Credit Karma vs. Experian: What's the Difference?

Credit Karma vs. Experian: An Overview

If you’re checking your credit score or credit report, Credit Karma and Experian are two names you’ll likely come across.

Experian is one of the three major credit reporting bureaus, along with Equifax and TransUnion. Credit Karma is a an online service that provides credit scores and reports to its members, along with financial articles and advice. Credit Karma provides information for free if you sign up for its membership.

Credit Karma

Credit Karma is not a credit bureau, it is an online financial platform that makes credit bureaus’ information available to consumers. Members can check and monitor their credit scores and credit reports for free. The site also offers various financial and educational tools to help you improve your credit rating. Founded in 2007 by CEO Kenneth Lin, the company was privately held until late February 2020 when Intuit announced it was buying the company for $7.1 billion.

Credit Karma is a fully online platform, so everything happens at CreditKarma.com. That’s where you’ll register as a member to gain access to your credit scores and reports, which you can print or save as PDFs. Members can also register bank and credit card accounts to get a full financial picture. And you can access your account online or via a mobile app for iPhone or Android.

Credit Karma offers Vantage 3.0 scores from TransUnion and Equifax. Vantage is a collaboration of the three major credit bureaus, including Experian. Scores are updated once a week, plus members can sign up for credit monitoring alerts, so they’ll be notified whenever their score changes. Outside of Credit Karma, many of the best credit monitoring services also provide these types of alerts, in addition to identity monitoring and/or protection tools.

Experian

Experian provides the FICO Score 8. It is one of the three major credit reporting bureaus in the U.S. along with TransUnion and Equifax. A global company, Experian is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN).

Experian has 27,000 employees, and operates in 30 countries. It has four main business lines: credit services, marketing services, decision analytics, and consumer services. Experian offers consumers options for free credit reports through its website and options for free credit scores.

For credit questions, the Experian credit hotline leads to a real person who can answer questions about your credit, and offer you a step-by-step walkthrough of your credit report. Like Credit Karma, the site provides financial advice articles and videos.

Credit Karma vs. Experian: How They Work

Credit Karma provides information for free, including free credit scores, free credit reports, and free credit monitoring and alerts. You won't be asked to register a credit card, as you do for most “free trials.”

Credit Karma recommends credit cards that will save you money and for which you’re likely to be approved. Its website is oriented not just to giving you access to your credit ratings but to improving them. It has various financial calculators and lists of credit factors that go into your credit score—with a personalized grade for each and suggestions for how various actions will affect those factors. In addition, you can file your federal taxes and certain state returns for free via Credit Karma.

Experian provides a list of various free options and packages for purchase, such as the 3-Bureau Credit report and FICO score for $39.99. This includes scores from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, plus what credit factors raise or lower your scores.

Other options include Experian CreditWorks Basic and Experian CreditWorks Premium. Experian CreditWorks Basic offers the following for free:

• Free Experian Credit Report and FICO® Score
• Increase your FICO® Score with Experian Boost
• Report and Score Refreshed Every 30 Days On Sign In
• FICO Score Monitoring with Experian Data
• Experian Credit Monitoring and Alerts
• Free Dark Web Surveillance Report
• Credit Cards and Loans Matched for You

You can upgrade to Experian CreditWorks Premium for $24.99 a month after a free seven-day trial. The upgrade includes these additional features:

• Monthly 3-Bureau FICO® Scores*
• 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring and Alerts
• Daily FICO® Scores Based on Experian Data
• Experian CreditLock with Alerts
• FICO® Score Tracker
• Identity Protection and Alerts
• Up to $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance
• Dedicated Fraud Resolution Support
• Lost Wallet Assistance

Similarly, Experian's IdentityWorks Plus or Experian IdentityWorks Premium plans offer joint credit and identity theft monitoring services for those who want more comprehensive security coverage. The Plus plan is $9.99 per month after a free 30-day trial, and the Premium plan is $19.99 per month after the free 30-day trial.

Lastly, Experian offers a service called Experian Boost, which allows consumers to add positive payment history for telecom and utility payments to their Experian credit reports to instantly boost their credit scores. Experian customers who are looking for an additional way to boost their credit scores, particularly those stuck with a poor credit history, may want to consider working with one of the best credit repair companies currently on the market.

The Bottom Line

You can use both Credit Karma or Experian to track your credit score for free. If you want to improve your credit score, you can take steps like paying your bills on time, making more than the minimum credit, and avoid opening new lines of credit. For a detailed credit report, visit AnnualCreditReport.com. You are entitled to one free credit report per year.