10 Best Credit Monitoring Services

Feb 24, 2022

min read

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ata breaches and identity theft are common issues that significantly impact an individual's credit history and credit score. Criminals can steal your credit information to open new credit card accounts and take loans under your name.

Thus, it is wise to sign up for a trustworthy credit monitoring service to secure your credit information.

When you sign up for the credit monitoring services, it will notify you if any unusual behavior is found. So, you can take quick actions before it can harm your credit score.

If you wonder which credit monitoring service you should use, keep reading our list to find the best credit monitoring options available.

1.Credit Karma

The free credit monitoring tool from Credit Karma helps you quickly find problems, discrepancies, or signs of identity theft on your credit reports to take action as soon as possible.

The tool helps you check your credit scores as frequently as you like. Furthermore, your credit reports are available from TransUnion and Equifax. But unfortunately, Credit Karma doesn't monitor your credit report from Experian.

Credit Karma keeps track of your credit, offers you weekly updates, and alerts you if your credit score changes.

The tool also displays your credit score and credit criteria that impact it, such as how much of your credit card limit you're using, negative marks, and hard inquiries.

It also guides how to improve your credit scores.

Pros of Credit Karma

Free credit monitoring
Multi-platform compatibility
Monitors credit reports from Equifax and TransUnion.
Weekly credit score updates.
Included identity monitoring.

Cons of Credit Karma

Too many product suggestions
Only the user's VantageScore 3.0 credit scores are included.
Insurance against identity theft is not available.

2. Experian

Experian is one of the most well-known credit monitoring services, and it provides FICO ratings for all three credit agencies.

The tool keeps an eye on identity theft and scans dark web domains regularly to see whether your personal information has been leaked.

It also monitors your spending and credit score and alerts you if there has been any significant change.

Pros of Experian

Monitors consumer spending
FICO score tracker.
Easy procedure of filing a credit report dispute
Real-time alerts
Credit score tracking

Cons of Experian

Only Experian credit data is used in the free plan.
Some reviews reveal inaccuracies in credit reporting.

3. TransUnion

TransUnion is one of the widespread credit monitoring tools where you can check your credit score report. Apart from this, TransUnion also provides identity protection to its consumers.

Javelin, an identity protection service provider, is included in the package of TransUnion such that the clients are quickly notified of possible identity theft cases.

If someone requests credit in your name, the tool sends you real-time notifications to take action quickly. Also, it covers up to $ 1 Million in ID theft insurance.

Another feature available is TransUnion Credit Lock which is a service that locks your credit profile until you unlock it.

The lock helps prevent a thief from getting your credit information if they apply for credit in your name.

Pros of TransUnion

Includes free identity protection
Unlimited score and report access
Credit Lock Plus
Up to $1 Million in ID theft insurance

Cons of TransUnion

No child identity theft protection
The premium package is rather pricey.
Only have access to TransUnion's credit score and report.

4. PrivacyGuard

PrivacyGuard offers credit monitoring for all three credit agencies, including credit reports and ratings. Every time your credit report information changes, credit monitoring alerts you through text, email, or phone.

PrivacyGuard also provides standard ID protection, which monitors the public and dark webs, public data, and more for evidence of identity theft. ID theft insurance covers up to $ 1 million.

Pros of PrivacyGuard

Reasonable price
Comprehensive credit and identity monitoring
Monthly payments
Credit score simulator
Financial calculator suite

Cons of PrivacyGuard

Identity theft insurance is not available with all plans
No Social Media Monitoring
Poor customer support

5. FICO Advanced

With the FICO Advanced credit monitoring service, you can keep track of the credit scores that most lenders require.

You can get quick access to your three-bureau credit report and up to 28 different versions of your credit score for mortgage, auto, and credit card loans.

Your credit reports and scores are updated to keep you informed about your credit score each quarter.

You are notified of the changes to your credit information, such as newly created accounts, new queries, new public records, new addresses, newly listed collections, and account balance changes.

It also provides identity theft monitoring, lost wallet protection, and $1 million ID theft insurance.

The monthly cost of a FICO Advanced membership is $29.95.

Pros of FICO Advanced

Comprehensive credit monitoring
Easy access to your credit scores
Protection against fraud and identity theft
Customer service by phone or email
A family plan is also available.

Cons of FICO Advanced

There are no free plans available.
Automatic monthly invoicing may result in unwanted charges.

6. Credit Sesame

Credit Sesame provides a free service that monitors credit reports from TransUnion. It includes credit report card analysis and monthly score updates and monitoring.

The Users are also provided with tips on how to save money on loans, mortgages, credit cards, and offers for credit cards and loans.

After a seven-day free trial, consumers who wish to upgrade to triple-bureau monitoring need to pay $15.95 per month for Credit Sesame's premium plan.

Pros of Credit Sesame

Real-time alerts
Provides advice on how to increase your credit score.
Provides up to $50,000 coverage in identity theft protection.

Cons of Credit Sesame

Only the user's VantageScore is included.
Only TransUnion data is used in this free service.
Only partners' product suggestions are included.

7. Identity Guard

Identity Guard is an identity theft prevention and credit monitoring service. There are three different subscriptions, and the services differ according to your plan's subscription.

Users on the Total and Ultra plans get a monthly credit score update based on data from TransUnion and Experian and credit change notifications from all three agencies.

It also includes a three-bureau credit report, credit and debit card monitoring, and 401(k) and other investment monitoring under the most thorough plan, Ultra.

Like many of its rivals, all members are covered by a $1 million insurance policy.

Pros of Identity Guard

$1 million insurance against identity theft is included in all plans
Customers are assigned a case manager to analyze their credit situation.
Multi-platform compatibility
A family plan is available

Cons of Identity Guard

The value plan does not include credit monitoring.
The most comprehensive family plan is the most costly.
Certain monitoring services are only accessible with the ultra plan.

8. Mint

Mint is a free tool for managing your financial accounts and budgets. It also provides daily credit monitoring to help you stay on top of your financial position.

You may use it to track your payments and find out where your credit score is weak or strong, such as not having a long credit history or paying bills on time.

On one page, Mint displays your on-time payments, credit consumption (to check if you're approaching your credit limit), and average credit age.

Mint will send you credit report summaries and credit monitoring notifications if your score rises or falls. Apart from this, any changes to your personal information or new credit inquiries will be notified to you.

Pros of Mint

All of your financial accounts are linked in one spot.
Real-time alerts
Access to your credit score for free
Free of cost

Cons of Mint

Connectivity issues with financial accounts
There are no joint accounts.
Lots of advertisements

9. Complete ID

Complete ID might be a good deal if you want more extensive security than free services but are put off by the price tags of certain credit monitoring packages.

The users can gain access to a credit monitoring and identity protection solutions package for only $8.99.

It is a relatively low-cost solution for credit monitoring and identity theft protection available.

Pros of Complete ID

Reasonably priced
Insurance coverage of up to $1 million in the event of identity theft
Credit report monitoring of all three credit bureaus.

Cons of Complete ID

Only Costco members have access to this feature.
Credit reports are only available once a year.
The scores are updated annually.

10. IdentityForce

IdentityForce offers two primary identification and credit monitoring programs. Only identity monitoring services are included in the UltraSecure package. The UltraSecure+Credit package also keeps track of your identification and credit.

The UltraSecure package costs $17.99 per month or $179.90 per year and has several tools that monitor your data and notify you if it is hacked.

You can also get $1 million in identity theft insurance, which can help pay costs associated with resolving identity theft.

Pros of IdentityForce

Positive feedback from customers
Monitoring of credit reports on a daily basis
Identity theft insurance worth $1 million

Cons of IdentityForce

Extra charge for child identity theft coverage
Identity theft is not available as a free trial.

Conclusion

Opt for credit monitoring services to monitor your credit and look out for possible identity thefts and data breaches.

Regular credit monitoring helps you figure out any suspicious activities in advance such that you can take quick action before it hampers your credit score.

There are several options available in the market that offer credit monitoring services that are paid and free.

You can go for credit monitoring services shopping to choose the service which fits the best.