Should I include debts I don’t plan to consolidate?

If you’re evaluating a specific consolidation loan, include only the balances you expect to roll into that loan. If you want a snapshot of your entire unsecured debt landscape, include all relevant balances and treat the blended APR as your overall benchmark.

How do promotional 0% APR periods affect the blended APR?

You can either enter the promo rate directly for the portion of the balance under promotion or calculate an effective APR that accounts for both the promo period and the post‑promo rate. The more realistic your inputs, the more useful the blended APR will be.

Does a lower blended APR guarantee I’ll pay less interest?

Not by itself. Total interest also depends on your payoff speed and whether you keep borrowing. A lower rate with a much longer term can still lead to higher total interest than a higher rate with an aggressive payoff plan.

Can I include student loans, auto loans, or HELOCs?

Yes. Any debt with a balance and an interest rate can be included. Just keep in mind that secured loans and loans with special protections may not be directly comparable to unsecured credit cards from a risk and flexibility perspective.

How often should I update my blended APR?

Update it whenever balances or rates change significantly—for example, after paying off a card, taking out a new loan, or when an introductory rate expires. Watching your blended APR move downward over time is a useful indicator of progress.

finance calculator

Blended Interest Rate Calculator

Enter up to five loan balances and rates to find the weighted average interest rate for consolidation or payoff planning.

Results

Weighted average rate: 17.18%

How to use this calculator

List the debts you want to include: credit cards, personal loans, store cards, or other interest‑bearing balances.
Enter the current balance for each debt in the Balance fields.
Enter the associated APR (annual percentage rate) for each balance in the Rate fields.
Review the calculated weighted average rate—this is your blended APR across all included balances.
Compare this blended rate to any new loan or balance‑transfer offer. If the new product’s true rate (including fees) is not clearly below your blended APR, it may not be worth switching.

Inputs explained

Balance: The current outstanding principal for a specific debt. Use the most recent statement or account snapshot. You can include credit cards, personal loans, store cards, or other balances you’re considering consolidating or benchmarking.
Rate (%): The APR (annual percentage rate) for that balance, entered as a percentage. For credit cards with multiple APR tiers (promotional and standard), consider entering an effective APR that reflects how much of the balance sits at each rate.

How it works

Each debt contributes to your total interest cost in proportion to its balance and its APR. A $5,000 card at 20% APR is far more expensive than a $500 card at 10% APR.

To capture this, we compute a weighted average: for each debt, we multiply balance × rate (as a decimal), sum those interest contributions, and divide by the total balance across all debts.

Formally, blended rate_decimal = (Σ balanceᵢ × rateᵢ_decimal) ÷ (Σ balanceᵢ). The larger a balance or rate, the more it pulls the blended rate up or down.

You can enter up to five balance–APR pairs. The calculator ignores any row with a zero or missing balance so unused slots don’t affect the result.

The final output is your blended APR in percentage form—a single number you can compare directly to consolidation offers or use as a target when paying down high‑interest accounts.

Formula

Blended APR (decimal) = Σ(balanceᵢ × rateᵢ_decimal) ÷ Σ(balanceᵢ)
Blended APR (%) = Blended APR_decimal × 100

When to use it

Checking whether a debt‑consolidation or personal‑loan offer truly beats your current mix of credit card and personal loan rates.
Evaluating a balance‑transfer credit card by comparing the new card’s effective APR (after accounting for transfer fees and promo length) to your existing blended APR.
Prioritizing debt payoff strategies: targeting your highest‑APR debts first and recalculating periodically to see your blended rate fall as expensive balances shrink.
Comparing alternative strategies such as using a HELOC, cash‑out refinance, or 401(k) loan to pay off high‑interest debts by seeing how each option’s rate compares to your current blended APR.
Summarizing a messy mix of debts into one number that you can discuss with a partner, financial coach, or advisor when planning a payoff roadmap.

Tips & cautions

Include every relevant balance in your calculation; leaving out a high‑APR card will make your blended rate look better than it really is.
If a card has multiple balances at different APRs (for example, 0% promo and 24.99% regular), you can treat them as separate “debts” with their own balance and rate rows for a more accurate blended figure.
When comparing against a consolidation loan, be sure to factor in origination fees or balance‑transfer fees; these effectively increase the new loan’s true cost beyond the bare APR.
Recalculate your blended APR after paying down or closing a high‑APR account—watching the blended rate drop can be motivating and helps you see the impact of your payoff progress.
Remember that a lower rate does not guarantee lower total interest unless you also avoid stretching the term too far; a longer payoff period can keep monthly payments low but increase total interest paid.
Uses APR as a single steady rate and does not automatically model introductory 0% promotions that jump later, variable rates tied to prime, or step‑up structures.
Does not include fees, late charges, or balance‑transfer costs unless you incorporate them into an effective APR value yourself.
Represents a snapshot at a point in time; it does not model how your blended APR changes as you pay down specific balances or continue to make new charges.
Summarizes rate information only; it does not calculate payoff timelines or total interest paid without additional modeling.
Assumes all balances accrue interest at their stated APR with no special rules such as deferred interest clauses or penalty rates triggered by missed payments.

Worked examples

Two credit cards with different balances and APRs

Card A balance = $5,000 at 19.99% APR; Card B balance = $3,000 at 12.5% APR.
Compute contributions: 5,000 × 0.1999 = 999.5; 3,000 × 0.125 = 375.
Sum contributions = 999.5 + 375 = 1,374.5; total balance = 5,000 + 3,000 = 8,000.
Blended APR_decimal = 1,374.5 ÷ 8,000 ≈ 0.1718 → blended APR ≈ 17.18%.
Interpretation: any consolidation or balance‑transfer option should beat ~17.2% APR (after fees) to be clearly beneficial.

Adding a large low‑rate installment loan

Add a $10,000 personal loan at 7% APR to the previous card balances.
New contributions: card A 999.5, card B 375, loan = 10,000 × 0.07 = 700.
Total contributions = 999.5 + 375 + 700 = 2,074.5; total balance = 5,000 + 3,000 + 10,000 = 18,000.
Blended APR_decimal = 2,074.5 ÷ 18,000 ≈ 0.1153 → blended APR ≈ 11.53%.
Interpretation: the large low‑rate loan pulls the overall blended APR down, even though some card balances are still relatively expensive.

Comparing a consolidation offer

Suppose your blended APR across several cards is ≈ 18%.
A lender offers a consolidation loan at 13.99% APR with a 4% origination fee.
Convert the fee into an effective APR using a separate calculator or rough estimate, then compare that effective rate to 18%.
If the effective cost of the new loan is only slightly lower—or higher—than your blended APR, consolidating may not produce meaningful savings.

Deep dive

This blended interest rate calculator computes the weighted average APR across multiple credit cards and loans so you can see your true overall borrowing rate. Enter balances and APRs to get a single blended rate for debt‑consolidation and payoff planning.

Use your blended APR as a benchmark when evaluating consolidation loans, balance‑transfer offers, or HELOCs. If the new product’s true cost (including fees) does not clearly beat your blended rate, it may not deliver meaningful interest savings.

FAQs

Should I include debts I don’t plan to consolidate?: If you’re evaluating a specific consolidation loan, include only the balances you expect to roll into that loan. If you want a snapshot of your entire unsecured debt landscape, include all relevant balances and treat the blended APR as your overall benchmark.
How do promotional 0% APR periods affect the blended APR?: You can either enter the promo rate directly for the portion of the balance under promotion or calculate an effective APR that accounts for both the promo period and the post‑promo rate. The more realistic your inputs, the more useful the blended APR will be.
Does a lower blended APR guarantee I’ll pay less interest?: Not by itself. Total interest also depends on your payoff speed and whether you keep borrowing. A lower rate with a much longer term can still lead to higher total interest than a higher rate with an aggressive payoff plan.
Can I include student loans, auto loans, or HELOCs?: Yes. Any debt with a balance and an interest rate can be included. Just keep in mind that secured loans and loans with special protections may not be directly comparable to unsecured credit cards from a risk and flexibility perspective.
How often should I update my blended APR?: Update it whenever balances or rates change significantly—for example, after paying off a card, taking out a new loan, or when an introductory rate expires. Watching your blended APR move downward over time is a useful indicator of progress.

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This blended interest rate calculator provides an approximate weighted average APR based on the balances and rates you enter. It does not account for all fees, variable-rate changes, or lender‑specific rules, and it is not financial advice. Always review official loan disclosures and consider consulting a qualified professional before consolidating or refinancing debt.