How to Get Your Credit Score for Free

Credit score Q&A: “How to get your credit score for free.”

If you don’t already know your credit score, you’ll probably want to see where you stand on the credit score range, especially if you plan to apply for a credit card or another type of loan.

[Check your credit scores before applying for a credit card.]

But how can you get your credit score(s) for free? Well, you won’t be able to get a free credit score from the government.

AnnualCreditReport.com, which was created by the three major credit reporting bureaus in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act), only provides free credit reports once annually.

These credit reports DO NOT contain credit scores of any kind, free or otherwise.

When you pull a credit report from their site, you’ll be given the option to pay for your credit score afterwords.

This is clearly not the way to go, given the fact that there are a number of services that allow you to get your credit score for free.

Additionally, you’ll only be able to buy a single credit score, not all three credit scores.

[Credit report vs. credit score]

Free Credit Scores with Trial

Keep in mind that you will need to pony up your credit card if you want to obtain your credit score(s) free of charge.

Free credit score providers only tend to offer up your credit scores for free if you agree to enroll in a trial credit score monitoring program.

This means you’ll be charged on a monthly basis if you fail to cancel before the trial period ends.

Some users may want to pay for this service if they’re tracking changes to their credit scores while carrying out credit report disputes and taking other measures to raise their credit score.

Or if they’re monitoring their credit history in order to detect any suspicious activity.

Get All 3 Credit Scores

Just be sure to go with a company that provides all 3 credit scores, not just one. It’s important to know all three in case one is misreporting something. Or if the other two are missing certain data.

Additionally, many banks, including mortgage lenders, rely on your mid-score, so you don’t really know where you stand until you know all three.

And if the creditor pulls your credit score from one of the bureaus you haven’t checked, you could be in a for a big surprise.

Credit scores vary widely among the three credit reporting bureaus…

You Get What You Pay For

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that free credit score providers are pretty no-frills, and often riddled with annoying ads and tricks to get money out of you.

They let you see your credit score (or all three credit scores) for a limited time, along with information from your credit report.

But they don’t provide a whole lot more.

For most people, this is just fine, but if you have more serious credit score issues, you may want to choose a product that offers more.

Offer: If you just want to see your 3 credit scores immediately, free of charge, GoFreeCredit will allow you to do just that. You get a credit score from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Just be sure to cancel during their 14-day free trial to avoid being charged.