Consolidation Break-Even Calculator
This calculator finds the break-even APR: the rate above which a consolidation loan costs more in total than the way you pay your debts now. It counts the origination fee and uses what you actually pay each month, not just the minimums.
Find your break-even rate
Enter your current debts, what you pay each month, and the loan you are considering. Results update as you type. This calculator runs in your browser and does not send the numbers you enter.
From $1 to $250,000. Up to 10 debts.
0% to 99.9%. Use 0% for a promotional balance and fill in the promotion fields.
It should be more than one month's interest.
Leave blank if there is no promotion.
If you are already paying more than the minimums, enter your real total. It changes the answer a lot. Left blank, it uses the sum of your minimums.
Left blank, it uses your total balances. From $1,000 to $100,000.
The yearly rate before the fee. With the fee counted, the APR has to be from 5.99% to 35.99%.
6 to 144 months (6 months to 12 years).
From 0% to 12%. Many lenders charge one.
Your comparison
This calculator needs JavaScript. The formulas and the worked example on this page show the same math.
- Sizing the loan around the fee? origination fee calculator
- Full amortization table: personal loan payment calculator
Loans Generator may be paid when you click or submit a request through this link. This does not change what we report.
The math, shown
Cost of the new loan
When the fee is deducted from proceeds, the loan amount is the debt you need cleared divided by one minus the fee rate. The monthly payment is that loan amount × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where r is the interest rate divided by 12 and n is the number of months. The total cost of the new loan is the payment times n, minus the debt it actually retires.
That subtraction matters. If you need $14,000 of debt cleared and the fee is 5%, you must borrow $14,736.84 to net $14,000. The $736.84 fee is a cost, and the honest comparison charges it to the new loan.
Cost of the status quo
Simulate month by month rather than using a closed-form shortcut, because payoff order, promotional expiries, and freed-up minimums all change the answer:
- Accrue one month of interest on each debt at its current APR.
- Pay the minimum on every debt except the target.
- Apply the remaining budget to the target debt.
- When a debt reaches zero, roll its payment into the next target.
- Repeat until all balances are zero. Sum the interest.
Break-even
The calculator searches for the loan rate at which the new loan's total cost equals the interest on your current plan, holding the term and fee fixed.
Representative example. For a $5,000 loan at a 10% APR over 36 months, the monthly repayment would be $161.34. Over the term, the total repayment would amount to $5,808.24, with $808.24 in interest. The loan terms range from 6 months to 12 years, with APRs between 5.99% and 35.99%. The exact rate you receive depends on factors like your creditworthiness, loan size, and repayment schedule. Better rates are typically offered to those with excellent credit.
Worked example
Three cards, $14,000 total:
| Debt | Balance | APR | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card A | $1,200 | 18.99% | $35 |
| Card B | $4,800 | 26.99% | $120 |
| Card C | $8,000 | 22.49% | $200 |
Minimums total $355. Assume this person is actually paying $555 a month, highest APR first.
Status quo: debt free in 35 months, $5,319.29 in interest, $19,319.29 paid in total.
Consolidation at an 18.99% interest rate (21.93% APR with the fee) over 48 months with a 5% origination fee: borrow $14,736.84 to net $14,000, payment $440.56, total paid $21,146.88. That is $1,827.59 more than doing nothing new, despite a lower rate than two of the three cards.
Break-even for that structure: an APR of 16.79%, which with the 5% fee means an interest rate of 13.97%. Below it, consolidating costs less; above it, it costs more.
The break-even is highly sensitive to the term, which is the finding most calculators bury:
| New loan structure | Break-even interest rate | Break-even APR |
|---|---|---|
| 48 months, 5% origination fee | 13.97% | 16.79% |
| 48 months, no origination fee | 16.79% | 16.79% |
| 36 months, 5% origination fee | 18.52% | 22.27% |
Same debts, same person. Moving from 48 to 36 months raises the break-even APR from 16.79% to 22.27%. The fee does not change the break-even APR, because an APR already counts the fee; it only lowers the interest rate you need.
The risk the arithmetic cannot capture
The calculator compares two payment schedules. It cannot model the behavior that decides most consolidation outcomes, which is what happens to the cards after they are paid off. If the balances come back, the borrower now has the cards and the loan.
Sources
- Loans Generator, Loan Agreement Overview (live site APR disclosure and representative example), accessed August 6, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I've seen a lot of advertisements for companies that consolidate credit card debt. Are these legitimate?, accessed August 6, 2026.