Intuit Credit Karma review

Intuit Credit Karma is the free pick for watching two bureaus at once. Its free credit score page says checking your scores costs $0.00 and only needs an account, and it shows both your TransUnion and Equifax scores with the factors behind them. Those scores use VantageScore 3.0, which ranges from 300 to 850, so they will not match the FICO Score a mortgage lender pulls. Credit Karma sends a notice when either score changes and uses thousands of data attributes, including 20+ versions of your credit score, to estimate Approval Odds for cards and loans. Extra tools include a free Credit Builder plan, Credit Spark for turning everyday bills into credit history, and Cards Optimizer for picking which linked card to use. The site says it is paid by third-party advertisers, so product offers sit next to your score. Our pricing check from this location could not load the page in plain HTML, so the price row is marked pending.

Who it is for

people who want two bureaus watched at no cost

Price

Free credit scores per creditkarma.com; see vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Free TransUnion and Equifax credit scores on the VantageScore 3.0 model
• Alerts when your scores change
• Approval Odds for cards and loans built from 20+ versions of your credit score
• Free Credit Builder plan and Credit Spark for building credit from bills
• Cards Optimizer suggests which linked card to use at checkout

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Covers two bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax, at $0
• Strength: Credit Karma says 140+ million members use it
• Strength: No paid tier to upsell credit scores
• Weakness: Scores are VantageScore 3.0, not FICO
• Weakness: Experian data is not part of the free scores
• Weakness: Revenue comes from third-party advertisers, so offers appear throughout the app

Key facts

• Price: Free
• Bureaus: TransUnion and Equifax
• Score model: VantageScore 3.0
• Members: 140+ million, per Credit Karma

Where it ranks

Intuit Credit Karma is No. 2 in our Best Credit Score Apps verdict.