Balance Transfer Calculator
See whether moving a credit card balance to a promotional offer beats staying on your current card, once the one-time transfer fee and post-promo rate are factored in.
Compare the offer
Current balance you would move, up to $1,000,000.
The rate on your existing card, from 0% through 40%.
The fixed amount you plan to pay each month on either card.
One-time fee charged on the transferred balance. Often 3%–5%.
The intro rate during the promo window. Use 0 for a 0% offer.
How long the intro rate lasts, from 0 through 36 months.
by transferring this balance to the promotional offer.
- Transfer fee
- $180.00
- Interest if you stay
- $1,542.87
- Interest if you transfer
- $434.00
- Months to pay off (stay)
- 26
- Months to pay off (transfer)
- 22
| Scenario | Time to pay off | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| Stay on current card | 26 months (2 years, 2 months) | $1,542.87 |
| Transfer to promo offer | 22 months (1 year, 10 months) | $434.00 |
The transfer total assumes any balance left when the promo ends is charged at the post-promo APR (your current APR, since you left it blank). Missing the promo window — by paying less than planned or paying late — can erase the savings shown here and even make the transfer cost more than staying.
How balance transfer savings are calculated
A balance transfer offer moves your existing balance to a card with a low promotional (often 0%) APR for a set number of months, in exchange for a one-time transfer fee charged as a percent of the transferred balance. The transfer is worth it when the interest you avoid during the promo window is larger than the fee you pay to get it.
savings = interestIfStay − (interestIfTransfer + fee)- interestIfStay
- Interest paid at the current APR until payoff
- interestIfTransfer
- Interest during and after the promo, plus the fee
- fee
- Transfer fee percent × transferred balance
Both scenarios are amortized month by month with the same fixed monthly payment. In the stay scenario every month accrues interest at the current APR. In the transfer scenario the promotional rate applies for the promo months, then any remaining balance accrues at the post-promo APR (your current APR when left blank). The fee is added to the transferred interest so the comparison is like-for-like.
$6,000 balance, 22% APR vs. a 0% promo for 12 months
Take a $6,000 balance at 22% APR with a fixed $300 monthly payment. Staying on the current card takes 26 months to clear and costs $1,542.87 in interest. Transferring to a 0% promotional offer for 12 months with a 3% transfer fee adds a one-time $180.00 fee up front.
On the promo card the balance is paid off in 22 months, and the total cost of the transfer — the $180.00 fee plus the interest charged once the promo ends — comes to $434.00. That is $1,108.87 less than staying put, so the transfer saves money here because the interest avoided during the 0% window comfortably beats the fee.
What this calculator assumes
- The same fixed monthly payment is made on either card until the balance is paid off.
- The transfer fee is a one-time charge equal to the fee percent times the transferred balance.
- The promotional APR applies for the full promo length, then any remaining balance accrues at the post-promo APR (the current APR when left blank).
- No new charges, annual fees, or late fees are added to either balance.
- Money values are rounded to the nearest cent for display.
Understanding the Balance Transfer Calculator
A balance transfer moves debt from a card charging you interest onto a new card offering a low or 0% promotional rate for a fixed window — typically 6 to 21 months. In exchange you usually pay a one-time transfer fee, most often 3% to 5% of the amount moved. The strategy only wins when the interest you avoid during the promo outweighs that upfront fee, and this calculator does exactly that arithmetic for your numbers.
It compares two futures with the same monthly payment: staying on your current card, or transferring. It accounts for the fee, the promotional period, and — crucially — what happens to any balance left over when the 0% window closes and the post-promo rate kicks in.
Who this calculator is for
- Cardholders with a high-APR balancewho want to know whether a 0% offer actually saves money after the fee.
- People who can clear the balance in the promo windowthe ideal case, wanting to confirm the payment needed to finish before the rate resets.
- Offer comparison shoppersweighing a longer promo with a higher fee against a shorter one with no fee.
- Anyone wary of the fine printwho wants to see how a leftover post-promo balance eats into the projected savings.
- Budget-conscious debt payerschecking whether the fee is better spent as an extra payment on the current card.
Why it matters
- It nets the fee against the interest saved, so 'this offer sounds good' becomes a concrete dollar figure — money ahead or money behind.
- It shows the payment you'd need to clear the balance before the promo ends, which is the difference between capturing the full benefit and getting caught by the reset rate.
- It models the post-promo tail honestly — many marketing pages ignore what happens after the 0% window, and that leftover interest is often where a transfer quietly loses its edge.
- It lets you compare offers on equal footing, testing a longer promo, a higher fee, or a different post-promo APR against each other in seconds.
- It gives you a clear go/no-go: if staying put costs less, the calculator tells you so before you apply and take a credit-check hit.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the balance you want to transfer and your current card's APR — the interest cost you're trying to escape.
- Enter the fixed monthly payment you'll make. Keeping it the same across both scenarios is what makes the comparison fair.
- Enter the promotional APR (often 0%) and the promo length in months from the offer you're considering.
- Enter the transfer fee percent, typically 3% to 5%, which the calculator applies as a one-time charge on the transferred balance.
- Optionally set the post-promo APR (it defaults to your current APR when left blank), then read whether the transfer saves or costs money versus staying.
How to read your result
The headline is the net savings: the interest you'd pay staying on your current card minus the interest-plus-fee of transferring. A positive number means the transfer wins; a negative one means the fee outweighs the interest you'd avoid. Because both scenarios use the same monthly payment, the comparison is apples-to-apples — the only differences are the fee and the rate schedule.
Pay close attention to whether the balance is gone before the promo ends. If it is, you capture nearly the full 0% benefit and the fee is your only real cost. If a balance remains when the window closes, it starts accruing at the post-promo rate, and that tail can erode or even erase the savings. The lesson the numbers usually teach: a balance transfer is a payoff deadline, not a way to carry debt more cheaply forever.
- The fee is charged whether or not the strategy pays off — a 3%–5% fee on a large balance is real money you owe from day one.
- New purchases on the new card may not get the promo rate, can lose the grace period, and are often paid off last, quietly accruing interest.
- The post-promo APR can be as high as a standard card. Any balance left when the promo ends is exposed to it, so the payment needed to finish in time is the number that matters most.
- A late payment can void the promotional rate entirely on many cards, snapping the balance to the regular or a penalty APR early.
- Opening a new card affects your credit: a hard inquiry and a new account lower your average account age, though the added credit limit can improve your utilization ratio.
- Divide the balance by the promo months to find the monthly payment that clears it before the rate resets, then aim to hit or beat that figure.
- Stop using both cards during the payoff. New charges reintroduce interest and undermine the whole reason for transferring.
- Compare the fee to simply overpaying your current card — if you can retire the balance quickly, paying that fee may not be worth it.
Frequently asked questions
How does a 0% balance transfer actually work?
You move an existing balance to a new card that charges 0% (or a low rate) for a promotional period. During that window, payments go entirely to principal instead of interest. In return you typically pay a one-time transfer fee, and any balance remaining when the promo ends begins accruing at the post-promo APR.
Is the transfer fee worth paying?
Only if the interest you avoid during the promo exceeds the fee. On a large, high-APR balance you'll carry for many months, a 3%–5% fee is usually far less than the interest saved. On a small balance you'd clear quickly anyway, the fee can outweigh the benefit. This calculator does that comparison for your numbers.
What happens to my balance when the promo period ends?
Any remaining balance starts accruing interest at the post-promo APR, which is often as high as a standard card rate. The full benefit of a transfer comes from paying the balance off before the promo expires, so the leftover balance at the reset is what makes or breaks the strategy.
How does a balance transfer affect my credit score?
Applying triggers a hard inquiry and adds a new account, which can lower your average account age and dip your score temporarily. But the new card's credit limit lowers your overall utilization, which can help. Keeping the old card open after transferring preserves available credit and account history.
When does a balance transfer backfire?
It backfires when you don't clear the balance before the promo ends, when you keep spending on either card, when a missed payment voids the promo rate, or when the fee exceeds the interest you'd have paid anyway. It's a tool for disciplined payoff, not for carrying a balance indefinitely.
Are my inputs saved or shared?
No. Every calculation runs in your browser; nothing is stored on our servers or sent to analytics. A shareable link only encodes the numbers you choose to share.
Sources and review notes
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Balance Transfer Credit Cards
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Credit Card Balance Transfers
Methodology last checked Jul 14, 2026. Formula implementation is covered by deterministic unit tests. No financial professional review is claimed yet.