Credit Karma Review: Free Credit Score in Canada

This Credit Karma review takes a look at the offering of one of Canada’s most popular free credit monitoring services.

Getting access to your credit score can be a huge help in many aspects of your financial life. It can give you peace of mind by knowing exactly where you stand financially. 

Credit Karma is one of the most popular credit score apps available in Canada. It offers its users free credit scores and credit reports. It also features several financial products that help you improve your credit score and meet your other financial needs.

In this Credit Karma review, I’ll be taking a look at whether Credit Karma is worth it as well as how you can use it to improve your credit score. I’ll also compare it to some alternatives, helping you make the best choice.

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Credit Karma Overview

Credit Karma is a free app for checking one of the most important metrics in your financial health – your credit score. 

The company was founded by Ken Lin in 2007 and since then, Credit Karma has grown its user base in America. The fintech company launched in Canada in 2016.

Credit Karma is well-known for its free credit score, which is updated weekly and powered by TransUnion Canada.

It’s free to sign up, and it has helped millions of people in Canada maintain their credit scores, manage and pay off debt, apply for loans and credit cards, and get mortgages. 

Also, the Credit Karma website is easy to navigate and the company keeps this experience consistent with its mobile apps as well.

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Credit Karma Products

Credit Karma offers a variety of financial products that can help you improve your financial health. 

Some of the best Credit Karma Canada products are:

Credit Score and Credit Report

With Credit Karma, you can check your credit score and get your credit report weekly for free.

When you check your credit score at Credit Karma, your credit score is calculated based on the information in your TransUnion credit report using a mathematical model developed by TransUnion.

Your score will change over time depending on the information that’s reported to TransUnion. And that is one of the reasons why it is important to check your score frequently to be aware of adverse changes as soon as possible.

Credit Monitoring

Credit monitoring is a service that alerts you to changes in your credit report. It can help protect you from identity theft because it lets you keep track of activities in your credit report. 

Credit Karma offers free credit monitoring and alerts that tell you when there is a change to your TransUnion credit report.

Credit Karma will also alert you if it looks like fraudulent activity is occurring on any of your accounts.

Credit Cards

Credit cards should be used as a tool to build credit and manage your finances, not as a way to spend more than you can afford. That’s why it’s important to shop around for a card with features you actually need and plan your spending accordingly. 

As a Credit Karma member, you will receive matches to the best credit card offers based on your profile. You can compare credit card terms, or apply for a credit card. You can even search the site for business credit cards.

Credit Karma has cards for fair credit and no annual fees, as well as cards with rewards, so you can be sure that what you see is what you get with our personalized credit card recommendations.

For every credit card offer you get from Credit Karma, you’ll see your approval odds, from poor excellent. The odds are determined by comparing your credit to that of other members that were approved for the same cards.

Personal Loans

Credit Karma’s personal loan portal will match you to lenders that can provide you with the loan amount you need at a rate based on your credit profile. 

Personal loans can be used for a wide range of purposes, from consolidating credit card debt to paying off medical bills. 

Whether you have bad credit or good credit, you can get an unsecured personal loan from Credit Karma.

Also, you’ll get tips and advice to guide you when choosing between different types of personal loans and lenders.

Mortgages

Buying a home or refinancing your mortgage? Mortgage rates change frequently, so it’s important to stay on top of them.

Credit Karma’s Mortgage product used to connect its members with lenders that can help you finance your next home or refinance the one you already have. But they now refer you to Nesto, a mortgage comparison site with access to the best mortgage lenders in Canada.

Tools and Education

Credit Karma offers a variety of financial and educational tools and information to help you make informed decisions. 

Industry experts at Credit Karma provide free, personalized advice to help you understand credit scores, pay down debt and improve your overall financial health.

They also have useful articles on topics like “How does credit card interest work?”, “Ways to consolidate credit card debt” and more. 

Arm yourself with the essentials of the credit world so you can make better decisions about your finances. From helpful tools to valuable resources, Credit Karma can help you achieve your financial goals.

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Pros and Cons of Credit Karma

Credit Karma have both advantages and disadvantages. If you’re thinking about signing up, be sure to weigh the pros and cons before doing so.

Here are some points about Credit Karma to keep in mind before deciding whether it’s right for you.

Credit Karma Canada Pros

Here are some of the pros of Credit Karma:

User-Friendly and Easy to Use Website

The entire Credit Karma interface is designed to be user-friendly and easy to use. Anyone can use it even if they don’t know much about personal finance or credit management. 

Besides, Credit Karma also has a mobile app that is built with the same logic as the website so that you can also access it on your phone without having to worry about something different or difficult.

All you have to do is log onto the website or app, and all of your information will be there on one page.

Free Credit Score and Report

Credit Karma is an established, trusted company that gives you access to your TransUnion credit score and report for free.

Credit Karma updates your report weekly. That way you can keep a close eye on the factors that affect your credit score, and make changes when you need to improve your score.

Secure Connection

Using industry-leading technology and the highest security guidelines, Credit Karma protects all your transmitted data by encrypting it, so that hackers can never use it.

They use 128-bit encryption to prevent hackers from getting at your personal information. That’s the same level of protection used by banks and financial institutions.

Free Credit Monitoring

Credit Karma also offers free credit monitoring, which includes alerts about major changes in your score and other important events like inquiries on your report or new accounts opened in your name. 

Credit Articles and Education

Articles and educational tools help you make better financial decisions. Simply put, education is the first step to a better financial future.

Credit Karma provides you with a variety of educational tools and resources. These are designed to help teach you about credit and how to maintain a good score. You’ll find educational articles, answers to common questions and more.

Credit Karma Canada Cons

Credit Karma has many advantages, but it does have some downsides as well. Here are some of the cons of Credit Karma Canada:

Distracting Financial Product Recommendations

While Credit Karma shows you all your credit scores and credit card offers, the site also has distracting advertisements and third-party offers that may be a distraction from the information you are looking for. 

Different Credit Score from what lenders use

One thing you should be aware of when using Credit Karma is that the TransUnion credit score you’re provided is not the same as what lenders use in assessing your credit worthiness for a new credit.

However, this isn’t unique to Credit Karma. The same applies to all other free credit monitoring services available in Canada.

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How To Sign Up For Credit Karma

It’s easy to get your credit score from Credit Karma. There are no strings attached. It’s completely free and only takes a few minutes.

• Head over to the Credit Karma website and sign-up
• After you sign-up, they will ask you for personal information such as your name, address, and date of birth
• Verify your identification before proceeding
• Once you have verified your identity, you can start checking your TransUnion credit score and report weekly for free

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Is Credit Karma Safe?

When you’re sharing sensitive personal financial information online, you want to be sure that it’s going to a trusted source.

But you don’t have to worry, you are in safe hands with Credit Karma. Credit Karma is committed to protecting your privacy and keeping your information secure.

Credit Karma uses several safeguards to make sure that your information remains safe and secure. All of the information you provide to Credit Karma is placed on their secure servers that are protected by firewalls. 

Also, they use bank-level security to protect your data, so that if someone hacks into your account, they won’t be able to access any of your credit information.

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Will Using Credit Karma Lower my Credit Score?

Using Credit Karma will not lower your credit score because it is a soft inquiry. A soft inquiry means that you are obtaining your credit score for personal reasons and not applying for a new line of credit. 

Soft inquiries do not impact your score. As long as you’re using Credit Karma for personal reference only, your score will not be affected.

However, if you apply for a line of credit, the lender will perform a hard inquiry on your credit report, which can negatively affect your score, especially if you have a short credit history (aka thin file) or open multiple accounts in a short period.

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Credit Karma Alternatives

Credit Karma offers a lot of financial products and advice. But it’s not the only option available to Canadians. If you’re looking for more sources of credit data, here are some alternatives to consider:

Credit Karma vs Borrowell

Credit Karma and Borrowell both offer free credit monitoring through their platforms to Canadians.

Both companies offer their members a range of financial products from various lenders, such as loans and credit cards that are tailored to each member’s profile. These are not offered directly by Credit Karma or Borrowell but via their partner companies.

Also, both services will let you know about any hard inquiries made on your account and any new accounts that you’ve added. This data is updated weekly at both Borrowell and Credit Karma.

However, there are significant differences between the two companies.

The biggest difference between the two is that Borrowell has partnered with Equifax, the other top credit bureau in Canada. TransUnion, on the other hand, has partnered with TransUnion.

So if you want free access to your credit file from the 2 top credit bureaus, it makes a lot of sense to sign up with both services.

Beyond this obvious difference, Borrowell also offers several benefits to its members including Molly, an AI powered credit coach. Learn more in this Borrowell Review.

Read more: Borrowell vs Credit Karma

Credit Karma vs Mogo

Credit Karma and Mogo have similar services but they also have different products and services.

Both services offer you the chance to sign up for additional financial products such as loans, credit cards, and mortgages if you wish. 

In addition, Mogo offers free fraud detection tools that alert you in real-time if they detect unusual activity on your account or if someone tries to open an account in your name without your permission.

However, there are several key differences between the two services.

Both Mogo and Credit Karma offer Canadians a free way to monitor their credit score, but the two companies take different approaches to the services they offer. Mogo gets its score from Equifax while Credit Karma gets its score from TransUnion. 

Additionally, Credit Karma updates your TransUnion credit report every week, while Mogo updates your Equifax report once per month. 

Learn more: Mogo Credit Score Review

Credit Karma vs Borrowell vs Mogo

Here’s an overview of the key differences between Credit Karma, Borrowell and Mogo

Feature	Credit Karma	Borrowell	Mogo
Free credit score and monitoring	Free	Free	Free
Credit bureau	TransUnion	Equifax	Equifax
Report frequency	Weekly	Weekly	Monthly
Financial products	Personal loans, credit cards, and mortgages	Personal loans, credit cards, mortgages, bank accounts	Personal loans, credit cards, and mortgages
Special features	Articles, and education	Borrowell Boost, and insurance	Bitcoin investing, identity monitoring, prepaid card
Security	128-bit encryption	256-bit encryption	256-bit advanced encryption

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FAQs on Credit Karma Review

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Final Thoughts on Credit Karma Review

Ultimately, Credit Karma is a great option. The service is ideal for people who want to track their credit score without paying a dime, as well as discover other features to manage their finances in general. 

If you’ve been considering signing up with Credit Karma, I hope this Credit Karma review has given you a clearer idea of what to expect. If you already have an account, I hope the review helped to clarify any questions you had about your account. 

And if the company isn’t for you, that’s okay too. You can check Credit Karma’s alternatives, Borrowell and Mogo. 

You may also be able to get your credit score for free through your bank’s internet banking portal or app. Learn more in the linked articles below:

• RBC Credit Score
• TD Credit Score
• Scotiabank Credit Score
• BMO Credit Score
• CIBC Credit Score

Thanks for reading my Credit Karma review. And if this review helped you learn more about Credit Karma, let us know by leaving a comment in the comment section.