There are numerous "free credit score offers" on the internet. Still, the majority of them require you to enter your credit card number in exchange for a free trial subscription to a credit monitoring service. Your credit card will be charged if you forget to cancel your free trial (as the majority of people do). Kenneth Lin, the founder and CEO of Credit Karma, believes that you should be able to get your credit score for free without having to use a credit card or deal with complicated subscription cancellations.
Free Credit Score and Credit Report from CreditKarma.com
CreditKarma.com provides a free credit score and credit report with no strings attached. There's no need to enter your credit card information or sign up for a credit monitoring service. The credit score and report are both free of charge (the site makes money through advertisements). I've been using it for years and have never paid a fee to check my credit.
If you're new to Credit Karma, you can get a free credit score in under two minutes by signing up. You can view your credit report and credit score for free every day after you've signed up. Your credit score is updated every day, and your credit report is updated every week.
The free credit score provided by Credit Karma has one disadvantage: it is not a FICO score, which is the most widely used by lenders. Despite not being your FICO score, it provides you with an overview of your credit situation based on your TransUnion and Equifax credit reports. Your Experian credit report is the only thing missing. Credit Karma has added free daily credit monitoring, a VantageScore, and an Auto Insurance Score to their list of services. All of these services are provided without charge.
Credit Score Simulator by Credit Karma
This is a customized simulator that shows you how different actions will affect your credit score. Are you considering getting a new credit card? Credit Karma can tell you how a new inquiry will affect your credit score. Are you trying to pay off a credit card balance? Find out how much your credit score will rise.
To determine whether your credit score will increase or decrease, pick from the most typical actions involving credit limits, payments, and public records. A credit score comparison allows you to compare your credit score to the credit scores of other people in your demographic.
Additional Credit Information
Details about your debt accounts can be found, along with information on your credit score and how much your balances have changed since your last update. Credit Karma can also suggest credit cards based on your credit score that you're most likely to be approved for. Users who have applied for those credit cards on Credit Karma have listed their credit scores and whether or not they were approved.
Final Verdict
In the ten years since its 2008 launch, Credit Karma has changed from a website where you could check your credit score to a tool that could help you build credit and evaluate your debt. It's completely free, and the information is extremely valuable. Make sure you typed the URL correctly when you visited the site. At the top of your browser, look for a lock next to the URL and make sure it begins with "https://." The "s" indicates that you're on a secure website.