6 best credit monitoring apps

Before smartphones were commonplace, it was difficult to determine your credit score. Now, you can get your credit score in an instant. Numerous services allow you to access your credit score from any computer or Chromebook or through an app on your phone. It’s easier than ever to monitor your credit and ensure it’s in good shape. Let’s explore the best credit monitoring apps.

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1 Intuit Credit Karma

Credit scores and credit assistance

Due to great advertising over the past decade, Credit Karma may be the first credit monitoring service you think of. Credit Karma gives you a free estimate of your credit based on your TransUnion and Equifax credit reports. Credit Karma has evolved from a way to check your credit score to a full-fledged financial services app.

You can check your credit score and get recommendations on how to improve it. You can also find information about loan rates, credit cards, and auto insurance. It has personal finance features, but many complain that these aren’t robust.

Credit Karma is owned by Intuit, which also owns the now-defunct Mint app, and some users may find Credit Karma a reasonable replacement.

2 Credit Sesame

Build your credit

Credit Sesame is a suitable app for those looking to monitor and improve their credit. Credit Sesame gives you a free look at your TransUnion credit score as well as a weekly report and letter grade for your score. It also provides free credit monitoring, credit alerts, and tips to improve your credit. Credit Sesame has services to give you better interest rates to consolidate debt and apply for credit cards.

3 Experian

Credit through one of the major credit bureaus

Experian is one of the major credit bureaus, so getting your credit score from it means your report should be accurate. In addition to letting you view your score, Experian lets you boost your score immediately using bills you already pay. Like other apps, Experian has additional services that help you bank and find better rates on loans. Experian also has a service that helps you track your active subscriptions and cancel ones you don’t need.

4 CreditWise from Capital One

Offers more than just credit cards

Even though Capital One is best known for its credit cards, it has other services. One of them is CreditWise, a free credit monitoring app. CreditWise pulls your credit score from your TransUnion report daily to make sure you have the most up-to-date score. CreditWise is more focused on your credit score than other apps since it doesn’t try to sell you loans or credit cards.

A feature lets you simulate what effect decisions or purchases would have on your score alongside suggestions to improve your score. The app also offers alerts for your credit score and identity to cover all the bases.

5 myFICO

Get your score from the folks who created it

Fair, Isacc and Company, or FICO, are the people who created the credit score. The credit score measures consumer credit risk, with a lower number being riskier and a higher number being less risky. It puts out the myFICO app to help consumers monitor their credit.

The myFICO app allows you to compare your credit score from the three major credit bureaus in one place without negatively impacting them. It also includes a robust history of changes in your credit score and what caused them, as well as a calculator to predict what would happen if you took certain actions.

Like the other apps, there are alerts for changes to your credit, credit reports, and educational materials to help you improve your score.

6 Credit.com

In-depth premium tools

Credit.com allows you to view your credit score for free from a company that’s been doing this for over 25 years. Your score is updated every 14 days and has resources to show you how different decisions impact your score. There are also personalized recommendations to improve your credit and information about loans and credit cards you’ll likely be approved for.

Credit.com has a premium membership called ExtraCredit that gives you access to more credit-related features. These features fall into three groups: Guard It, Reward It, and Restore It. Guard It has more robust credit monitoring that comes with dark web monitoring and $1 million theft insurance. Reward It gives you cashback rewards to maximize your spending. Restore It gives you discounted access to services to fix your credit score.

Make better credit decisions

Credit is essential for many things in life, so being aware of your credit is important. These apps give you access to your credit score and tools to help you maintain or improve your credit. Many also have features to help you predict credit changes based on future decisions. After you start tracking your credit and improving it with a credit card, make payments easier by adding the credit card to Google Wallet.