2023’s Best Credit Report Site

Fee Details

• Free credit reports annually, no membership

Score Type

• No

Features

• Official site authorized by federal law
• Reports provided annually
• Site includes educational tools and resources

Editor’s Notes

Annual Credit Report is the only Federally mandated site for free access to credit reports from each of the 3 bureaus. The site includes educational tools and does not require an ongoing membership. While the reports may be difficult to understand or digest at first, this is the most reliable method for an annual credit report check from each of the 3 major bureaus.

Fee Details

• Free membership includes all features

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Reports updated daily
• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Site includes educational tools and resources

Editor’s Notes

Credit Karma is one of the stronger names in the free credit monitoring space, and lets users see 2 free credit reports with membership. Daily updates of 2 reports combined with educational tools and monitoring makes it one of the stronger offerings in the free credit report marketplace for frequent monitoring.

Fee Details

• Free membership includes all features

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Site includes educational tools and resources via Experian

Editor’s Notes

Powered by Experian, Free Credit Report is just that, it gives users access to a credit report as well as their FICO 8 Score with a free membership. It is a solid option for a one-time credit check.

Fee Details

• Free consultation includes TransUnion credit report summary
• Upgraded membership includes all three credit reports every 60 days

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Customized credit repair included with upgraded membership
• Site includes educational tools and resources

Editor’s Notes

Lexington Law is a law firm that sells credit rehabilitation services, but, through a free consultation, it gives users access to a summary of their TransUnion credit report, as well as a brief walkthrough with a credit specialist. While this is a method for getting free one-time access to credit data, the potential to get upsold into very expensive credit rehabilitation services ranging from $99.95 to $139.95 per month makes this a weaker option.

Fee Details

• Discounted service offered via Norton to AARP members

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Members receive identity protection benefits

Editor’s Notes

AARP offers an ID Protection service to its members powered by Norton that includes access to their Equifax report. The primary focus is identity protection accompanied by limited credit reporting data. Considering the fee, there are better longer-term options.

Fee Details

• Trial includes all features

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Members receive identity protection benefits
• Site includes educational tools and resources

Editor’s Notes

Equifax, one of the 3 major bureaus, has the strongest of the 3 offerings. Users can access credit reports from all 3 major bureaus, and Equifax has one of the best packages of tools and resources of any of the sites reviewed. The major downside to this membership is the monthly fee, making it not the best option for ongoing monitoring. However, the offering is strong enough to earn consideration.

Fee Details

• Trial includes credit reports and scores
• Upgraded membership including enhanced coverage and monthly updates

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Reports provided annually
• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Members receive identity protection benefits

Editor’s Notes

Identity Guard gives users access to credit reports from all three bureaus annually, three-bureau monitoring, and their monthly Equifax score with membership. However, the site's main focus is ID protection. A number of tools are offered including data breach notifications, credit and debit card monitoring, and social media monitoring. This is an option for free access to credit reports from all three credit bureaus during the trial period. However, given the fee, it's not the best choice for ongoing credit monitoring.

Fee Details

• Trial includes all features

Score Type

• Yes

Editor’s Notes

My Score offers a trial period of its paid membership that provides users with all 3 credit reports. Modest additional resources are included for credit monitoring and analysis, but My Score's membership does come with discounts at select partner vendors. This is a good option if interested in doing a one-time check of all 3 reports with a few extras, but given the monthly fee it is not the best longer-term option

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Members receive identity protection benefits
• Site includes educational tools and resources

Editor’s Notes

TransUnion, one of the 3 major bureaus, gives users access to their credit report via its membership. Users get a few extras beyond reports and scores, but ongoing service still requires a monthly fee. Aside from data directly from a credit bureau, TransUnion is not offering users anything they can't get from other sites for free.

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Reports provided once with membership
• Ongoing three-bureau monitoring included with membership
• Membership includes identity protection benefits
• Site includes educational tools and resources

Editor’s Notes

Truecredit is powered by TransUnion and provides most of the same features. Unlike its parent, the site gives users one-time access to their credit reports from the three bureaus and at a lower cost. However, there are sites with a more comprehensive suite of features.

Fee Details

• Free basic membership includes Experian score, report, and ongoing credit monitoring
• Upgraded membership includes reports and scores from all three bureaus and three-bureau credit monitoring

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Experian reports updated monthly with free basic membershi
  Three credit reports updated monthly with upgraded membership
• Ongoing Experian monitoring included with basic membership
  
  Three-bureau monitoring included with upgraded membership
• Members receive identity protection benefits
• Site includes educational tools and resources

Editor’s Notes

Experian, one of the 3 major bureaus, gives users access to their credit report and score with its free membership. An upgraded membership also offers comprehensive three-bureau monitoring and identity protection. Credit enhancement services such as their FICO Score Simulator and Experian Boost are included in the paid plan as well. While the monthly fee is a deterrent for upgraded membership, the free offering makes Experian a strong option.

Fee Details

• Trial includes all features

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Reports provided monthly
• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Upgraded membership includes identity protection benefits
• Site includes educational resources

Editor’s Notes

Privacy Guard, an ID protection site, offers users access to credit reports from all 3 bureaus with its membership. Users can access this through the trial period, and also get access to a decent set of resources. Given the fee, this is not a strong option for longer-term monitoring, but is a good option for a one time check of all 3 reports.

Fee Details

• Free membership includes all features

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Members receive identity protection benefits
• Custom credit card and loan offer recommendations

Editor’s Notes

CreditReport.com gives users access to their Experian report and score with membership. Also included is ID Protection, which is a nice bonus. Given there are services offering data from all three bureaus along with identity protection, better options are available.

Fee Details

• Trial includes Experian credit report
• Membership includes full credit reports and scores from all three bureaus, and three-bureau credit monitoring

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Three credit reports provided with membership
• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Members receive identity protection benefits

Editor’s Notes

Powered by Experian, Credit Check Total offers comprehensive credit data for a fee. This includes three-bureau monitoring, full credit reports, and three-bureau credit scores. However, given the monthly cost, this is not a great option for longer-term monitoring.

Fee Details

• Free basic membership includes Experian report score, and ongoing credit monitoring
• Upgraded membership includes reports and scores from all three bureaus and three-bureau monitoring

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Ongoing credit monitoring included with membership
• Members receive identity protection benefits
• Site includes educational tools and resources

Editor’s Notes

Protect my ID is a service offered by Experian that provides access to users' credit report and score for free. Upgraded membership includes identity protection and quarterly updates from all three bureaus. For an additional cost, the premier service provides data monthly. Given the fees and limitations, this is not a great option for ongoing monitoring.

Fee Details

• Membership includes credit reports and scores
• Upgraded membership plans include a variety of FICO scores, enhanced monitoring, and identity protection services

Score Type

• Yes

Features

• Reports provided annually
• Ongoing Experian credit monitoring included with free membership
• One-bureau monitoring with basic membership (updated monthly)
  
  Three-bureau monitoring with advanced membership (updated quarterly)
  
  Three-bureau monitoring with premier membership (updated monthly)

Editor’s Notes

myFICO provides users with their credit reports from the three bureaus. There are a wide variety of options, including single- or triple-bureau checks, both one-time or ongoing. Unless you feel a strong need to go directly to FICO, this is not the place to start your search. You can find better free services.