How to Check Your Credit Score for Free (Every Score You Can Get)
You don't need to pay $29.95/month for credit monitoring. Here is every free source, what model each one shows, and how often it updates.
Free credit reports vs free credit scores
Credit reports are the underlying data — every tradeline, balance, payment, inquiry, and address on file. Credit scores are calculated from that data. You're entitled to free access to both, but through different channels.
Free credit reports (the data)
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only federally authorized site for free reports from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). Since 2023, the FTC permanently expanded access from once-per-year to weekly, forever. There is no catch: no card, no trial, no upsell. Bookmark it.
A good cadence is one bureau every 3–4 months on rotation, so you spot errors throughout the year.
Free credit scores (the numbers)
From your bank or card issuer
Most major issuers now show a free score, refreshed monthly, with no cost or impact on your credit:
- Chase Credit Journey — VantageScore 3.0 from Experian
- Capital One CreditWise — VantageScore 3.0 from TransUnion (open to non-customers too)
- Discover Credit Scorecard — FICO Score 8 from Experian (open to non-customers)
- American Express MyCredit Guide — VantageScore 3.0 from TransUnion
- Wells Fargo — FICO Score 9 from Experian (cardholders)
- Citi — FICO Bankcard Score 8 from Equifax (cardholders)
- Bank of America — FICO Score 8 from TransUnion (cardholders)
From independent free services
- Credit Karma — VantageScore 3.0 from Equifax AND TransUnion. Updated weekly. Free since 2008, owned by Intuit since 2020.
- Experian Free — FICO Score 8 from Experian, plus your full Experian report. Updates every 30 days.
- NerdWallet — VantageScore 3.0 from TransUnion. Updates weekly.
From paid services (when they're worth it)
- myFICO Premier ($29.95/month) — All three mortgage FICOs plus monitoring. Worth it for the 60–90 days before a mortgage application to make sure no surprises hit, then cancel.
- One-time pull on myFICO ($19.95–$29.95) — Same data without the subscription. Best for buyers who only need to check once.
Why your free scores don't match what a lender sees
The free scores above are almost all VantageScore or FICO 8. Mortgage lenders use FICO 2, 4, and 5. Auto lenders use FICO Auto Score 8 or 9. Your Credit Karma score can be 30–60 points off what a mortgage lender pulls — usually higher, because VantageScore is more lenient about thin files.
If a big loan is on the horizon, pay once for the actual scores the lender will pull.
Free credit monitoring options
- Experian — free dark web surveillance and Experian-only monitoring
- Credit Karma — alerts on Equifax and TransUnion changes
- Capital One CreditWise — alerts on TransUnion changes, free dark web scan, free SSN tracker
- Chase Credit Journey — alerts on Experian changes
Three of these in combination cover all three bureaus, weekly, for free. There is essentially zero reason to pay for credit monitoring as a standalone product anymore.
Free credit freeze (the single best identity-theft tool)
A credit freeze is free at all three bureaus under federal law and prevents new accounts from being opened in your name. Freeze takes about 5 minutes per bureau online:
- Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
- Experian: experian.com/freeze
- TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-freeze
Unfreeze when you need to apply for credit (usually a 5-minute online lift, sometimes scheduled hours in advance).
What to do in the next 30 minutes
- Pull one report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Sign up for Credit Karma + Experian free + your card issuer's free score.
- Freeze your credit at all three bureaus.
Total cost: $0. Total time: under an hour. Total benefit: lifetime monitoring of every score, every report, and every new account attempted in your name.