Credit scores are one of those topics that are hard to talk about. It’s very easy to get down on yourself if you discover you have a poor score, but you need to know what it is because at some point you are going to need a large loan for either a car, home, or another purchase.
If your credit score is low however, you’re out of luck when it comes time to secure a loan with good terms.
That’s not to say it’s impossible to secure a loan with a poor credit score. You can still get mortgages and larger loans, it’s just that you might need to put down more collateral, or have higher interest rates. Both of these things can end up hurting you. Are there any alternatives?
You can turn towards one of many credit score services to help fix up your credit and get your life back on track. Why sit back and let the past define who you are today?
With so many credit score services out there however, it can be difficult to pick one. We decided today to look at some of the best credit score services out there to help give you an idea.
Credit score services aren’t just about monitoring your credit either. They also provide credit monitoring services that can help to detect identity theft and fraud.
Therefore, there are plenty of features that you can get out of some of these services. Let’s move on and start talking about some of them.
Privacy Guard - Best Overall Credit Score Service
Within the country, there are three major credit bureaus that will determine your credit score: Equifax, Transunion, and Experian.
Each of these might provide you with a different credit score. With Privacy Guard, you will be able to tell what your credit score is within all three of these.
Privacy Guard also has daily monitoring so they can notify you through whatever means you choose to inform you of any credit report information changes.
This can help alert you to any issues, allowing you to settle and dispute them early.
Privacy Guard isn’t one of the few credit score services out there however. They do offer a deal and charge you $1 for the first 14 days, but after that you’ll be charged a subscription fee.
There are different plans to choose from, so find out what is affordable and what works for you.
Finally, Privacy Guard, as the name implies, offers one of the best credit monitoring services out there. They will constantly look out for any theft or fraud and alert you instantly.
There is also ID theft insurance, giving you the protection that you need. Overall, we loved what Privacy Guard had to offer and although there was a subscription fee, it was definitely worth it for what we were getting.
Credit Karma - Best Free Credit Score Service
Moving over to credit karma, you are getting a great free credit score service. You can track your TransUnion and Equifax credit reports at no cost, allowing you to access information whenever you want.
Within this credit score service, you can expect to see your credit score updated daily and your credit report updated weekly. We have to say for a free credit score service, that’s quite impressive.
Just like with Privacy Guard, you will receive notifications if there is any unusual activity suspected on your credit reports. This can help you mitigate the damage that will be done.
The one downside to Credit Karma is that you don’t have access to your Experian credit but not many credit score services can offer what Credit Karma does without a price at all.
If you are looking to save money but still want to monitor your credit, we think Credit Karma is a no brainer.
Experian - Best Credit Score Service For Families And Multiple Accounts
As mentioned earlier, Experian is one of the three major credit bureaus out there, and signing up with them will give you access to all three of your credit reports.
Experian also comes with something called IdentityWorks which works to help monitor your credit score and keep you safe.
Along with credit score monitoring services, this credit score service can detect when sex offenders move into your area or when a crime has been put under your name.
This is all information that you are going to want to know, especially if you have a family.
Is that the only reason why it’s best for a family? Experian offers discounts for signing up multiple people and for $14.99 a month you can sign up one adult and ten children.
For five dollars more, you can have two adults and ten children. That’s quite a low price for everything that you are getting.
If you want to get your family on board with a credit score service, we recommend looking at Experian for their IdentityWorks service and their low price on group plans.
Transunion - Best Credit Score Service For Single Bureau Monitoring
Transunion is a great service if you are looking for timely alerts whenever there are changes to any of the accounts that you have registered.
Transunion is another of the major three credit bureaus and we found their service worked best for tracking your Transunion credit report.
That being said, you can still track your Equifax and get notifications on changes, however when it comes to Experian, you are only going to be informed if the change has been deemed important.
Compared to some of the credit score services above, it’s a little pricey at $24.95 a month, but it provides some of the best credit score monitoring out there. It allows you to stay on top of things and respond to issues quickly.
Fico Advanced - Best Credit Score Service For Seeing Multiple Scores
We mentioned that there are three major credit bureau services in the country, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other services out there that will give you your credit score.
With Fico advanced, you are getting access to all three major bureaus, along with 28 other versions of your credit score that are used in your mortgage, auto, and credit card lending.
While they only update every quarter, we were amazed at how much information they provided.
This is one of the best credit score services if you want to see your credit score displayed across multiple different areas.
Nothing will slip through the cracks and you’ll know exactly what you are getting into with Fico Advanced credit score service.
Identity Guard - Best Credit Score Service For Versatility
If you are looking for a credit score service that can do it all, you might want to take a look at Identity Guard.
Identity Guard is one of the few credit score services that have been around for a while and can help to protect you from identity theft while also giving you your credit score.
While something like IdenittyForce might be slightly better with security, we still stand by Identity Guard and their security and think it is an all around great service for what you are paying for.
IdentityForce - Best Credit Score Service For Security
IdentifyForce is one of the best credit score services out there for monitoring your credit and ensuring that everything is safe.
If at any point your information is compromised, you are going to receive a notification. With IdentityForce, you are also getting $1 million dollars in theft insurance.
They offer multiple plans and it is up to you to choose what type of monitoring you want.
The higher end plans are the ones that give you a great deal of security and we recommend that as it is always important to be safe with your credit.
Along with monitoring, they offer standard services a credit score service would provide. You can get your score from all three bureaus and stay up to date with everything.
IdentiyForce is definitely one of the best credit score services when it comes to security.
Protect Your Credit
All of these credit score services are great for providing you with the information and monitoring that you need. However, we must inform you that it is up to you as well to spot potential scams so you don’t fall victim to them.
Before ever making a purchase on a website, verify that your information is secure and confidential. You’d be surprised at the amount of leaks there are on websites or how little encryption there is to protect you.
By taking these steps to protect yourself, you can help reduce the risk of identity theft and needing theft insurance.
Closing Thoughts
These are 7 of the best credit score services out there. Evaluate your lifestyle to decide what is best for you. We stand by all of these services and want you to find one that works for you.
Choose one that has an easy interface for you and is affordable. After that, you can rest easy knowing that your credit score is safe.
