside this page’s scope.
- CFPB: Personal-loan fees. Origination and other charges that can change the consolidation result.
- CFPB: Consolidating credit-card debt. Loan, balance-transfer, fee, term, and recurring-debt risks.
- Rung debt-consolidation method. Fixed-payment comparison debt-consolidation@2026-08-28.1.
Claim record: debt-consolidation-pod@2026-08-28.1. No individual score result is predicted.