It's no secret: Your credit score influences nearly every financial decision you'll ever make. This three-digit number helps to determine which credit cards you'll qualify for, whether you'll be approved for a new apartment rental and the interest rates on your auto loan or mortgage — just to name a few.
Credit scores range from 300 to 850, and though some people strive for a perfect 850, most financial experts argue that 760 is the credit score you need in order to get approved for the best financial products. Below, you can check which rating you fall into, using estimates from Experian.
| Rating | Credit Score |
|---|---|
| Very poor | 300-579 |
| Fair | 580-669 |
| Good | 670-739 |
| Very good | 740-799 |
| Exceptional | 800-850 |
If your score is below 760, there are easy steps you can take to improve it. Perhaps one of the easiest is to sign up for a credit monitoring service. By signing up for one of these programs, your personal information will be constantly tracked, and you'll be alerted of any changes to your credit report right away. The best services notify you via email, text or phone when a hard inquiry (new credit account) gets added to your credit report so you can immediately spot potential fraud and take action.
Plus, credit monitoring services provide give you access to much of your financial data in one place so you can easily check your credit score or pull your credit report. Use this info to spot any errors and take steps to clean up your credit report, which will in turn help you improve your credit score.
There are a variety of credit monitoring services that provide different levels of protection, and there are quite a few good quality free services if you're not ready to commit to a monthly fee. Premium services can cost anywhere from $8.99 to $39.95 per month, but paying for a program gives you more extensive protection than you would get with a free service.
Many of the paid services offer three-bureau credit monitoring, which review your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports to provide you the most thorough review of your credit. Free services usually only monitor one or two credit bureaus. The paid service may also come with identity theft insurance, dark web scanning and social security number tracking.
After analyzing and comparing 12 different credit monitoring services, Select picked the top six from both free and paid options. Here are our top-rated choices that could be helpful to anyone looking to improve their credit score.
Best overall free credit monitoring service
CreditWise® from Capital One
Cost
Free
Credit bureaus monitored
TransUnion and Experian
Credit scoring model used
VantageScore
Dark web scan
Yes
Identity insurance
No
Terms apply.
Best runner-up free credit monitoring service
Experian Dark Web Scan + Credit Monitoring
Cost
Free
Credit bureaus monitored
Experian
Credit scoring model used
FICO®
Dark web scan
Yes, one-time only
Identity insurance
No
Terms apply.
Best overall paid credit monitoring service
IdentityForce®
Cost
UltraSecure Individual: $19.90 per month or $199.90 per year; UltraSecure+Credit Individual: $34.90 per month or $349.90 per year; UltraSecure Family: $24.90 per month or $249.90 per year; UltraSecure+Credit Family: $39.90 per month or $399.90 per year
Credit bureaus monitored
3-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion®, with UltraSecure+Credit Individual and UltraSecure+Credit Family plans only
Credit scoring model used
VantageScore® 3.0, with UltraSecure+Credit Individual and UltraSecure+Credit Family plans only
Dark web scan
Yes, with all plans
Identity theft insurance
Yes, at least $1 million with all plans
Terms apply.
Best runner-up paid credit monitoring service
PrivacyGuard®
Cost
$9.99 to $24.99 per month
Credit bureaus monitored
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion
Credit scoring model used
VantageScore
Dark web scan
Yes, for Identity and Total Protection plans
Identity insurance
Yes, up to $1 million for Identity and Total Protection plans
Terms apply.
Best paid credit monitoring service for families
Experian IdentityWorks℠
Cost
Basic: Free; Premium: 7-day trial, after $24.99 per month; Family: 7-day trial, after $34.99 per month
Credit bureaus monitored
1-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports: Experian, with Basic plan only and 3-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion®, with Premium and Family plans only
Credit scoring model used
FICO® Score 8, with all plans
Dark web scan
Yes, with all plans
Identity theft insurance
Yes, up to $1 million with all plans
Terms apply.
*Identity Theft Insurance underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.
Best paid credit monitoring service for most accurate credit score
FICO® Basic, Advanced and Premier
Cost
$19.95 to $39.95 per month
Credit bureaus monitored
Experian for Basic plan or Experian, Equifax and TransUnion for Advanced and Premier plans
Credit scoring model used
FICO
Dark web scan
Yes, for Advanced and Premier plans
Identity insurance
Yes, up to $1 million
Terms apply.
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To learn more about IdentityForce®, visit their website.
