Free Credit Score

First off, there is no “free credit score.” That’s right. There is no free-credit-score. Seriously.

Sure, there are free trials that allow you to see your credit score for free for a certain period of time, but those aren’t technically “free credit scores.”

Especially if you forget to cancel the free trial before it starts billing you on a recurring basis. So we’ve put the “free credit score” myth to bed. Now what?

Free Credit Score vs. Free Credit Report

Well, the first thing you need to grasp is the difference between a credit report and a credit score, and more specifically, the difference between a free credit report and a free credit score.

The government provides access to a free credit report from the top 3 credit bureaus once annually, via AnnualCreditReport.com. That means three free credit reports a year from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.  But you only get them if you order them.  They aren’t sent to you automatically.

Additionally, these free credit reports do not contain credit scores, free or otherwise. Repeat. They do not contain free credit scores, or any credit scores for that matter. Not even a quasi-credit score like the ones offered by Credit Karma or Credit Sesame.

In order to get a free credit score, you either need to sign up for a free trial that offers a free credit score, or simply pay for it outright. The second option is not-so-free, but you get my point.

Now there’s nothing wrong with signing up for one of these free trials, but be sure you cancel the service before you’re billed, unless you actually want to monitor your credit score on an ongoing basis.

Tip: If you opt for a free credit report from the credit bureaus, they will relentlessly try to sell you a credit score on top of their free report, so be on the lookout for those pesky offers.  And note that you will most likely only receive one score from the corresponding bureau, not all three.

Make Sure You Get All Three Free Credit Scores

One final suggestion. If you are after a free credit score, make sure the service you choose provides all three credit scores for free, not just one. That’s right, there are three credit scores, and knowing only one will mean very little if the bank or lender pulls one of the other two.

Yep, sometimes creditors will rely on just one credit score, so if you don’t check all three, you could be out of luck if one is significantly lower than the other two.

And it’s not uncommon for your three credit scores to display quite a range, so find a service that provides them all.

A service called GoFreeCredit offers all 3 credit scores for free via trial.  If you want to see your credit scores instantly, this company allows you to do so.

Just be sure to cancel the free trial during the promotional period to avoid being charged, unless of course you want to track your credit scores over time.