15 Best Credit Monitoring Services to Safeguard Financial Future

Credit monitoring services are designed to keep a watchful eye on the status of your credit file. They provide all the information needed to ensure your credit profile looks healthy, including scores and reports, and alert you of any activity. Some may even offer identity protection services that help you get ahead of and recover from fraud.

Credit monitoring services aim to protect your credit, which is vital when seeking credit from financial institutions. Maintaining a good credit score increases your chances of your application getting accepted and approved faster and with better rates.

In this guide, we’ll explore the free and paid versions of the best credit monitoring services, examining their core features, pros and cons, and pricing models.

• Credit Karma – Offers Free Credit Report and Monitoring
• Experian CreditWorks – Get Recommendations to Improve Credit Score
• myFICO – Consolidated Reports from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax
• TransUnion – Popular Credit and Identity Theft Monitoring
• CreditWise – Offer Alerts for Identity Theft and Fraudulent Activity
• Chase – Best for Identity Monitoring
• Credit Sesame – Best for User-Friendly Platform
• IdentityForce – Offer Premium Identity Theft Protection
• The Credit Pros – Best for Credit Repair Services
• Identity Guard – Best to Protect Your Finances and Personal Information
• ID Watchdog – Best for Families
• IdentityIQ – Best for Credit Protection
• ClearScore – Best Credit Score App
• MoneySuperMarket – Offer Credit Report Insights
• ET Money – Popular Choice in India
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Credit Karma

Credit Karma is an online platform that allows you to check your credit scores and reports from TransUnion and Equifax for free. From monitoring credit to managing finances, Credit Karma has the tools to ascertain your financial health and make informed decisions, especially when seeking credit.

Credit Karma was founded in 2007 and partners with major financial institutions in the US. It’s free because every time a user applies for a credit facility they recommend, such as a loan or credit card, and is approved, they get a little kickback.

Credit Karma Features

• Free credit score checker and regular updates and alerts from all major bureaus.
• Provides a detailed overview of a user’s credit history.
• Real-time alerts when signs of identity theft are detected.
• Recommended financial products in line with your credit score.
• Credit Karma Money Spend—a free online checking account that gives access to your paycheck two days early.
• Credit Builder program to improve your credit score by up to 21 points in three days.

Credit Karma Pricing

Free: $0

Try Credit Karma

Experian CreditWorks

Experian CreditWorks is a credit monitoring service that provides you with your Experian credit report. This includes your FICO score, personal information, financial accounts, collections, and credit inquiries. The service monitors your credit data in real-time, alerting you of changes like new inquiries or accounts. All this makes Experian CreditWorks a great tool for gathering insights that will boost your credit score.

Experian is a global information services company that provides data and analytical tools to help people manage credit, prevent fraud, and make better financial decisions. It is headquartered in California, USA, and is one of the “Big Three” credit-reporting agencies, alongside TransUnion and Equifax. A free trial is available to test the waters before you commit.

Experian CreditWorks Features

• Experian boost helps boost credit scores by examining one’s history of on-time payments.
• Experian credit report based on the FICO Score 8 model.
• Helps users without a credit history build a credit profile and maintain a high score through Experian Go.
• Free dark web scan—SSN, phone, and email.
• Lock your credit profile to prevent lenders from accessing it without authorization.
• Helps you dispute inaccurate information affecting your credit scores.

Experian CreditWorks Pricing

• Free: $0
• Premium: $24.99 per month
• Family: $34.99 per month

Try Experian CreditWorks

myFICO

myFICO is a Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) service that provides users access to credit reports and FICO credit scores from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Furthermore, it offers tools to help manage credit health, including credit alerts and identity theft insurance.

FICO was established in the 1960s and is known as a pioneer in the credit-scoring business. Today, many lenders use the company’s scores to assess individuals’ creditworthiness.

The free plan limits coverage to Equifax, but the Advanced plan (updates every three months) and Premium plan (updates every month) include three-bureau credit monitoring and identity theft insurance, monitoring, and restoration.

myFICO Features

• 3-Bureau credit report.
• FICO 8 and FICO 9 scores.
• Real-time alerts on credit changes.
• Monitors personal information online and alerts you of any suspicious activity.
• US-based experts to help repair credit health.

myFICO Pricing

• Free: $0
• Advanced: $29.95
• Premier: $39.95

Try myFICO

TransUnion

TransUnion is one of the “Big 3” credit reporting agencies in the US, offering credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. Their credit monitoring services offer credit score, report checking, and alerts when significant changes occur, helping you get ahead of identity theft. And it’s all for free.

TransUnion offers a credit monitoring service subscription that costs $29.95 per month and adds some extra features. The service monitors your credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian and includes credit score trends, real-time alerts, and identity theft insurance.

TransUnion Features

• Credit trends are based on tracking changes over a specific period.
• You will receive a notification the moment your credit score significantly changes (e.g., a hard credit check or opening new accounts).
• Fraud resolution support after an identity theft incident.
• $1 million ID theft insurance.

TransUnion Pricing

• Free: $0
• Premium: $29.95

Try TransUnion

CreditWise

CreditWise allows you to check your credit health. You get access to your VantageScore credit score based on TransUnion data. CreditWise was released by Capital One in 2016 as a free credit monitoring service for US residents.

CreditWise helps individuals track changes to their credit files, alerts them to potential fraud, and provides insights into factors that can cause their scores to rise or fall. Users can access CreditWise even if they aren’t Capital One customers.

CreditWise Features

• Assesses creditworthiness based on factors like payment history, credit utilization, and the age of the account.
• Use the credit simulator to see how your financial decisions might impact your credit score.
• Constantly searches the dark web for your personal information, alerting you when any is found.
• Uses 256-bit data encryption and other modern security protocols to keep your data safe.

CreditWise Pricing

Free: $0

Try CreditWise

Chase

Chase is a major financial institution in the US that offers individuals and organizations a wide range of financial products (e.g., bank accounts, credit cards, and loans). Their tool for checking credit is called Chase Credit Journey. It’s free and allows you to monitor your credit score using the VantageScore 3.0 model. The credit data used is taken from Experian.

With Chase Credit Journey, your credit score is updated weekly. You can get credit reports that provide personalized insights to help you better understand your credit health and how to improve it. It includes identity monitoring services to alert you if your personal information is compromised.

Chase Features

• Know of any changes affecting your credit usage and limits.
• Receive notifications of payments you paid off.
• Get alerted when a new account appears in your name or your credit is checked.
• Create a personalized plan on the mobile app to improve your credit.
• Get notifications when your personal information appears on the dark web and in data breaches.
• Up to $1 million in theft insurance.

Chase Pricing

Free: $0

Try Chase

Credit Sesame

Credit Sesame is a credit monitoring service that alerts you of important changes to your credit report. These include when your score increases or decreases, when you open or close an account, add an authorized user to your credit account, switch employers, or get a new address. On top of that, Credit Sesame offers a debit account called Sesame Cash and a debit card with a 2-day early direct deposit.

Users love Credit Sesame for its user-friendly interface. It makes accessing and understanding credit information straightforward. Its intuitive design and clear presentation of data ensure that anyone can navigate it easily and gain valuable insights into their credit health.

Credit Sesame is free. The score is based on the VantageScore 3.0 model, and the information is pulled from your TransUnion data.

Credit Sesame Features

• A TransUnion VantageScore 3.0 credit score.
• Get alerts indicating when your credit profile has been positively or negatively impacted.
• A report called Sesame Grade provides a comprehensive look at your credit health.
• Assistance building your credit history when you pay various bills (e.g., groceries, gas, and utilities).

Credit Sesame Pricing

Free: $0

Try Credit Sesame

IdentityForce

IdentityForce is a service for comprehensive identity theft protection. A standout feature of IdentityForce is its restoration specialists, who are experts dedicated to helping you restore your identity if it gets stolen. You also have a mobile app for on-the-go monitoring and alerts, allowing you to protect yourself wherever you go.

IdentityForce has two premium plans available, which include features like 24/7 dark web monitoring, advanced fraud monitoring, and personalized action plans. However, only one of them, UltraSecure+Credit Individual, offers credit monitoring and reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. The base plan is strictly for identity monitoring and protection.

IdentityForce Features

• Tools to monitor, protect, and recover your identity.
• Monitor your credit with a score calculated from TransUnion data.
• Keeps an eye on reports from all three major bureaus.
• Provides reports from the big three bureaus (updated quarterly).
• Has recovery specialists ready to assist you in recovering from identity theft.

IdentityForce Pricing

• UltraSecure Individual: $19.90 per month
• UltraSecure+Credit Individual: $34.90 per month
• UltraSecure Family: $24.90 per month
• UltraSecure+Credit Family: $39.90 per month

Try IdentityForce

The Credit Pros

The Credit Pros is a credit repair company that helps individuals improve their credit scores by removing inaccurate or negative items from their credit reports. They offer services like credit consultations, unlimited disputes, and tradeline additions to boost credit scores. They aim to provide clients with a fair chance at achieving good credit by steering them toward their educational resources and teaching them ethical practices.

The base plan (Build Credit) only offers one bureau of credit monitoring, but pricier plans like Repair Credit offer three bureaus of reports and scores. In addition to other advanced credit monitoring features, these plans include unlimited disputes, cease-and-desist letters sent to creditors, and letters of reference.

The Credit Pros Features

• Helps you file credit report error disputes to improve or repair credit.
• Provides credit reports from all three major bureaus.
• No limit on the number of disputes you can file.
• Adds a $5,000 tradeline to your credit report to improve your credit.
• One-on-one consultations with NACSO Certified specialists.
• If unsatisfied after 60 days, they’ll extend your service for free for the months you’ve paid.

The Credit Pros Pricing

• Build Credit: $69 per month
• Repair Credit: $129 per month
• Repair + Build Credit: $149 per month

Try The Credit Pros

Identity Guard

Identity Guard is a service that protects your finances and personal information from theft, fraud, and all types of scams. The company has been safeguarding people for over 25 years, with specialists always ready to assist should you become a victim of identity theft.

Although identity protection is their main business, Identity Guard also allows you to check your credit score and access your Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax credit reports. By combining robust identity protection with credit monitoring services, Identity Guard provides a comprehensive solution that helps individuals maintain their personal security and financial health.

The Value plan starts at $8.99 and offers basic protection, such as one-bureau crediting monitoring, data break notifications, dark web monitoring, identity theft insurance, and a VPN. The higher-priced plans, starting from $19.99, offer credit monitoring for all three bureaus and advanced identity and credit monitoring features.

It offers a family plan that allows you to add five adults and unlimited dependents to the coverage.

Identity Guard Features

• Credit monitoring, with monthly credit score updates and annual credit reports.
• Monitors your credit profile, credit cards, and bank accounts for any suspicious activity.
• Alerts you immediately if your driver’s license or Social Security number (SSN) is compromised.
• Fraud resolution agents are available around the clock.
• $1 million in identity theft insurance.

Identity Guard Pricing

• Value (Individual): $7.50 per month
• Total (Individual): $16.67 per month
• Ultra (Individual): $25 per month
• Value (Family): $12.50 per month
• Total (Family): $25 per month
• Ultra (Family): $33.33 per month

Try Identity Guard

ID Watchdog

ID Watchdog is an identity protection and credit monitoring service from Equifax that offers a comprehensive suite of features to keep your personal and financial information safe. It was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It is an excellent choice for families by providing family plan options protecting adults and minors.

With the family plans, you can add yourself, another adult, and up to four dependents. It’s a well-rounded protection package that can help keep the entire family’s identities and credit profiles secure. Individual plans are also available if you just want to use them for yourself.

ID Watchdog Features

• Monitors credit for adults and minors (one bureau on the Select plan and all three on the Premium plan).
• Scans the dark web, public records, and databases to detect your personal information.
• Notifies you of high-risk financial activities to protect against fraud.
• Provides alerts when new speciality finance activities use your identity outside the traditional banking system.
• Credit locks profiles for minors to prevent unauthorized access and fraud.
• Monitors social media accounts for minors and alerts you of potential cyberbullying.

ID Watchdog Pricing

• ID Watchdog Select: $14.95 per month
• ID Watchdog Premium: $21.95 per month
• ID Watchdog Select + Family: $23.95 per month
• ID Watchdog Premium + Family: $34.95 per month

Buy ID Watchdog

IdentityIQ

IdentityIQ is a comprehensive identity and credit protection service founded in 2006 and based in Temecula, California. It offers credit monitoring across all three major bureaus, real-time alerts, and dark web surveillance. Members also get $1 million in identity theft insurance, and the addition of the family protection features makes it reliable and thorough for both individuals and families.

With additional tools like a secure VPN, anti-virus software, and utility payment reporting, IdentityIQ is an all-encompassing solution for credit protection.

IdentityIQ Features

• Real-time credit monitoring with alerts on any changes or suspicious activities.
• Work directly with creditors, banks, and other entities to restore your identity.
• Protection also includes family members, ensuring their identities are also safeguarded.
• Utility payment reports to help build and improve credit scores.
• BitDefender Premium VPN and anti-virus for secure online browsing and device security.

IdentityIQ Pricing

• Secure Plus: $ 8.50 per month
• Secure Pro: $ 16.99 per month
• Secure Max: $ 25.50 per month

Try IdentityIQ

ClearScore

ClearScore is a UK-based online credit monitoring service where you can sign up and quickly check your credit score. It was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in London, UK. The service is 100% free, has branches in South Africa, Australia, and Canada, and has more than 20 million users.

When you sign up for a ClearScore account and take out one of the credit products they recommend, the lender offering them gives them a commission. This is how the website operates without charging you anything.

ClearScore Features

• Credit scores and reports are updated every week.
• Personalized tips to increase or fix your credit score.
• New activity shows up in your ClearScore account before your credit profile.
• View your payment history (on-time, late, and missed) at a glance.
• Offers a range of financial products tailored for you (based on your credit score and profile).
• A free identity monitoring report is provided when you sign up.

ClearScore Pricing

Free: £0

Try ClearScore

MoneySuperMarket

MoneySuperMarket is a website that specializes in helping people in the UK save money. It does this by offering comparisons of various financial products. These include insurance, loans, credit cards, mortgages, and utilities.

MoneySuperMarket is a great place to check your credit report for free and get insights on which products you qualify for or how to improve your score to become more eligible.

MoneySuperMarket was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in London, UK. It has millions of users and is rated 4.9 stars out of five on the customer review and feedback platform Feefo.

MoneySuperMarket Features

• View your credit score, along with personalized tips on how to improve it.
• Find which loans and credit cards you are most likely to be approved for.
• Access to SuperSaveClub when you sign up—a program that offers cashback, rewards, and unlimited free entry to attractions.
• Watches your credit file for suspicious activity, sending alerts when necessary.

MoneySuperMarket Pricing

Free: £0

Try MoneySuperMarket

ET Money

ET Money, founded in 2015, is an Indian wealth and portfolio management platform that offers several financial services, including loans, insurance, investments (mutual funds and SIPs), and savings. You can get your credit score by signing up for a free account and providing personal information. ET Money provides a free Experian credit report—all you have to provide your name and mobile number.

ET Money Features

• Credit score and report based on Experian data.
• Detailed analysis of repayment history, credit card utilization, credit inquiries, and credit mix.
• Personalized recommendations on loans and credit cards.

ET Money Pricing

Free: $0

Try ET Money

What is a Credit Score?

A credit score is a numerical representation of an individual’s creditworthiness based on a comprehensive financial history analysis (e.g., payment history, credit utilization, new credit, and length of time accounts have been open). It is a three-digit number that usually ranges from 300 to 850.

Lenders mainly use a credit score as a quick reference to assess how much of a risk a person is when extending them a line of credit. The higher the score, the more financially responsible the person is considered to be and the less of a risk it is to grant them the credit.

It can also be an indication to individuals that they need to improve their credit habits if their score is poor.

What is a Credit Monitoring Service?

A credit monitoring service monitors your credit reports and lets you know when a significant change has occurred. Seeking the help of credit monitoring companies is like hiring a security guard to watch over your credit files.

Credit monitoring mostly alerts you of unauthorized changes that could indicate fraudulent activity, such as identity theft. That way, you can take swift action to avoid being compromised further.

Importance of Good Credit Habits

When you maintain good credit habits, your overall financial health and future opportunities are better. For instance, you get better loan terms with lower interest rates, higher credit approval chances, and more options for getting credit when needed.

Good credit habits also extend beyond lenders. Some insurance companies use credit scores to determine your premiums (a high credit score could lower your premiums). Also, landlords often use them to determine if you will pay rent on time, making it easier to approve your rental application.

Maintaining good credit habits includes paying your bills on time, using credit responsibly, keeping credit utilization low, paying off debt, mixing different types of credit, and avoiding excessive new credit applications. You also need to monitor your credit report to ensure the information is accurate, address any inaccuracies, and swiftly handle any indications of fraud.

Features to Look for in Best Credit Monitoring Services

Here are the credit monitoring features to look for when picking a service:

• Credit report monitoring: You should be able to check your credit report from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, and it should be updated regularly to reflect your standing accurately.
• Credit score tracking: The credit monitoring service should allow you to check your credit scores, preferably using data from all three bureaus, so you can track your credit health over time.
• Identity theft insurance: This is part of what is known as identity theft protection services and helps you recover from the impact of identity theft. The service should offer substantial coverage (often up to $1 million).
• Dark web monitoring: If your personal information appears on the dark web, the credit monitoring service should be able to detect it.
• Fraud alerts: When fraudulent activity is detected, such as unrecognized credit inquiries, new account openings, name or address changes, or new loans and credit cards in your name, you should immediately receive a notification so you can take action.
• Lost wallet assistance: When your wallet is lost or stolen, the service should help you cancel all your cards and IDs and replace them.

How to Choose the Right Credit Monitoring Service for You?

Here are a few factors that can help you decide when picking a credit monitoring service:

• Major Credit Bureau Coverage: The best credit monitoring services provide credit reports from all three major credit bureaus, giving you a comprehensive view of your credit standing.
• Alert and frequency customization: The service should send you an alert when your credit profile has been affected by a significant change, such as fraud committed by identity thieves. You should also be able to choose the frequency at which you receive notifications to avoid too many false flags.
• Identity theft protection features: A quality credit monitoring service monitors various sources to identify instances of theft, including the dark web, social media, public records, medical records, and various accounts (e.g., bank and utility).
• Pricing plan and trial period: Ask yourself if the price is worth the features. If there is a free trial that allows you to experience the service before committing, that’s a huge plus.
• Customer support availability: Customer service should be available 24/7 to help you in an emergency regarding your credit health.

What is the Difference Between Credit Freeze and Credit Monitoring?

A credit freeze protects against identity theft by locking your credit report so no one can access it without permission, including lenders. This makes it extremely difficult for fraudsters to open new accounts in your name.

Credit monitoring doesn’t directly stop you from becoming a victim of fraud, but it does alert you when fraudulent activities occur and when the information in your credit profile changes. It notifies you of other fraudulent activities that might be engaged in using your name.

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