Service Name:	Free Reports & Scores:	Free Trial & Monthly Fee:	Reports & Scores Delivered:	Bureaus Monitored:	Rating:	Bottom Line:
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free reports & scores from all 3 bureaus	Free 30-day trial; $14.99/mo (after exclusive, limited time discount)	3-bureau report + 3 scores each quarter	All three bureaus		All 3 reports & scores for free; most comprehensive service; free 30-day trial; best overall
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free FICO score and Free 3-bureau credit report	Free 30-day trial; $14.95/mo	Unlimited Equifax reports; FICO score each year	All three bureaus		Free FICO score & 3-in-1 credit report plus 3-bureau monitoring; free 30-day trial
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free 3-bureau report + scores	Free 7-day trial; $19.95/mo	Unlimited 3-bureau reports + Experian PLUS scores	All three bureaus		Unlimited 3-bureau reports + scores; free 7-day trial; a bit expensive
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free Experian report	Free 30-day trial; $9.95	Experian report at sign-up; additional reports and scores available for a fee	All three bureaus		Cheapest way to monitor all 3 bureaus but only one report and no scores
Service Name:	Free Reports & Scores:	Free Trial & Monthly Fee:	Reports & Scores Delivered:	Bureaus Monitored:	Rating:	Bottom Line:
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free FICO score & Equifax credit report	Free 30-day trial; $7.50/mo (with one year prepay)	Two Equifax reports + FICO scores each year; unlimited FICO score updates	Equifax		Best way to monitor FICO score, but lacks other features
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free Experian credit report and score	Free 7-day trial; $12.95/mo	Unlimited Experian reports + scores	All three bureaus		Cheap 3-bureau monitoring; unlimited Experian reports + scores
Go to Site Read Full Review	Reports & scores from all 3 bureaus w/ subscripton	No free trial; $14.95/mo	3-bureau reports + TransUnion scores each month	All three bureaus		Monthly access to reports and scores but no free trial
Go to Site Read Full Review	3-bureau report with subscription	No free trial; $12.95/mo	One 3-bureau report at initial sign up; unlimited Equifax reports	All three bureaus		Cheap 3-bureau monitoring, but no scores
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free TransUnion reports & scores	Free 30-day trial; $11.95/mo	Unlimited TransUnion reports + scores	TransUnion		Cheap, unlimited reports + scores, but only monitors one bureau

Identity Guard Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

[Editor's Note: For a limited time, Identity Guard is offering an exclusive $3.00/mo discount and free 30-day trial to NextAdvisor.com visitors. There is no coupon code required to take advantage of this offer, so simply click on any Identity Guard link on NextAdvisor.com to take advantage of this limited time discount pricing.]

If fear of identity theft is your primary reason for checking your credit, there is no question that Identity Guard Total Protection is your best option. Even if identity theft is just one factor, Identity Guard's exhaustive list of features and 30-day free trial make it worth serious consideration. In addition to providing 3-bureau monitoring, free credit reports from all three bureaus and free credit scores from all 3 bureaus, Identity Guard Total Protection offers an extremely impressive and potent arsenal of tools to stop identity theft and credit card fraud. Identity Guard goes far beyond other credit monitoring services by also monitoring public records for any changes in your name, scanning for application or social security fraud, and monitoring the Internet's black market for any use of your credit cards or other personal information. They've also recently added anti-keylogging software, lost wallet protection (they can cancel your credit card accounts and give you up to $2,000 advance if you need it) and a Personal ID Risk Assessment.

Perhaps the most notable recent addition to the Identity Guard service is the free Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite, an award-winning Internet security solution including anti-virus, firewall, anti-phishing and anti-spam software with hourly security updates. This normally costs $49.95 to buy but is free with your Total Protection enrollment and includes all virus definition updates and annual renewals as long as you maintain your membership. Of course if you don't want or need this security software you don't have to download it. In addition Identity Guard Total Protection now also gives you a 30-day free trial of their service. They also make it very easy to place fraud alerts with the bureaus yourself if you want to take that extra preventative step. You get all those for free with your 30-day trial so even if you decide you don't like it, you get to keep at no cost all 3 credit reports and scores, a public records report and the Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite for free. Buying all these separately would cost you over $100.

In terms of the more standard features, Identity Guard Total Protection give you daily 3-bureau credit monitoring with email alerts, a 3-in-1 credit report (an easy to read format of your report from all 3 bureaus) and your credit scores from all 3 bureaus when you sign up. The scores are based on the CreditXpert scoring system, which isn't as popular as the FICO system that most lenders use, but is a very good approximation of it. Your subscription includes access to a very useful credit analyzer. You can try out different scenarios, such as paying off your credit card by a certain amount or opening up a new loan, to see how your credit score will be affected. If you are monitoring your credit, this analyzer can help you to make the best choices to raise your credit score. Identity Guard gives you a new report and scores every 3 months. When combined with Identity Guard's daily monitoring of your credit report at all 3 bureaus, this should be plenty for most people. Overall, Identity Guard Total Protection offers both a great credit monitoring service and the best identity theft protection you can get.

Equifax w/Score Power Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

Equifax Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 Monitoring Plus Score Power is one of our favorite credit monitoring services. As a special promotion for NextAdvisor.com visitors, you now get a free 30-day trial when you sign up from our site. When you sign up for the free 30 day trial, you also get a free Equifax FICO score and a free 3-Bureau credit report (reports from 3 bureaus laid out side-by-side for easy comparison). Since the FICO score is the score most lenders use to make decisions, this is the best score you can get. Equifax actually gives you an entire Score Power report which not only includes your FICO score but also a FICO Score Simulator that estimates what your score would be if you took certain actions, as well as a full explanation of factors affecting your credit score. And of course you want to see your reports from all 3 bureaus to make sure there are no errors on any of them (they all contain slightly different data) so this is also the best credit report you can get. Equifax is giving you both the report and score free just for trying their monitoring service for 30 days, so if you don't like it you can cancel and have paid nothing for your FICO score and 3-Bureau report, which you would have to pay $40.00 for if you bought it separately. We see no reason to cancel, though, as the monitoring service is excellent. We think monitoring all three bureaus is very important for both monitoring your credit and protecting against identity theft because sometimes lenders will only report a credit event to one bureau. Equifax constantly monitors all 3 bureaus and sends you an email alert within 24 hours of a change to any one of your 3 credit reports. You can also get an updated Equifax credit report any time you want. At only $14.95 per month after the free 30-day trial, this service is an excellent value. The only thing this service doesn't provide is FICO scores from your TransUnion and Experian reports as well as ongoing access to updated TransUnion and Experian credit reports. While it certainly would be nice to have the additional scores, we don't view this as a major drawback. And since you get your initial 3-bureau report and are alerted when any of the reports change, this essentially eliminates the need to get the updated reports (and you do get an updated Equifax report any time you want). Also, you only get an updated Score Power report (which includes your updated FICO score) once a year. Overall, with its free 30 day trial, free FICO score, free 3-bureau credit report and 3-bureau credit monitoring, Equifax Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 Monitoring Plus Score Power gives you everything you need at the right price.

CreditCheck Total Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

CreditCheck Total combines the most credit data you can get (unlimited credit reports and credit scores from all three bureaus), 3-bureau credit monitoring and a free seven day trial. This great combination makes it one of our favorite offers. The only drawback is that at $19.95 per month, it's a bit pricier than the other credit monitoring services we recommend. For anyone applying for any type of credit (this can range from getting a mortgage to simply not having to pay in advance for a utility bill), we believe you should know your scores and the content of your credit report from all three bureaus as in some cases the data from each bureau can vary widely. CreditCheck Total gives you all three scores and all three credit reports for free when you sign up. This would cost you $50 normally but you get it for free with this service. (Note that during the trial period you cannot request your reports and scores more than once, although you really wouldn't need to in a seven-day period.) CreditCheck Total also gives you seven days of free monitoring of your credit file at all 3 bureaus and alerts you by email of any changes. Monitoring all three bureaus is critical for both maintaining good credit and protecting against identity theft as often lenders and merchants only report transactions and inquiries to one bureau. Once your free trial ends, you will continue to get unlimited copies of all three credit reports and scores plus 3-bureau credit monitoring for just $19.95 per month. Keep in mind this is very valuable data that you would have to pay over $50 to get every time you wanted it. If you choose to cancel, you pay nothing and will have received all three credit reports and scores for free.

We think this is a great service at a great price, considering all the data to which you have access. The only drawback other than the $19.95 price point is that it would be nice if the credit scores were FICO scores, the type of scores most lenders use. But the Experian PLUS scores you get with CreditCheck Total are a very close approximation of your FICO score and almost as good. Another nice extra CreditCheck Total offers is if you are a victim of identity theft or other types of fraud, they will assign you a fraud resolution specialist that will assist you in contacting law enforcement and taking all the necessary actions to protect yourself and your credit. And of course they offer $25,000 in identity theft insurance. Overall, this is a great service with outstanding benefits and for those wanting frequent access to all their credit reports and scores, CreditCheck Total is the way to go.

ProtectMyID.com Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

ProtectMyID.com is a credit report monitoring and identity theft protection service offered by Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus. This service offers the cheapest 3-bureau credit monitoring available, as well as Internet fraud scanning, identity theft recovery support, and a $1,000,000 product guarantee.

With 3-bureau credit monitoring, ProtectMyID.com will alert you right away if any changes are posted to your Experian, Equifax or TransUnion credit file. You'll have the option of receiving SMS alerts as well as email alerts. When you initially subscribe to ProtectMyID.com, you'll receive a single Experian credit report. This is not enough to give you a complete picture of your credit health and history, and is the main downside to ProtectMyID.com's service. However, ProtectMyID.com members can purchase reports and scores from all three bureaus for a steeply discounted price of $19.95. ProtectMyID.com also offers ChildSecure, a service that will monitor your child's credit files and alert you to any suspicious activity for an additional $6.95 per month.

In addition to monitoring your credit files at all three bureaus, ProtectMyID.com will scan the Internet to ensure that your Social Security number, bank accounts, credit and debit card numbers are not being used without your knowledge. ProtectMyID.com also monitors for address changes. In the event that your credit or debit cards are lost or stolen, ProtectMyID.com will help you cancel them immediately. If a bank or card issuer holds you liable for any fraudulent charges made on any of your cards, ProtectMyID.com will reimburse you. If you do become an identity theft victim while subscribing to ProtectMyID, you'll be covered by a $1,000,000 guarantee, which covers certain expenses including lost wages and legal fees. You'll also have access to a resolution specialist.

ProtectMyID.com is an obvious choice for consumers who are primarily interested in 3-bureau credit monitoring. And if identity theft is a concern, ProtectMyID.com's Internet scanning, recovery support, and $1,000,000 product guarantee add a great deal of value to this service.

myFICO Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

myFICO Score Watch's biggest advantage over the competition is in the type of credit score it delivers - the FICO score. The FICO scoring system is the one most lenders use in determining your credit score so in our opinion is the best score to get. However, Score Watch only computes that score based on your Equifax credit report, so your FICO score could be significantly different when based on your Experian or TransUnion report. Nevertheless, your Equifax FICO score is a great piece of data to know as it is an excellent barometer for what type of rates you are likely to get on loans (home, car, etc.) and what type of credit cards you may be able to get approved for. myFICO Score Watch makes sure you always know your Equifax FICO score by first giving you two free Score Power reports per year (these reports include your latest FICO score, your latest Equifax credit report, a FICO Score Simulator that estimates what your score would be if you took certain actions, as well as a full explanation of factors affecting your credit score). Then myFICO will give you your updated FICO score any time there is a change to your credit report so you are ensured of always knowing your most up-to-date score. myFICO Score Watch is built around monitoring your FICO score but is also one way to guard against identity theft since they monitor your Equifax credit report daily. You'll get an email alert within 24 hours of any change to your report or inquiry into your credit file. Of course, since you get your full Equifax credit report twice per year and are alerted to any change in it, it's also a good way to make sure there are no errors on your Equifax credit report. However, we believe that to guard against identity theft, you should really be monitoring your credit reports from all 3 bureaus, not just Equifax so myFICO Score Watch is lacking in that department. One of the best aspects of myFICO Score Watch is that they offer a 30 day free trial. This will give you plenty of time to make sure you like the service, and if you don't, you just end up getting a lot of valuable data for free (just buying your Equifax FICO score would cost $16). While Score Watch charges an annual rate of $89.95, that comes out to only $7.95 per month, making it one of the most affordable credit monitoring services while also being one of the better ones. If you cancel after the free trial ends, myFICO will give you a pro-rated refund for the time you did not use, with the one catch that you cannot cancel within the first three months of the service after the free trial ends. While we think myFICO Score Watch is a great service, it does not offer everything. Since the FICO score they give you is based only on your Equifax credit report and they only give you an Equifax report, you won't know if there are errors on your Experian or TransUnion reports nor will you know what your scores are based on those reports. And as we previously mentioned, it is not great for guarding against identity theft because it only monitors one bureau. Score Watch does not offer any identity theft insurance, although this insurance is a bit overrated in our opinion as it typically only covers limited expenses incurred in recovering your identity. However, taken as a whole, the combination of the FICO scoring system, the 30 day free trial and the low cost of this service make it a great value and an excellent choice for those most concerned with keeping tabs on their credit score.

FreeCreditReport.com Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

You've probably seen the commercials or heard the jingles - FreeCreditReport.com does a lot of advertising and has become the most popular way to get your free credit report and score and is the most popular credit monitoring service out there. A subsidiary of Experian, they are marketed heavily online as well as offline with both television and radio ads. But it's not just the advertising - FreeCreditReport.com is a great service. Their credit monitoring service, Triple Advantage, monitors all 3 bureaus and for signing up for the free 7 day trial you get a free Experian credit report and Experian credit score. For the price, $12.95 per month, this is the best 3-bureau monitoring solution you will find. Others give more data but at a higher price so if your main goal is to monitor all 3 credit bureaus, you can't beat FreeCreditReport.com. Since Triple Advantage constantly monitors all 3 bureaus, you receive an e-mail alert whenever there is a change or inquiry to your credit. Should you discover an identity theft problem, Triple Advantage has a nice added feature in that they assign a fraud resolution specialist to your account to help you fix the problem. They also provide more identity theft insurance than other monitoring services ($50k), although in general we don't think this type of insurance is really that valuable. Freecreditreport.com gives you access to unlimited Experian credit reports and scores once you join. This gives you the option to get a credit report and credit score for any reason any time you want, and the best part, at no additional charge. Having a free 7 day trial is also a great feature. You can check out the service, get a free report and score, and if you don't like it for any reason or really just wanted your score and report, you can cancel and be charged nothing. The monthly fee isn't charged until free trial ends if you haven't already cancelled. The main downside we see to this service is that the free credit report and score is from Experian only. Although the monitoring service monitors all 3 bureaus, you don't get all 3 credit reports or all 3 credit scores. Also, the free credit score uses the Experian scoring system, which is slightly different than the FICO score used by most lenders when making credit decisions, although the two scores are usually very close. Overall, we highly recommend FreeCreditReport.com's Triple Advantage service. With a 7 day free trial, a price of $12.95 per month, free Experian credit report and credit score, and unlimited credit reports and scores after the free trial, this service is the best value at its price point.

True Credit 3-Bureau Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

TrueCredit 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring is a good service that gives subscribers access to all three credit reports and scores for $14.95 per month. TrueCredit does not offer any free trial, something which most of our readers strongly prefer. Subscribers have unlimited access their Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports and credit scores based off of the TransUnion scoring system. While subscribers can access their three bureau credit reports and scores at anytime, TrueCredit only updates the credit data once per month. We don't see this as a major drawback to TrueCredit's service since it also includes three bureau credit monitoring with email alerts triggered by any change or inquiry into your report. Overall, we recommend TrueCredit 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring for anyone looking for the maximum amount of credit data they can get and who also wants to carefully guard against identity theft. At $14.95 per month, we think this service represents a good value for someone who knows they want the service and doesn't need the free trial.

Equifax Credit Watch Gold Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

Equifax Credit Watch Gold with 3-in-1 Monitoring is the most cost-effective option for monitoring your credit report at all three Bureaus. It also gives you a 3-in-1 credit report (essentially your credit report from each of the three bureaus) when you sign up. Equifax Gold with 3-in-1 Monitoring also gives you unlimited copies of your Equifax credit report. The service does not offer any credit score information and does not give you additional reports from other bureaus, but being able to get an Equifax credit report any time is quite valuable. When combined with the notifications you get upon any change in your credit report from any of the bureaus, you can keep track of what each of your three credit reports say, but you can only get a free copy of your Equifax report any time you want. Equifax Gold with 3-in-1 is most useful for people primarily concerned about identity theft because three bureau monitoring is really the main tool you need to detect identity theft. Being able to get an Equifax credit report any time is also a great feature. However, if you think you might want to know your credit scores or pull an updated credit report from all 3 bureaus, we would recommend you pay the extra $2 per month for TrueCredit 3 Bureau Monitoring or try the Privacy Matters 1-2-3 free trial, both of which offer all three credit scores and all three credit reports whenever you want them, in addition to three bureau monitoring.

TransUnion Review: Credit Report MonitoringGo to Site | Back to Chart

With its free 30-day trial and unlimited TransUnion reports and scores, TransUnion Credit Monitoring is a very good service and value. The main drawback we see is that it only delivers scores and reports from one credit bureau, TransUnion. This limits its effectiveness as we recommend monitoring your reports from all 3 bureaus for both identity theft protection and to make sure there are not errors on one of your other reports. Other than that one flaw, TransUnion Credit Monitoring is a great value. Its 30 day trial lets you check your report and score as many times as you want for free and still cancel if you don't like the service. Then at only $11.95 per month, it is a cost-effective way to stay on top of your TransUnion report and score as you can continue to check them both as often as you like. As with all the services we recommend, you will be notified by email within 24 hours of any change to your report.