When it comes to credit health tracking, two big names dominate the space: Borrowell vs Credit Karma. While both are free credit monitoring services that allow consumers to review their credit score, credit report insights, and financial recommendations offered on the basis of individual data, which should you consider if you live in Canada? In this detailed comparison of Credit Karma vs Borrowell, we shall dissect the similarities, differences, and maybe which one would better address your financial objectives.
What Is Borrowell? Explore Key Features
Borrowell is a Canadian fintech company that works in partnership with Equifax to provide you with a free credit score and report. It was the first entity in the country to do so for free, and it has since added numerous other features geared to help you understand and improve your credit profile.
Some Key Features of Borrowell Include
- Credit Score & Report from Equifax (weekly updates)
- An AI-Driven Credit Coach to Help You Improve Your Finances
- Personalized Product Recommendations (Credit Cards, Loans, and More)
- Free Alerts When Changes Occur in Your Credit File
- Access to rent reporting (in partnership with landlords)
Borrowell is highly popular across Canada, with over 2 million users. It is entirely free and uses a soft inquiry, so checking your score won’t hurt your credit.
What Is Credit Karma? Key Features of Credit Karma
Credit Karma is a reputable name in the world of credit monitoring in both the U.S. and Canada. For its Canadian clients, including TransUnion among its partners, it offers a different view of credit health.
Key Features of Credit Karma:
- Get your TransUnion credit score and report free
- Get personalized financial advice.
- Use the credit score simulator to run through “what-if” situations.
- Get alerts when suspicious activity or new inquiries occur.r
- Learn the likelihood that you will be approved for financial products
Though it started in the U.S., Borrowell vs Credit Karma Canada is now a very relevant comparison for Canadians, as both services now offer country-specific data.
Borrowell vs Credit Karma – A Detailed Comparison
| Features | Borrowell | Credit Karma |
| Credit Bureau Used | Borrowell partners with Equifax, one of Canada’s two major credit bureaus. This means the credit score and report you receive are based on Equifax’s data. | Credit Karma uses TransUnion data, offering a credit score and report based on one of the two national credit bureaus in Canada. |
| Score Update Frequency | Your credit score and report are updated weekly. You can track changes regularly without affecting your score, thanks to soft inquiries. | Credit Karma also provides weekly score updates, ensuring that users are notified of changes promptly without harming their credit. |
| Platform Availability | Borrowell is currently available only in Canada, focusing exclusively on the needs of Canadian consumers. | Credit Karma operates in both the U.S. and Canada, with region-specific features and recommendations. |
| Identity Monitoring | Provides basic monitorability alerts when an Equifax report changes, but does not identify more profound issues of identity theft. | The system offers full-fledged identity monitoring features with alerts of fraud or new account openings about the TransUnion file. |
| Credit Coaching | The AI-powered credit coach offers personalized insights and recommendations to help you improve your credit health. | Apart from educational articles and useful tips, the system also features a credit score simulator to let users see how various actions may change their score.e |
Though these two are worthy tools, a credit score might look a little different depending on the particular bureau from which a lender might get their report. You can use both tools for a more complete view.
Which Platform Gives a More Accurate Score?
One of the most frequent questions asked in the Borrowell vs Credit Karma debate is whether one platform provides a more accurate credit score than the other. However, the answer is not so clear-cut as to pick a side. But to know the answer, you may read the article on the Accuracy of the Borrowell credit score.
Borrowell gives you your credit score with Equifax information, whereas Credit Karma gives you the score through TransUnion data. Both Equifax and TransUnion are Canada’s two major credit bureaus, and sometimes lenders may go with either one or even both of their internal policies, depending on the credit being sought.
Therefore, neither can be said to be more accurate. They are just showing a view of your creditworthiness through different data sets and scoring models.
Why Different Scores Can Appear:
Scoring Models: Borrowell uses Equifax Risk Score 2.0 while Credit Karma mostly uses the VantageScore 3.0 model.
Data Reporting: Not all creditors report your activity to both bureaus.
Timing: Each bureau will update your credit file at different time intervals, thus a timing difference.
When making a loan or mortgage application, it is always advisable to inquire from the lender which credit bureau they use; by doing so, one can monitor the score that most closely follows their criteria.
Conclusion
The choice between Borrowell vs. Credit Karma depends on your preferences and which credit bureau you’d prefer to monitor. Both offer great free tools to keep an ear on your credit health. Since both pull from different sources, it would be advantageous to get both. This especially applies to Canada, where having both of these will give you a wider and more accurate picture of your financial standing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
1. Is Borrowell only available in Canada?
Yes, the company is a Canadian company and is only offered to Canadian residents.
2. Is Credit Karma available in Canada?
Yes, it does, as it monitors credit in both Canada and the U.S.
3. Which one is more accurate-Borrowell or Credit Karma?
They are both accurate in their respective ways, and you have to take into consideration which source is being scrutinized. Borrowell uses data pulled from Equifax, but Credit Karma takes its information from TransUnion. So “accuracy” depends on which bureau your lender uses.
4. Can I use Borrowell together with Credit Karma?
Absolutely! Most users keep an eye on both scores just so that they can maintain some sort of balanced perspective about their credit health.
5. Does checking my score on Borrowell or Credit Karma hurt my credit?
No, your score cannot be affected since soft inquiries are issued in either case.
