Credit Monitoring Services

We’ve compared all of current credit monitoring services on the market and provide you with their product names, websites, type of credit score provided, monthly cost, whether they have a free trial and the conditions of that trial, what credit reports they supply, the amount of identity theft protection insurance they provide and other details about the credit monitoring programs.

Credit Monitoring Services Table Of Comparison

Product Name & WebsiteScore TypeMonthly costFree trialTrial periodCredit ReportsID Theft ProtectionCredit Monitoring AlertsOtherOur review
FreeCreditScore.comPLUS score (EX), bi-weekly17.99Yes7 daysMonthly (EX)50000Daily (EX)Click
Experian Credit TrackingPLUS score (EX), monthly14.95NoFirst month for $4.95Daily (EX)50000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
Experian Triple AlertPLUS score (EX), at sign up8.95NoNoneNone10000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
TrueCredit / TransUnion Credit MonitoringVantageScore (TU), monthly17.95Yes7 daysDaily (TU), monthly (EX & EQ)1000000Daily (TU)
ZendoughVantageScore (TU), monthly29.95Yes7 daysMonthly (TU)NoneNone
Equifax's Score Watch FICO score (EQ-04/BEACON 5.0), monthly14.95NoNoneBi-annually (EQ)NoneDaily (EQ)
Equifax ID PatrolNo Score16.95NoNoneUnlimited EQ reports, 3-1 as sign up bonus1000000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)Lock credit report in real time
Equifax's Debt WiseFAKO Score ("EQ credit score"), 4 per year14.95NoNoneFour yearly (EQ)25000Daily (EQ)Rearranges the credit report to help consumers identify their debt
Equifax's Credit Watch GoldNo Score12.95NoNoneUnlimited EQ reports25000Daily (EQ)
Equifax CompleteFAKO Score ("EQ credit score"), daily19.95NoNoneDaily EQ reports, 3-1 report yearly (includes scores from all three)1000000Daily (EQ)
Equifax 3 In 1 Monitoring w/ 4 FICO scoresFICO Score (EQ-04/BEACON 5.0), 4 per year*14.95NoNoneUnlimited EQ reports, 3-1 as sign up bonus1000000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
myFICO's scorewatchFICO score (EQ-04/BEACON 5.0), monthly14.95**Yes**10 days**Two EQ reports. One at sign up, one at time of choosingNoneDaily (EQ)
myFICO's Quarterly monitoringFICO score (TU-98), every three months$4.95^NoNoneReport at sign up, new report every three monthsNoneWeekly (TU)
CreditKarma.comFAKO score (TU TransRisk & TU VantageScore), dailyFreeAlways freeForeverSummary of TU report, dailyNoneDaily (TU)Click
IdentityGuardFAKO score (CreditXpert), monthly19YesTwo weeksMonthly (EX, EQ, TU)1000000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
PrivacyGuardFAKO score (CreditXpert), monthly17.99No14 days for $1Monthly (EX, EQ, TU)1000000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
Citi IdentityMonitorFAKO score (CreditXpert), monthly12.95NoNoneMonthly (EX, EQ, TU)NoneDaily (EX, EQ & TU)^^Only for existing citi customers
Privacy Matters 1-2-3FAKO score (TU, EQ & EX TransRisk)14.95NoNoneMonthly (EX, EQ, TU)NoneDaily (EX, EQ & TU)
Eliminate ID TheftFAKO Score (TU TransRisk)12.95NoNoneDaily (EX, EQ, TU)25000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
CreditReport.comPLUS score (EX), twice monthly19.95NoThirty days for $1At sign up (EX)NoneDaily (EX, EQ & TU)
USAA CreditCheck MonitoringPLUS score (EX), daily12.95NoNoneMonthly (EX, EQ, TU)25000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
AMEX CreditSecurePLUS score (EX, EQ, TU), twice monthly14.99NoFirst month for $1Twice monthly (EX, EQ, TU)1000000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
QuizzleVantageScore, twice yearlyFreeYesForeverBi-annually (EQ)NoneDaily (EQ)Possible to upgrade for $15/mo, allows one CE score and Equifax report per monthClick
Credit Check TOTALPLUS score (EX, EQ, TU), three times monthly29.95YesThirty daysTri-monthly (EX, EQ, TU)NoneDaily (EX, EQ & TU)Some creditors provide major discounts for this product
FreeCreditReport.comPLUS score (EX)19.95Yestwo days (only includes report, pay $1 for report + score)Daily (EX)NoneBi-monthly (EX)
ITAC SentinelFAKO (CreditXpert), Quarterly12.99NoNoneQuarterly (EX, EQ, TU)20000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
Smart CreditFAKO (ConsumerDirect Credit Score), four monthly29.95YesSeven daysFour monthly (EX, EQ, TU)NoneDaily (EX, EQ & TU)
ScoreSenseFAKO (CreditXpert), monthly29.95YesSeven daysMonthly (EX, EQ, TU)1000000Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
Credit SesameFAKO (Experian's National Equivalency Score), monthlyFreeYesForeverDaily summary of EX50000Daily (EX)Click
MyScoreFAKO (TU TransRisk), monthly29.95YesSeven daysMonthly (TU)NoneDaily (TU)
FreeScore.comFAKO (TU, EX, & EQ TransRisk), monthly14.95NoNoneMonthly (TU, EX & EQ)NoneDaily (EX, EQ & TU)
iQualiferFAKO CE Credit Score (TU)24Yes $5.95Monthly (TU)NoneDaily (EX, EQ & TU)
Credit.comFAKO Score (Experian National Equivalency & Experian VantageScore V3)FreeNoNoneNoneNoneDaily (EX)Click

Key:

TU: TransUnion
EX: Experian
EQ: Equifax
ID Theft Protection: The maximum amount this monitoring service provides in the event of identity theft
Credit Monitoring Alerts: These alerts will only notify consumers of major changes on their credit report, e.g a new account being opened or a credit limit being increased
Score type: The type of credit score offered (if any)

Fine Print:

*At a time of your choosing
**There is a three month requirement if you exceed the trial period
^three month minimum requirement
^^ Business days only

F.A.Q’s

What is the best credit monitoring service?

This will really depend on the features you’re looking for. For example, if you’re planning on applying for credit in the near future it’s beneficial to sign up for a service that gives you access to your FICO score, as this is the score lenders look at.

Whereas if you’re really only after identity theft insurance, then you’ve got to look at a service that has a high ceiling ($1,000,000) on the amount that can be claimed.

Our favorite is Equifax’s 3 in 1 monitoring with 4 FICO scores. This gives you access to your EQ-04 FICO score (sometimes called the Beacon 5.0 score) 4 times each year. It also has $1,000,000 in cover for identity theft and at only $14.95 a month it’s one of the cheaper services on the market.

Sign up for Equifax’s 3 in 1 monitoring program today.

WHICH SERVICES PROVIDE FICO SCORES?

There are four services that provide consumers with FICO scores, two from Equifax and two from myFICO.com, they are as follows: Equifax 3 In 1 Monitoring w/ 4 FICO scores, Equifax’s Score Watch, myFICO’s scorewatch, myFICO’s Quarterly monitoring.

All of these can be reduced in price by using one of the myFICO.com promo codes

Which Credit Monitoring Services Are Free?

There are a number of credit monitoring services which are free. Quizzle, Credit Karma and Credit Sesame are all free forever. Below is a table that only contains programs with a free trial (we haven’t included Quizzle, Credit Karma or Credit Sesame).

Smart Credit FAKO (ConsumerDirect Credit Score), four monthly $29.95 Yes Seven days Four monthly (EX, EQ, TU) None Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
ScoreSense FAKO (CreditXpert), monthly $29.95 Yes Seven days Monthly (EX, EQ, TU) $1,000,000 Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
MyScore FAKO (TU TransRisk), monthly $29.95 Yes Seven days Monthly (TU) None Daily (TU)
IdentityGuard FAKO score (CreditXpert), monthly $19.00 Yes Two weeks Monthly (EX, EQ, TU) $1,000,000 Daily (EX, EQ & TU)
FreeCreditReport.com PLUS score (EX) $19.95 Yes two days (only includes report, pay $1 for report + score) Daily (EX) None Bi-monthly (EX)
FreeCreditScore.com PLUS score (EX), bi-weekly $17.99 Yes 7 days Monthly (EX) $50,000 Daily (EX)
Credit Check TOTAL PLUS score (EX, EQ, TU), three times monthly $29.95 Yes Thirty days Tri-monthly (EX, EQ, TU) None Daily (EX, EQ & TU) Some creditors provide major discounts for this product
TrueCredit / TransUnion Credit Monitoring VantageScore (TU), monthly $17.95 Yes 7 days Daily (TU), monthly (EX & EQ) $1,000,000 Daily (TU)
Zendough VantageScore (TU), monthly $29.95 Yes 7 days Monthly (TU) None None
myFICO’s scorewatch FICO score (EQ-04/BEACON 5.0), monthly 14.95** Yes** 10 days** Two EQ reports. One at sign up, one at time of choosing None Daily (EQ)

Reviews Of Credit Monitoring Services

Below are a list of the in depth reviews we’ve done of the different credit monitoring services. We include information such as how easy it is to cancel and how close the credit scores they provide are to FICO scores.

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6 Comments
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Gadget - Bank Bonus Geek
Gadget - Bank Bonus Geek (@guest_1061011)
September 24, 2020 00:30

 Chuck  William Charles Just reporting the obvious. That this table is jacked up with the ads that appear on top, too. (not just the payments workshop) Refreshing the page fixes it.

Dee
Dee (@guest_719866)
February 9, 2019 18:49

Which ones will allow me to soft pull daily?

Enrico
Enrico (@guest_712133)
January 25, 2019 21:00

Freecreditscore.com is actually free and not just a free trial. Since it provides an actual Fico Score 8 and from Experian, updated every 30days or less, highly valuable to keep track and check where your score is at .

MrWho
MrWho (@guest_126315)
May 28, 2015 16:45

CreditSesame no longer EX but TU. I don’t know when the switch occurred.

Liliane
Liliane (@guest_6920)
March 31, 2014 05:03

Suggestion for correction. Quizzle is off Equifax not Experian. It changed a couple of months ago