Consolidating credit card debt into a personal loan is common advice — but "common advice" and "actually run the numbers" aren't always the same thing. Here's a real comparison using our debt payoff calculator and loan calculator together, since this is exactly the kind of decision that benefits from combining two tools rather than one.
The setup
$15,000 in credit card debt at 22.99% APR — a realistic average rate. Two paths: keep paying it down on the card at $400/month, or consolidate into a fixed-term personal loan at a lower rate.
| Time to pay off | 67 months (5.6 years) |
| Total interest | $11,714.93 |
| Total paid | $26,714.93 |
| Monthly payment | $491.08 |
| Time to pay off | 36 months (3 years, fixed) |
| Total interest | $2,678.91 |
| Total paid | $17,678.91 |
What the comparison actually shows
Consolidating saves $9,036.02 in interest and finishes 31 months (about 2.6 years) sooner — but it requires paying $91.08 more per month than the credit card scenario. That's the real, honest tradeoff: a meaningfully higher monthly payment in exchange for a dramatically lower total cost and a fixed payoff date. The credit card path has no fixed end date at $400/month in this scenario either — 67 months is simply how long it takes at that payment, and that number would stretch further if the payment ever dropped.
Why the rate difference matters this much
An 11.99-point gap between 22.99% and 11% APR sounds like "somewhat better," but interest compounds on the outstanding balance every month, so a lower rate compounds savings the same way a higher rate compounds cost. On a $15,000 balance carried for multiple years, that rate gap alone is responsible for the bulk of the $9,036 difference — the fixed 3-year term structure helps too, but it's the rate cut that's doing the heaviest lifting here.
What this comparison doesn't include
Real personal loans often carry origination fees (commonly 1-8% of the loan amount), which would add to the effective cost of Option B and aren't reflected in the 11% rate used here — check the APR specifically, not just the interest rate, when comparing real offers, since APR is designed to fold fees in. This comparison also assumes qualifying for an 11% rate, which depends on credit profile; a worse rate narrows the gap, and a strong enough credit profile could widen it further.
Run your own numbers
Your actual balance, card APR, and any personal loan offer you're considering will all shift this comparison. Run your card balance through the debt payoff calculator at your real payment amount, then run the loan offer's actual rate and term through the loan calculator — comparing the two total-interest figures directly is the same method used here.