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4.8

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: March 19th, 2021

myFICO is one of the only companies in this space that provides users with comprehensive three-bureau credit monitoring, identity monitoring, and the same industry-standard FICO credit score that lenders actually use, in addition to top-tier educational materials and tools.

Although myFICO credit monitoring is slightly more expensive than some competitors, its service has had few, if any, major complaints or scandals over the years and its reputation is quite strong.

Keep reading to learn more about the company's credit monitoring services and to see customer reviews. 

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The Good

  • Reputation
  • Access to True FICO Credit Scores
  • Three-Bureau Credit Reports
  • Credit Monitoring
  • Resources
  • Mobile App
  • Identity Theft Protection
  • Credit Score Simulator
  • Community
  • Security
  • Easy-To-Use Interface

Reputation

The credit monitoring industry has a reputation for being full of shady, fly-by-night operations, and scams. myFICO has had far fewer complaints than the majority of the companies in the credit monitoring industry, has been around a while, and is completely transparent in how it operates.

Although myFICO itself has been operating since 2001, it's important (if not unsurprising) to note that it's currently owned by FICO (formerly known as Fair Isaac Corporation), which is a publicly-traded company that's been in business since 1956 and introduced the original FICO score back in 1989. The company has a long, consistent track record that is clean of any major scandals or privacy breaches.

Access to True FICO Credit Scores

As part of its credit monitoring service, myFICO gives customers access to their FICO credit scores. This is a critical distinction, as FICO is the industry-standard credit score that is used by an overwhelming majority of lenders when they make a consumer lending decision.

The particular scores provided by myFICO include FICO 8 as well as other versions of the FICO score which are still commonly used by lenders to determine creditworthiness in specific industries like mortgage lending, credit card approvals, and auto loans.

At the time of writing, a standard three-bureau credit report from myFICO includes 19 different FICO scores, along with an explanation of who uses which score and what you can do to increase it. No other company offers such a comprehensive look at so many credit scores used in so many different industries. 

Three-Bureau Credit Reports

myFICO offers access to credit reports from all three credit bureaus and provides standard credit monitoring on each of those reports with its Fico Ultimate 3B subscription service.

In addition to the credit reports from the three bureaus, the company provides specific credit information and advice on how consumers can improve their credit based on where they're currently at, including access to a credit score simulator to help them determine their next personal finance move.

Credit Monitoring

In addition to providing ongoing access to one's credit reports, myFICO also provides daily credit monitoring across all three credit bureaus. Basically, each day, myFICO will alert account users of any major changes to their credit reports.

These credit monitoring alerts arrive by text, email, or through the company's mobile app (if it's installed on the client's phone). myFICO will alert users if any of the following critical changes occur on any of their reports:

  • Newly opened credit account
  • New inquiries
  • Change in public records or address
  • New addresses
  • Newly listed collections accounts
  • Balance changes

The company also provides additional alerts on other activities, depending on the bureau. These alerts are fully configurable in a convenient, easy-to-use customer dashboard.

Resources

As the inventors of the modern-day credit scoring model that lenders actually use in their lending decisions, no other company in the industry can currently speak with as much authority as myFICO on how credit scoring actually works.

myFICO provides a comprehensive library of specific, well-written, and most importantly, up-to-date educational articles and content tailored to newcomers and experienced credit aficionados alike.

These resources cover topics like credit history, credit inquiries, credit reporting agencies, how credit scores are calculated, ways you can improve your credit score, and more. 

Mobile App

myFICO offers a well-designed mobile app for both Apple and Android devices. It's a bit more robust than some of the apps we've seen in that it provides full access to the entire credit report, credit score history, credit score simulator, and, as far as we can tell, all of the same functionality as the website.

The company's mobile app is fairly intuitive, easy to use, and provides an effective way to get mobile alerts if consumers prefer to limit the number of texts or emails they receive.

Identity Theft Protection

As part of its FICO Ultimate 3B subscription, myFICO regularly scans the internet, black market sites, and other databases for illicit use of a customer's personal information that might not be included on a credit report, including the following and more:

  • Email addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Driver's license numbers
  • Passport numbers
  • Up to 10 credit card numbers
  • Up to five bank accounts
  • Medical ID numbers

Whenever personal information is discovered, an alert is sent immediately via email, SMS, or through the app (if installed). Additionally, myFICO provides identity restoration services, up to $1 million in identity theft insurance, and lost wallet protection.

Although our review team doesn't necessarily find that identity theft protection services are a critical part of credit report monitoring, it is still a useful feature that some customers will find appealing.

Credit Score Simulator

myFICO provides the most accurate credit score simulator in the industry, allowing users to experiment and see the potential credit impact of different hypothetical decisions, from paying off half their credit card debt to taking out a car loan.

Because the projected scores are based on the actual FICO scoring formula, myFICO's simulator is, pound-for-pound, more accurate, and, therefore, more useful, than those offered for free by other companies such as Credit Karma.

Community

The myFICO forums have, for years, been one of the most active communities and best resources for those seeking to answers to specific questions as they learn more about their credit reports and credit scores.

These forums can be useful to those who want more information regarding credit history and credit inquiries as well as those looking to learn good credit habits and improve their current financial situations.

Security

myFICO has no known data or privacy breaches, standing in stark contrast to much of the rest of the industry.

Although its terms and conditions permit it to market third-party products to you, the company opts its users out by default and one must specifically opt-in to have their information shared.

Easy-To-Use Interface

Both the website and the mobile app provided by myFICO deserve high marks for being both easy to use and navigate, making it easy to dive into as much or as little detail in one's credit report as desired. The core product is ad-free and features a clean interface.

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The Bad

  • Monthly Refresh Rates
  • Purchased Reports Expire After 30 Days
  • Monthly Fee
  • Cancellation

Monthly Refresh Rates

Although customers can always purchase their reports à la carte to get the most updated credit report, myFICO's FICO Ultimate 3B credit monitoring service only refreshes these credit reports once per month.

This is less often than we like to see in this industry when other companies offer weekly or even daily updates. That said, like most companies, myFICO does monitor credit reports from all three credit reporting bureaus and alert consumers of changes.

Unlike most companies, myFICO also provides users with an updated FICO score for each report whenever a change is detected, which is quite valuable.

Purchased Reports Expire After 30 Days

Purchasing a one-time single credit bureau or triple-bureau credit report through myFICO does not guarantee lifetime access to that report.

In fact, credit reports expire after 30 days. Unless the user has either saved it to their hard drive or printed it, they will lose access to their report after that timeframe.

Monthly Fee

Although its security, scores, and features are impressive, myFICO's monthly fee is slightly higher than some of its competitors, such as Experian, CreditKarma, and Credit Sesame.

Cancellation

In order to cancel myFICO credit monitoring services, customers are required to call in by phone. Although this is fairly standard in the industry, many consumers would prefer to cancel online rather than over the phone.

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The Bottom Line

Although it charges slightly more expensive monthly payments than some of its competitors, myFICO is still considered a reputable company that provides the most comprehensive, accurate, and useful insights into one's credit health currently available.

myFICO monitors credit reports from all three major credit reporting bureaus and offers identity theft protection services which are more than what some credit monitoring companies offer.

Because the company offers a full range of accurate credit scores, apps, tools, educational financial resources, reputation, security, and community, it is a fantastic choice for both newcomers/cardholders and credit veterans alike.

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Star Rating

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2.5

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26 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

27%

4 grade

4%

3 grade

4%

2 grade

19%

1 grade

46%

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Cory Williams Orange Park, FL

I use MyFico to keep me in the know of how good or bad my scores are. I've been working on my credit since the beginning or 2016, my scores were REALLY BAD! As I made better credit decisions my scores were going up. I am enrolled in MyFico 3B Premier Plan, ALL 3 scores update monthly AND I get a new credit report monthly. MyFico alerts me real-time (anywhere from 1 hour to 1 day) of changes/updates to my credit report. MyFico show you different versions of your Fico score based on what you're trying to get credit in. Of all the versions that you can look at, I was concerned with the one for home purchase. My scores 2 days ago updated to 683-Equifax, 649-TransUnion and 659 Experian. I felt pretty good that my scores when the lender run it, would be at/over the 620 that I needed to get approval. So, I called the lender and said, "run my credit now". The lender told me a few moments later that my scores were where I needed and that I got my approval! I asked them to give me the scores that they had just gotten and they were all DEAD ON to the digit with what MyFico had just updated to BEFORE I called them! For me, the proof is in the pudding and I will continue to use MyFico so that I know my credit standing.

7 years ago

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Ben L. Pleasant Grove, UT

I think the ScoreWatch product is a great tool. Most people don't know how to get the most out of this product because they don't go in and change the settings for the next FICO score change. Because of this, I think most do not appreciate that value of this product. It might be advantageous to myFICO to educate individuals to the necessity of changing the settings after each ScoreWatch alert. The myFICO forums are amazing and it's because of this forum through a google search that I was able to improve my FICO score and credit profile so quickly through educating myself with the knowledge provided here. I am concerned that with the advent of credit providers giving the different FICO scores out as a means to offering a better product or to cut cost by offering the score for a change to paperless statements that myFICO will have to figure out how to be more educational for a fee. Granted, I am hungry for the information provided here but most of the general public is not as willing to "put in the time" to be educated and are satisfied with just getting a score monthly. Consequently, I think that if it is feasibly possible.. the products should possibly be provided for a lesser price. I currently get the ScoreWatch for $9.95 a month. Most are charged the $14.95 charge. I was able to get a FAKO score service with educational tools for $7.95 a month before I found this site. I did not know that the score was not a score that most lenders use. I was content with this until I came here.

10 years ago

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Elizabeth Wall-O'Brien New York, NY

Beware of the "options". You may think you are ordering a one-time score report and then find that you are getting charged monthly for monthly reports you don't need or want. When this happened to me I called the 800 number and was told that while my "membership" could be canceled, I would not be able to get previously charged somes refunded. I spoke to three different people to no avail. This a popular business model that is successful when people do not pay close attention to the automatic deductions on their bank accounts. The people I spoke with were friendly but insisted that they could not possibly offer any refund so I am obligated to warn the public. You will be told that the terms are clear, that the choices are clear and that there is "nothing they can do" . Baloney. Buyer Beware.

5 years ago

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Vray Atascadero, CA

I think they just make up FICO scores. No rhyme or reason to their algorithms. Score went down because I didn't have enough credit card balance? OK, so I charged some stuff and let it sit at that level for a few months. Score went down again because I was using 17% of my available credit. Cancelled after about 7 years (which was a pain in the behind) and never looked back.

5 years ago

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Fred Green Berkeley, CA

The assumption upon which FICO scores are based is ridiculous. It assumes the only reason for using credit cards is lack of cash. It ignores the rationale of accumulating frequent flier miles and other perks. It also ignores the fact that we are moving toward a cashless society. I have only 4 active credit cards and I pay them in full each month, yet they penalize me. The FICO score is a joke based on false assumptions

5 years ago

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Ever Espana Hollywood, FL

While I agree it's probably the best service for getting your 3 credit scores. Their cancellation process is Horrendous if you are on the monthly plan. You have to call and they only work on PST time. So if you can only call them to cancel in the AM EST time your screwed. I called like 3 times cancel and they were closed, then I called on the day of the charge and they refused to refund. I've used them in the past, but never again. You can't refund someone on the day of the charge is ridiculous this day and age.

6 years ago

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william fitzgerald

way too many email notices on balance changes. I asked to have the emails stop and they said they can only stop Experian notices. I run a small business and cant take the time to keep checking my email for balance alerts. stupid set up. I cancel my plan.

6 years ago

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Amber Cramer

I've been paying $30 a month to myfico.com to monitor my score prior to applying for a mortgage. At first o thought myfico was great, much better then the free app that Credit Karma has. I thought it was great that myfico would send me alerts every few days claiming my transuniin or equifax or experien score "just increased today by 48 points, 3 points, 16 points etc. So I got all excited thinking my score has GOT to be good enough now! So then I had my lender pull my score and I was strongly dissapointed as it was off by 72 points for experien, 47 points for Equifax and 79 points for transunion. Very misleading and I paid a lot of money each month for this innacurate data from myfico. Also, was surprised because over the last 12 months I paid off 70% of my debt and cleared up some late payments and then waited 2 months for my lender to pull my scores thinking it would be enough time for all that positive action I took to reflect on my true score and still, it wasn't even close to being accurate. Had I known this before I would not have had my lender pull my scores just yet as I would've waited another 6 months to a year as I continued to let the score grow. Extremely disappointed!

6 years ago

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Sam P. Park City, UT

What a pathetic company. Total ripoff!!!!! Credit monitoring is not taking place. Had multiple changes to accounts and balances none of which MyFICO reported or alerted me to. Even though I had signed up for the top of the line product I had no credit score updates since my initial signup date months ago. Called customer service to see why this was happening and got nothing but excuses. Attempted to cancel my account on line only to find that it must be canceled with a CSR. Multiple calls and company STILL has not canceled my account. Having to dispute charges with CC company. Only way to stop these leeches is to cancel my CC and have a new card issued.

6 years ago

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Roger Cincinnati, OH

My wife and I have had ScoreWatch and Quarterly Monitoring for several years. Then 6 months ago billing issues arose as the MyFico billing system would not retain my payment card information for automatic payments even when their people would manually enter and save. Confirmed with my bank the problem was on the MyFico end. I was promised every month by MyFico that problem was resolved. Spoke with supervisors and managers who promised they would get with technical support and would personally track issue. Then it got worse in that I could not even enter payment card information or pay our accounts online. Had to call every month to make payment by phone. Then last month MyFico said their system had inadvertently cancelled my Quarterly Monitoring and they could not refresh it, but did offer me a replacement product at a much higher cost. Finally fed up with their incompetence we cancelled all subscriptions. Even though I initially chose this company because of their products, I would not recommend this company.

7 years ago

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Bob Tackleberry

I have been very pleased with the product. I am waiting for Fico 3B premiere for $ 10 more per month which will allow you to get monthly reports instead of quarterly.

7 years ago

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Amie Loretz Hickory, NC

I love myfico and how it keeps me updated almost daily on credit card balances, utilization percentages, and balance decreases. The absolute best company.

7 years ago

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Natalie Brown Boulder, CO

Fico is nice and keeps a relatively up to date score. I think it updates monthly or so. It is somewhat user friendly and gives suggestions and graphs on the history of your credit score. It is weighted a little different from how other credit scores do theirs, so my credit score is often lower with this company.

3 years ago

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In order to verify your identity, you must give them a lot of information over the phone. I misunderstood the guy multiple times, and could tell he was getting frustrated by my incorrect answers. You must know your credit amount and limit on every loan/credit card, the day they were opened and the exact name of the lender. If you do not have mailed statements, it may be difficult.

4 years ago

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Mary Newson CA

I found them to be an untrustworthy company. I wanted to pay for a one-time release of my FICO score and one credit report. It automatically signs you up for a monthly subscription of $30 / mo. I was not allowed to get my FICO score, because I needed to verify credit information, which was incorrect. The address they had on file for me was also incorrect. This led me to believe that any information they had for my credit history was not entirely correct.

6 years ago

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Alex Tayurskiy Secaucus, NJ

I called myFico to cancel my subscription on the day it should be renewed, and was told that cancellation will only be processed one month from now. So I got stocked with a useless subscription I don't want for another month. For the monthly fee they charge ($32) one can have credit report from all 3 agencies every month. They only renew it on quarterly bases.

7 years ago

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Zac Cannon Gulfport, MS

I have myFICO through the Barclay's Apple Rewards program. It always stays up-to-date and is pretty accurate compared to the one my Capital One Account uses.

4 years ago

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Matthew Carbaugh Herndon, VA

Best paid credit monitoring application. The 3B Score and identity analysis report were a huge life saver when I needed them. Phone app is well designed and user friendly!

5 years ago

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Trent Provo, UT

Fico is great. I love that the score is for free through my wells fargo account and I can easily access it and see the factors that contribute to my score.

5 years ago

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Dustin Huntington Beach, CA

Very scandalous company with the worst customer service I've ever seen. We cancelled our service, and were still charged. After calling they refused to refund the charge forcing me to go through my credit card company to handle it. Beware, very difficult to cancel.

6 years ago

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Mark

Did nothing of value for me. Tried canceling multiple times but hours are not user friendly and answering system would say not in business hours when it was. When final able to cancel they still tried to bill for the next month.

7 years ago

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Mike Swansea, MA

There is no rhyme or reason for the algorithms used by myFICO. Scores go down on discreet balance changes and barely increase on huge balance decreases. It's all a BIG SCAM. You suck FICO. Big Balls!

5 years ago

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Megan

Predatory company with terrible customer service. I bought one month and was charged for three. Customer service reps say it is impossible to reverse payments. It is also impossible to cancel your membership online.

6 years ago

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Dorothy

Company is nothing but a scam. Soon as they get your payment information be prepared to get bombarded with false charges.

6 years ago

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Trevor Woller Beaverton, OR

The credit scores myFICO provides me are never the same as what the credit companies (TransUnion, Experian) provide. So I don't trust their product.

5 years ago

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Bobbie Riddles Ardmore, OK

I tried to cancel my subscription and they still billed me!

6 years ago