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There are currently three major players in the free credit monitoring space: Quizzle, Credit Sesame & Credit Karma. Today we’re going to compare the three of them and decide which is the best and worst credit monitoring site. For every category the winner was given 3 points, second place was given 2 points and last place was given 1 point.
Contents
Credit Bureau Used
- Quizzle uses Equifax
- Credit Karma uses TransUnion
- Credit Sesame uses Experian
This was ranked by which credit bureau is most often used by credit card issuers. Mortgage lenders look at all three credit reports (and credit scores) and there isn’t any information for auto loans as to which credit bureau was used.
Credit Score Used
- Credit Karma offers multiple scores: VantageScore V3 and industry specific scores
- Quizzle offers VantageScore V3
- Credit Sesame offers the Experian National Equivalency Score
Credit Sesame was given last place because the ENES is not used by lenders at all, Credit Karma beat out Quizzle for the #1 spot because it offers three (TransRisk Score, TransUnion Auto Insurance Risk Score & TransUnion Home Insurance Risk Score) aditional scores alongside the VantageScore.
Credit Report Provided
- Quizzle provides a full credit report twice per year
- Credit Sesame & Credit Karma both only provide partial reports
Credit Tools Offered
- Credit Karma
- Quizzle
- Credit Sesame
Credit Karma has the best suite of the credit tools by far out of the three bureaus. Credit Sesame was ranked last as most of the “tools” are actually a convenient way for them to upsell full credit reports and new credit.
Final Rankings
| Credit Karma | Credit Sesame | Quizzle | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Bureau | TransUnion | Experian | Equifax | Quizzle |
| Credit Score | VantageScore V3 + industry specific scores | ENES | VantageScore V3 | Credit Karma |
| Credit Report | Partial | Partial | Full | Quizzle |
| Credit Tools | Wide range of tools | Mostly used to monetize | Good selection of tools | Credit Karma |
- Quizzle & Credit Karma: 10 points each
- Credit Sesame: 5 points
As you can see, it was a tie for first place. Quizzle’s decision to change from Experian to Equifax has now put them on equal footing with the goliath that is Credit Karma. Credit Sesame was unfortunately last by a long way, they really need to improve the credit score they offer and the tools to be less monetization-in-your-face and more helpful.
At the end of the day, all three sites are free and now track all three of the major credit bureaus. So there is no harm in signing up for them all and seeing which one you find most useful – just make sure you let us know which one is your favorite and why in the comments!
