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On One Hand: Debt Consolidation is Better

Debt consolidation takes all of your debt and adds it together into one loan. This loan typically has a lower monthly payment (stretched out over a longer period of time) which allows the borrower to budget his debt repayment much easier. This type of loan does not lower your credit score, and often times helps to raise it by eliminating other forms of negative debt.
On the Other: Debt Settlement is Better

Debt settlement allows a borrower to reduce his total debt owed from the start. This allows a borrower to get out of debt quicker by reducing his overall debt load. Debt settlement also reduces the monthly payment for each debt, allowing a borrower to quickly pay off the remaining debt in full.
Bottom Line

Each type of debt reduction has its positive and negative aspects, but debt consolidation is generally considered the better method. While debt consolidation does not reduce the debt from the start, it does limit the long term consequences for the borrower. Debt settlement negatively impacts a borrower's credit score and requires the borrower to pay taxes on the removed debt balances.

Debt consolidation is definitely better as it helps in the long run. Remember that debts hurt most people in the long run as it continuously accumulates up to the point where it becomes unmanageable.

Good read, thanks for the info!