Best Apps for Your Free Credit Score | Credit Cards

It used to be difficult to get your hands on your credit score. But now it’s hard to avoid.

Credit scores can be confusing (or annoying) when you’re trying to keep track of them all. Between the multiple credit bureaus and the multiple scoring models, it can be difficult to figure out what your scores actually are.

So here are the best apps you can download on your phone today to track all your credit scores – for free.

Why we chose it: Not to toot our own horn, but our new credit monitoring tool available within the U.S. News app provides readers with a plethora of free benefits.

For example, the Credit Score Coach can help consumers visualize their financial goals. After inputting their goal credit score and a target timeframe, consumers are provided with a list of recommended actions based on their credit profile on just how to do that.

Why we chose it: Experian tracks your FICO score instead of your VantageScore, giving you more insight into your financial health. However, it’s worth pointing out you can only monitor your Experian score with the free account.

On the upside, consumers can utilize Experian Boost within the app to see if they’re eligible for a boost in their score. My score went up 44 points in 10 minutes when I used Experian Boost, so it’s definitely worth looking into.

Why we chose it: Another FICO Score tracker, myFICO is an additional puzzle piece in your financial profile. This time, we’re tracking Equifax.

The free version is quite bare bones, but it gets the job done. You’re able to monitor your credit for free and receive alerts when your credit score changes.

Why we chose it: CreditWise is the final piece of the credit-monitoring puzzle since it monitors your TransUnion score, as well as your Experian. Now, you don’t need to be a Capital One cardholder to use CreditWise (it just makes things more streamlined if you are).

By downloading all of the apps listed above, you’ll be able to see your FICO score and credit report across all bureaus for free, along with your VantageScore. So no more surprises when you apply for a financial product.

FICO is the scoring model most lenders still use when assessing your creditworthiness. That’s why it’s so important to monitor your credit across more than one application or platform. Otherwise, you could be going into a financial decision partially blind.

To understand the difference between the two models, here’s how they compare:

It’s easy to confuse credit monitoring services and credit score apps, but there are some key differences.

A credit-monitoring service focuses on protecting you from fraud. Some of these credit monitoring services are free, but many offer premium services that increase your degree of protection from fraud and identity theft for a monthly fee.

A credit score app gives you access to your credit score and sometimes your credit report, but with very little of the bells and whistles that come with a credit monitoring service. It’s more of a snapshot of your credit health rather than a full diagnosis.

If you’re worried that checking your credit score will make your credit score drop, you can relax! Checking your credit score (or your credit report) does not lower your score. It’s considered a soft inquiry, and you can have as many as those as you like with no impact to your credit score.

Keeping track of your score helps you set credit goals. When your FICO score hits 760, you’re more likely to qualify for the best interest rates on personal loans and credit cards. An excellent credit score takes time to build, which means you can’t wait until you’re ready to apply for a mortgage to start caring about it.

So whip out your phone – if it isn’t already in your hand – and check your free credit score to see where you stand. It’s never been easier to monitor your credit goals.