It’s important to stay up to date on your credit score, especially if you have bad credit. Here, we show 5 Best Credit Score Apps for your phone (Android or iO) that allow you to monitor your score, correct items when necessary.
Stay on top of your financial health with these mobile downloads:
Everyone has a credit score, and it’s important to stay up to date. Here, we show you five free apps for your phone (Android or iOS) that will help you monitor your score, correct items when needed, and even help you when you’re on the go.
Credit Score Basics:
Before you sign up for any credit apps it’s important to understand what credit is, and what makes up your credit score. 90% of lenders will use your FICO score to determine your creditworthiness.
FICO Score Factors:
- Payment history: 35%
- Amounts owed: 30%
- Length of credit history: 15%
- Credit mix: 10%
- New credit: 10%
Related: All You Need To Know About The FICO Score
Does checking your credit score hurt it?
Many people fear that checking their credit score through services such as Credit Karma (or any of the other apps mentioned below) negatively affects those scores. The truth is that checking your own credit score is generally considered a “soft inquiry”, meaning it does not require a “hard moment” in your credit report.
A “hard inquiry” usually occurs when you apply for a new credit card, loan, or mortgage. The “soft pull” usually occurs when you check your score, when a potential employer does a background check, or when you are pre-approved for a credit card or loan.
Credit Karma does a good job of explaining the difference between the types of credit inquiries. In any case, you should be assured that using any of the apps below will not adversely affect your credit score.
Other Important Information : that might help you out with your credit issues
Improving your credit score is a challenging task. Credit Saint is a reputable credit repair company that helps people to improve credit score. Credit Saint has over 15 years of experience. They have been helping people fix their credit for decades and are still doing it to this day. Alternatives to Credit Saint are Disputebee, Lexington Law & Credit Repair Cloud.
1. Credit Karma:
What we like :
- It’s Free to use
- Offers suggestions on the problem areas of your credit score.
- Keeps you up to date on all credit score information
- Sends you notifications when there is a charge in your credit.
- Easy setup
What we don’t like:
- Sales of financial products within the app
- Ads can be distracting
- Only displays 2 credit scores while using the Vantage Score
Credit Karma is probably the most well-known service for getting free expert credit score reports from Equifax and TransUnion Credit Bureaus (Experian is the second-largest bureau). For Android and iOS, its apps provide alerts to any significant changes to your credit report, and if you notice an error, you can file a dispute directly with the Credit Karma app. ۔ You can also see how your credit score breaks down and look at all the accounts listed in your score.
Related: Credit Karma vs Experian
2. Credit Sesame:
What we like:
- Free to use
- Credit monitoring and alerts
- Personalized products based on your credit
- Easy to detect error on your credit report
- Free Identity theft protection
Which we don’t like:
- Lots of ads
- Most of the credit tips have to do with signing up for sponsored credit cards.
- Users say sometimes they go months without an update to their credit score.
- Their banking options can take a long time to receive your deposits.
- Does not provide a FICO score.
Credit Sesame is one of the leading apps on the market that focus on identity theft. They offer you access to your credit score, credit monitoring, and identify theft protection for free. All these features may not be free for some after a 2-week trial. You can pay to upgrade your app for better features. Available for Android and iOS.
3. myFICO :
What we like:
- Access to your FICO score
- Press notifications on major credit programs.
- Explore how different actions you take can affect your FICO score
- Credit monitoring
- Free to download
Which we don’t like:
- VantageScore is not included
- Monthly charges to access credit reports and other features
The most commonly used score to determine your credibility is FICO, so where you stand is valuable. If you have a MyFICO Advanced subscription (starting at 29.95 per month) to monitor your scores from all three credit bureaus, proactive credit reports, and $1 million identity theft insurance. The app provides push notifications when important changes occur in your reports, such as a new inquiry or an increase/decrease in your score. This is the best app to use if you are looking to get a mortgage on your home or any type of loan. Available on Android and iOS.
Related: myFICO Review: Credit Monitoring
4. CreditWise by Capital One:
What we like:
- Free to use
- Email alerts whenever your TransUnion credit report changes
- Tracks your Social Security Number and alerts you if it has been found on the dark web.
- Uses a potential impact simulator to let you know what will happen to your score before you make a financial decision.
Which we don’t like:
- Only offers your VantageScore
- No identity insurance
CreditWise is a credit monitoring app by Capital One. You can signup for CreditWise even if you don’t have a Capital One credit card. It uses two of the three major credit bureaus Experian and TransUnion. You will receive alerts when you have any new account inquiries, delinquent accounts, and balance changes. CreditWise offers something that most credit apps don’t. They will scan and send you alerts anytime they find your social security number or email address on the dark web. The dark web is hacking forums, illegal digital marketplaces, and unsafe sites. Available for Android and iOS.
5. Mint :
What we like:
- Free
- 24/7 access to your score.
- Customized budgets
- Track your cash flow
- Alerts for when your bills are due or prices go up
Which we don’t like:
- Doesn’t include a FICO score
- Bank synchronization has some issues
- If banking information is wrong you can’t reconcile the information
Mint is an app that brings everything together from your credit score to bills and budgets. When you connect all your account to Mint you can set up alerts to be notified when bills are due or when prices change such as Netflix, and Spotify. You can save money by creating a budget in Mint and they will automatically categorize your transactions so you know exactly what you are spending your money on. Available on Android and iOS.
Other Programs You Might Like
While Mint can help you save money with budgeting it doesn’t lower your bills as BillShark can. BillShark can help you lower your internet, wireless, TV, and Satellite radio bills. Not only can they lower your bills by connecting your account they can cancel subscriptions for you that you no longer use while also checking your insurance rates to get you the best deals.
All five of these credit score apps are great in different ways but they can all help you monitor your credit score and will be beneficial to have. If you have bad credit and are looking to buy a mortgage or a personal loan or a new car you might need to turn to a professional credit repair company like The Credit People. They can give you access to all three of the credit bureaus while also helping you improve your credit score.
Do you have bad credit, no credit or want to learn how to become a credit expert?
Check out our credit repair training and learn:
- What your actual credit score is
- How to get a copy of your free credit report
- How to get your credit back on track today
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