This Credit Sesame review has been updated for 2024. Many readers have asked me about Credit Sesame and whether I’d recommend their service. Meanwhile, I haven’t reviewed a financial product in ages (apologies), so I decided to sign up for their free service a few years ago and now can report back with my Credit Sesame review. Is Credit Sesame really free? Is Credit Sesame a scam? Is Credit Sesame safe to use? What are the pros and cons? I set out to answers these questions and more.
What is Credit Sesame?
At its core, Credit Sesame is a credit score, credit reporting, credit monitoring, and identity protection service for consumers. Credit Sesame offers 2 tiers of service, “Free” and the premium “Sesame+”.
Is Credit Sesame Free?
The basic Credit Sesame “Free” tier is, in fact, free. Credit Sesame “Free” offers a free daily TransUnion VantageScore credit score, free credit monitoring, and with some helpful reporting/analysis features. Credit monitoring is rarely a free perk these days, with most services charging $24.95+/month for it.
What Does Credit Sesame Premium Offer?
If you decide to upgrade your account to the premium “Sesame+”, you are offered a free 7-day trial, followed by the cost of $24.99/month. Sesame+ comes with many nice features:
- Everything that “Free” comes with (daily TransUnion credit score, credit monitoring, financial tips)
- credit builder
- rent reporting
- credit calendar of actions
- instant credit offers
- 3-bureau credit monitoring alerts
- credit dispute resolution support
- 24/7 fraud alerts
- $1 million in ID theft coverage
- 3-bureau credit reports
- 3-bureau credit scores
- 3-bureau credit insights
The last 3 only come after the trial period.
Is Credit Sesame Safe and Secure?
Any time you are talking about your credit, there are naturally concerns about if the service is safe to use and your information is secured.
While I truly believe that no institution is 100% bullet-proof from hacks, Credit Sesame seems safe. For starters, they are considered secure by Norton, McAfee, and ETrust, and are BBB accredited (and have a good rating and customer responses on the BBB site).
Credit Sesame uses 256-bit encryption to protect your data.
During the signup process, you are not asked for your full Social Security Number – only the last 4 digits to confirm your identity:
The signup process goes through a series of multiple choice questions to make sure you are who you really say you are. You are asked for the following:
- To choose a login and password
- Your email address
- Your full legal name
- Your address
- Phone number
- Your date of birth
- Whether you own or rent your residence
- If you have lived at your current address for at least 6 months (if not, you must enter previous address so Credit Sesame can pull your credit history – typical of all credit reporting agencies)
- The last 4 digits of your Social Security number
Additionally, you can set up 2-factor authentication to protect your account from security breaches.
Is Credit Sesame Worth It?
If you’re looking for a basic free service to show you TransUnion credit score and report information, Credit Sesame’s free basic offering does the job. Sesame+ offers a lot more, however.
Credit Sesame Competitive Alternatives
Credit Sesame’s most direct competitors are:
- LifeLock: offers 3 paid tiers with credit scores, reports, identity monitoring, credit monitoring, data breach information, identity theft insurance, and much more – as low as $7.50/month. Check out my LifeLock review for more info.
- Credit Karma: is still 100% free and offers free credit scores, reports, credit monitoring, data breach information, and more. Check out my Credit Karma review for more info.
- Equifax: “Complete” is $9.95/month for 1 credit bureau (Equifax), “Premier” is $24.95 for 1 credit bureau credit score and annual 3 bureaus. The “family plan” is $29.95/month.
- Experian: “Identity Protection Premium” is $24.99/month for 3 credit bureau monitoring and alerts, “Identity Protection Family” is $34.99/month covers 1 additional adult and up to 10 children.
- TransUnion: credit monitoring is $29.95/month for TransUnion only.
Is Credit Sesame a Scam?
Credit Sesame is not a scam. They make money through offering premium account upgrades to users and through advertising financial products that its members might be interested in (e.g. credit cards and loans).
Credit Sesame Pros:
Credit Sesame’s pros are:
- Free TransUnion credit score
- Free credit monitoring
- Clean interface with helpful financial information
- Nice premium features for the price
Credit Sesame Cons:
Credit Sesame’s cons are:
- Most features are under the paid, premium “Sesame+” tier
- Some previously free features were moved to Sesame+
- No free credit report
Final Thoughts on Credit Sesame
Credit Sesame basic is worth the signup effort and Sesame+ offers a lot of bang for the buck, particularly in comparison to the 3 credit bureaus.
Have you used Credit Sesame? What’s your take?