Credit Report Monitoring

Updated 06-19-2013

Your credit reports and credit scores determine whether you can get a home loan, an apartment, a credit card, a phone and much more. Yet most people don't even know their credit scores. And a 2013 FTC study found that 26% of people find errors on their credit reports that could affect their scores. You can get your credit scores for free and see your credit reports by trying out any of our top-rated credit monitoring services. In addition, these services give you explanations of what actions are helping or hurting your scores and what you can do to improve them. They'll also monitor your credit reports and scores daily for any changes and send you an email alert or text when a change occurs. Want to find out more? See our full credit report monitoring comparison.

Credit Report Monitoring Reviews & Ratings


Services: Our Ratings: Bottom Line:
PrivacyGuard Rating:stars
All 3 credit scores free; best credit monitoring service; monthly credit score & report updates plus other benefits; free 30-day trial
Identity Guard Rating:stars
All 3 credit scores free; most comprehensive & best overall service; 25% discount & free 30-day trial
Trusted ID Rating:stars
All 3 credit scores free; great value, especially for families; free 14-day trial
LifeLock Ultimate Rating:stars
All 3 credit scores free, excellent ID protection; free 30-day trial & 15% discount
Equifax Complete Advantage Rating:stars
All 3 scores plus excellent 3-bureau monitoring and ongoing Equifax score updates; no free trial
ProtectMyID.com Rating:stars
Cheapest monthly price to monitor all 3 credit reports, but no scores
Equifax Score Watch Rating:stars
Only monitors Equifax report; two Equifax FICO® Score reports annually plus updated score whenever it changes; no free trial
CreditReport.com Rating:stars
3-bureau monitoring; bi-monthly Experian score updates; 7-day trial for $1
TransUnion Credit Monitoring Rating:stars
3-bureau monitoring, unlimited TransUnion scores; free 7-day trial
FreeCreditScore.com Rating:stars
Only monitors Experian report; two updates/mo to your Experian Score; free 7-day trial

NextAdvisor Credit Report Monitoring Blog Headlines

Which Credit Monitoring Services Let International Customers View Their Reports?
Jun 18, 2013 - Q: Which of the credit report monitoring services allow credit reporting which is viewed from outside the United States? After 7 years, Free Credit Report terminated my monthly service because I work outside the United States. A: That's a great question

Can I Sign My Spouse Up for Identity Guard's kID Sure Program?
Jun 17, 2013 - Q: My spouse and I share all the same bank accounts and credit cards, so I don't feel those need additional monitoring. Would I be able to sign my spouse up for Identity Guard's kIDSure?  A: No, you will not be able

Get 15% off LifeLock and LifeLock Ultimate
Jun 7, 2013 - LifeLock and LifeLock Ultimate are offering NextAdvisor readers a special 15 percent off as well as a 30-day free trial, which means you can test out the service without making a financial commitment. With the 15 percent discount, LifeLock costs $7.79

Veteran Affair's Networks and Data Hacked Says Former VA Computer Security Chief
Jun 5, 2013 - A former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs computer security chief told Congress on Tuesday that at least eight foreign-sponsored organizations ? most of which are connected to the Chinese military ? have previously hacked or are currently trying to hack into VA

What To Do If Your Identity Is Stolen?
Jun 4, 2013 - Identity theft is a crime that impacts more and more people each year. In 2012 more than 12 million people were victims of identity theft ? that's an increase of 13 percent from the previous year, according to a 2013 study

Credit
Report
Monitoring
Overview

Which Credit Report Monitoring is Best?

The best credit report monitoring service depends on what you're looking for. Our top-rated services offer free trials, so you can try them out at no cost and make sure they're right for you. These trials include free instant access to your credit scores, score explanations, 3-bureau credit monitoring and more. We've signed up for, used and evaluated all these services to get the information you'll need to make your decision.
Compare all Credit Report Monitoring services.

How Does Credit Report Monitoring Really Work?

Credit report monitoring services continually monitor your credit files for any changes. When a significant change occurs, you'll be alerted via email or text. By knowing what's happening on your credit reports you'll be able to help prevent identity theft. In fact, the FTC recommends close monitoring of your credit reports as one of the best methods to detect identity theft. Most credit monitoring services also give you free credit scores and credit reports, plus explanations of what factors are helping or hurting your creditworthiness.
View all credit report monitoring services.


Free Trials

Most of our highly recommended credit report monitoring services offer free trials, which include free access to your credit scores. We think it's important to monitor your credit scores and reports on an ongoing basis, but if you decide you don't want to keep any of these services, you can simply cancel during the trial period and your credit scores are yours to keep for free.


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Disclosure: NextAdvisor.com is a consumer information site that offers free, independent reviews and ratings of online services. We receive advertising revenue from most of the services we review. Our editors thoroughly research and whenever possible test each service we review and offer their honest opinions about each one. We are independently owned and operated and all opinions expressed on this site are our own.