Is the MyFICO Credit Score Service Worth the Cost?

MyFICO is a credit monitoring platform from the Fair Isaac Corporation, also known as FICO. The company created the FICO credit score and says that 90% of lenders use its scoring models to assess the creditworthiness of applicants. So it’s useful to have insight into your FICO scores when you’re planning on borrowing money or seeking more credit.

MyFICO has one free and three paid subscription options for consumers to see their FICO scores, access credit reports and receive alerts based on credit report data.

Here’s a breakdown of MyFICO and whether the paid versions are worth the subscription cost.

As you’d expect, the platform provides access to your FICO credit scores. People often talk about “my FICO score” without realizing FICO has several different versions of its scoring model. For example, mortgage lending still uses the older FICO 2, 4 and 5 versions, even as FICO has established newer versions 8, 9 and 10. There are also bank card and auto-specific scores.

The paid plans of MyFICO show you 10 scores, including those commonly used for mortgages and auto loans and in credit card approval decisions.

MyFICO does have a free version but the features are basic. The more robust benefits that consumers would likely want, such as getting the larger set of FICO scores, are only available in paid subscriptions.

The no-cost version of MyFICO provides coverage from only one of the three major credit bureaus and a single FICO score. You’ll get a monthly credit report from Equifax, and your FICO 8 score based on that report data. You also get credit monitoring and alerts, such as notifications when a new account is opened in your name.

This single-bureau coverage falls short because a lender may check your credit using a different FICO score version or a different scoring model altogether, such as VantageScore. Or it may only check credit using one of the other major bureaus, Experian or TransUnion. So you’re not necessarily seeing the score a creditor will check.

Similarly, for credit monitoring to be most effective, it’s best to have coverage from the three major credit bureaus. Being alerted to potential problems with your Equifax credit report has value, but it won’t help with issues at TransUnion or Experian.

A Basic Plan costs $4.95 for the first month and then $19.95 a month thereafter. You can cancel at any time.

This plan comes with credit monitoring and 10 different FICO scores, including those used in assessing mortgage and auto loan eligibility. But again, you only get monthly access to your credit report from a single bureau, Experian. You’ll still have an incomplete picture of how lenders may assess your creditworthiness.

This plan adds features not included in the free version: access to a credit simulator to see how actions might affect your score, plus $1 million in identity theft insurance and assistance with identity restoration.

The middle-tier paid plan costs $29.95 per month and features complete coverage from each of the three major credit bureaus. But those credit reports are updated only once per quarter (although, as with all plans, the credit monitoring continues daily).

You’ll get access to everything in the Basic Plan, plus identity monitoring for threats such as your personal financial advice being exposed on the internet.

The Premier plan carries the highest cost, $39.95 per month, and includes everything from the Advanced Plan. The only difference is you get monthly access to your three credit reports, versus once every three months.

If you’re not interested in a monthly subscription, MyFICO also has one-time reports costing $19.95 for your choice of one credit bureau or $59.85 for all three credit bureaus.

The one-bureau access has limited utility unless you know which credit bureau a lender will use to check your credit. The three-bureau report is more useful — especially when starting the homebuying process since you get all three FICO scores used in mortgage approvals. But you could get essentially the same service by signing up for the Advanced Plan and canceling after a single monthly charge of $29.95.

Of note on both: You only have access for 30 days, so save or print out copies of your report.

The parent company, Fair Isaac Corporation, has been managing credit scores since the 1960s so you can trust that the numbers you get through MyFICO will accurately display the FICO score or scores your selected plan includes. But there’s also the issue of how much you’re paying — just the Basic Plan costs nearly $225 for the first year.

However, you may already have FICO 8 access at no charge: Some banks, credit unions and credit card issuers offer customers a free FICO 8 score. It’s usually based on data from a single credit bureau, and it’s only one FICO score model, so it’s not a full picture. Still, it will give you an idea whether you’re doing OK or need to work on building credit.

Similarly, each of the three credit bureaus provide weekly free reports to consumers. This lets you monitor your credit yourself. You’d have to buy the $39.95 per month Premier Plan from MyFICO to get three-bureau access, and it’s updated monthly versus weekly. While the DIY option takes more effort, the financial savings are significant — about $480 a year.

You can also use free services like NerdWallet’s free credit report. But check what credit bureaus are covered for whatever free service you choose. NerdWallet partners with TransUnion, for example, so you may want to seek access to Equifax and Experian from another source.

And while MyFICO offers some identity theft protection, it’s not as comprehensive as offerings from vendors whose main focus is identity theft. And here again, a free tool is available: Freezing your credit will stymie someone attempting to open new credit accounts in your name.

It’s also helpful to weigh the pros and cons:

• Convenience: If you don’t have time to regularly monitor your credit, one of MyFICO’s paid levels with three-bureau coverage makes it easy to keep up with your scores and credit reports.

• Comprehensiveness: Paid subscriptions give you access to all of your FICO scores, which show how a mortgage or auto loan lender may view your creditworthiness.