Credit Karma Personal Review – Free Really Means Free
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Credit Karma is easily one of the top choices if you’re looking for the most comprehensive free credit score platform out there.
9/10
Cost
9/10
Features
8/10
Ease of use
8/10
Services
8/10
I became interested in my credit score a few months before looking for my first apartment. Before then, I knew little about credit reports, their meaning, and how my financial decisions could impact my score. I ended up signing up for a paid service to get access to my credit score and help me monitor it, which was extremely helpful, but years later, I realized there were quite a few free options available.
Credit Karma, which touts free credit scores and monitoring, has received much attention, so I decided to try it. After all, it was free, so there wasn’t much I could lose by trying out this service, right?
I had reservations, but after a few months of using Credit Karma, I no longer decided to renew my paid credit score subscription. Credit Karma offered everything I needed for free and has been one of the best tools for improving my financial health.
I’ll take you through everything you need about Credit Karma and its features, explore the pros and cons, and let you know what types of customers will benefit most from this platform.
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What is Credit Karma?
Credit Karma is a free platform to help users make better financial decisions. While this website is best known for offering free credit scores, Credit Karma goes beyond this feature, providing financial recommendations, resources, free tax filing, savings accounts, and tips.
Credit Karma’s main offering is its free credit score and report option. By signing up, you’ll receive full access to your TransUnion and Equifax credit score or report. These can be viewed at any time. Credit Karma offers your VantageScore — one of the two main credit scoring models — but does not provide your FICO score, which is the other main scoring model.
Credit Karma features
Credit scores
Credit Karma lets you view your credit score from two main credit bureaus — TransUnion and Equifax. These scores are updated regularly, and when you log in, you’ll gain access to any changes that may have caused your scores to increase or drop. You’ll also see when your scores were last updated and when your next scores will be generated. You can toggle between the two crediting bureaus and dig into any changes to confirm accuracy.
You’ll also be able to view a timeline of your credit score and a credit score rating to give you a quick snapshot of how you’re doing financially at any given time.
Credit report
Your credit score is just a representation of your credit health. It’s a good idea to review your full credit report from time to time to make sure there are no mistakes reported and especially to watch out for any fraudulent activity like a credit card you didn't open, thus helping you stop identity theft before it becomes a bigger issue. Credit Karma makes this easy by offering access to your TransUnion credit report whenever needed.
Account balances
One of my favorite features of Credit Karma is its access to all your crediting accounts and balances. When you log in, Credit Karma will bring you to your Account Summary page, where you can view your credit card, personal loans, student loans, auto loans, mortgages, and any collection accounts in one place. It’s a great way to ensure you have the plan to pay down all of your debt by showing you all of your balances in one easy-to-access screen rather than going to each of your account websites and logging in separately. You can also dig into any account to find your total overall credit access, credit limits, last reported balance, and payment history. Keep in mind many of these accounts will be updated monthly, so if a balance looks off to you, check when it was last updated.
Credit card recommendations
If you’re improving or building your credit history, finding the right credit cards may be important. Credit Karma offers recommendations based on your credit habits and will show you the approval odds before applying for a card. (This is how it can provide its services to you for free. It makes money from the companies it recommends.) You can easily view and compare cards and check other Credit Karma users’ reviews before selecting an application offer.
Loan recommendations
In addition to credit card recommendations, Credit Karma will also offer you personal loan suggestions — especially if the platform thinks you could save money in interest by consolidating some of your debt onto a personal loan. Credit Karma will show you the top options available (including current loan interest rates) and inform you of your approval odds. This is free; Credit Karma doesn't make a cent from you and is only paid by the lenders if you go for a loan.
Auto insurance & loan options
As your credit improves, obtaining more affordable car insurance rates becomes easier. Credit Karma will show you the cheapest options within your current credit score range. In addition, if you’re looking for a new car, Credit Karma will also offer you access to auto loan lenders and give you an indication of your approval chances. Again, this is free to you.
Mortgage and renter services
If buying a house is your goal, Credit Karma can help by providing access to top mortgage lenders, showing you your approval chances and current interest rates, just like other lenders. This platform also lets you view refinancing offers, view homeowners insurance options, and connect with real estate agents. One of my favorite tools that Credit Karma provides for home buyers is their future home calculator, which allows you to understand better how much house you can afford.
Not in the market to buy? Credit Karma also offers help for renters, including insurance quotes and tips on paying for utilities and better affording rent costs.
Financial relief programs
By answering a few questions (location, household income, employment, etc.), Credit Karma can connect you with financial relief programs in your area that you might qualify for if you need help. Whether out of work or struggling to make ends meet, this platform will create a financial roadmap tailored to your situation.
Free tax return filing
I’m sure we’ve all started filing our taxes with a “free app,” only to find out later that a fee was required to file. Credit Karma offers a relatively new tax preparation option called Credit Karma Tax that allows you to file your taxes for free — even if you’re self-employed, as I am. And I mean free. This includes filing state taxes and federal taxes. There are a few situations that this platform can’t handle (income in multiple states, filing as a nonresident, claiming foreign income, or multi-business member filing). Still, these situations won’t apply to most taxpayers.
Savings and checking accounts
If you’re considering opening a high-yield savings account, Credit Karma provides one for free, offering a savings rate 8x the national average of 0.59%, according to Bankrate. There are no monthly fees and no balance requirements.
Credit Karma also offers a checking account with a Visa debit card with access to 55,000 fee-free Allpoint ATMs. The checking account also lets you receive a paycheck up to two days early. Funds are insured up to $5 million.
Banking services are provided via MVB Bank, which is a member of the FDIC.
Financial resources
Lastly, Credit Karma offers members various financial services and resources free of charge. You’ll gain access to debt repayment, mortgage refinance offers, simple loan financial calculators, amortization estimates, credit score simulators, identity monitoring, and a network of blogs, articles, and reviews of financial products.
My experience using Credit Karma
As I mentioned, after using Credit Karma for a few months, I closed my paid credit monitoring subscription with another service. I began using this platform to monitor my credit score and accounts.
Overall, I’ve found this platform extremely intuitive, easy to use, and helpful for anyone looking to learn more about their credit habits and boost their credit score.
Signing up for Credit Karma
I found the signup process for Credit Karma very straightforward, but you will need to provide the platform with some personal information. Since Credit Karma will need to match your identity with your TransUnion and Equifax credit scores, you’ll need to verify your identity.
This means providing the platform with:
- Your full legal name
- Current and former addresses
- Your date of birth
- The last four digits of your social security number
Providing additional information, such as your household income, location, and job type, Credit Karma will enhance your online experience.
How I’ve used Credit Karma to improve my credit
When I first signed up with Credit Karma, the platform did not provide nearly as many resources as it does now. My only goal was to monitor my credit accounts and continue paying down debt. I have not used many of their loan recommendations or financial calculators, but I anticipate using their mortgage resources when I buy my first home.
Filing a dispute
One feature I’ve used a few times on Credit Karma — with effective results — is its dispute functionality. The first time I used it, I had recently moved to a new address and found a collections account popped up on my account. After digging, I realized this account was for a medical bill I had paid through the hospital's billing office as soon as we could straighten out my new mailing address. I filed a dispute with the credit issuer through Credit Karma, which led me to TransUnion’s dispute portal. The process was quick and easy; within 30 days, the error was removed from my report.
It’s always free to file a credit dispute, but Credit Karma makes it easy to select the exact account you’re looking for and leads you to the correct dispute portal with a few simple clicks.
Monitoring my credit accounts
When I was paying down credit card debt, I liked to keep a spreadsheet of anticipated payments and projected payoff dates so I could redistribute funds to other debt once a credit card was paid off. During this process, I relied heavily on Credit Karma to list all my accounts accurately. Logging in monthly and seeing my debt decrease, my utilization percentage reduce, and my credit score shoot up was extremely motivating.
While most of my debt repayment came out of my account automatically, checking in with Credit Karma regularly allowed me to ensure there was no debt I was not factoring into my repayment plan and offered me peace of mind, knowing that I was on track with my repayments.
Credit card recommendations
I also used (and continue to use) Credit Karma offers to help me find new credit cards valuable to my financial goals. For instance, I live 600 miles from most of my family, which means (in non-pandemic conditions) I travel quite a bit throughout the year. Finding a credit card that offered great rewards in terms of miles, travel benefits, and mileage discounts helped me save hundreds a year on air travel.
It was also refreshing to know ahead of time what my approval odds were with different travel credit cards so I could apply for one and get approved instantly. Of course, approval isn’t guaranteed, but I felt better knowing I was less likely to be declined and take a ding to my credit report by applying to more than one creditor.
Pros and cons
Pros
- 100% free. No membership charge makes owning a Credit Karma account a no-brainer for me. Anyone looking to understand their credit score better or wanting access to free credit monitoring tools will likely enjoy this platform.
- Simple interface and digital app. Credit Karma has a simple design that’s easy to navigate using a desktop platform or a digital app.
- Personal identity monitoring. Credit Karma lets me know whenever a personal information breach may impact me. At a minimum, it lets me know it’s a good time to update my digital passwords.
- Robust resources. Credit Karma has continued to expand its resources, becoming a financial powerhouse capable of helping you navigate any financial decision.
Cons
- Targeted advertisements. Credit Karma uses your data and personal information to serve targeted ads from its advertisers. Credit Karma does not sell your information (without explicit consent) but will use this information internally to serve ads relevant to your financial needs. Clicking on these offerings will earn Credit Karma money.
- No Experian data. While Credit Karma offers access to two of the three main credit reporting agencies, it does not have access to Experian information.
- No FICO score access. While the two main scoring models have similar methodologies, it is possible to have different score ranges and you won't see your FICO score.
Credit Karma vs. competitors
Platform | Cost | Credit Reports | Credit Score |
Credit Karma | Free | TransUnion, Equifax | VantageScore |
Credit Sesame | Free | TransUnion | VantageScore |
Turbo | Free | TransUnion | VantageScore |
Credit Sesame
Credit Sesame is another free option for monitoring your credit score that uses the latest VantageScore model and TransUnion data. Credit Sesame does not offer as many free, robust tools as Credit Karma and does not provide Equifax information for free.
On the other hand, Credit Sesame does offer fee-free checking accounts and identity theft protection. In addition, Credit Sesame also has access to paid memberships that will allow you to view data from Equifax and Experian, starting at $9.57 per month.
Credit Karma offers more free membership, but if you want access to all three agencies’ data, Credit Sesame can provide this for a fee. However, using different credit platforms, one can obtain this information for free.
Use Experian To Get Your Free Credit Score
- Free Credit Score, Credit Report & Identity Protection
- Simple & Secure. Sign Up In Less Than 90 Seconds
Turbo
Turbo, a credit monitoring platform from the makers of TurboTax, also uses the VantageScore model and provides access to TransUnion’s credit information. This app is completely free and allows you to set financial goals. It then provides professional advice to help you meet these milestones and makes recommendations.
The only downside to using Turbo is that it does not offer as many features as Credit Karma.
The bottom line
Credit Karma is easily one of the top choices if you’re looking for the most comprehensive free credit score platform. This platform provides access to TransUnion and Equifax scores and free credit reports. In addition, you’ll receive credit card and loan recommendations, financial calculators, money resources, and free tax filing options.
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Writer
Courtney Johnston is a freelance writer, specializing in finance, travel, and health. She has written for The Chicago Tribune, Benzinga, BestReviews, Mashvisor, Fundera, MoneyGeek, and The Culture Trip. She also teaches writing instruction at the University of Indianapolis. Courtney currently resides in Indianapolis.
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