Written by: Mike Senecal
Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro
The lower your credit score, the less credit you qualify for. Reasonably priced credit is hard to come by if you’re starting from scratch with no credit history or rebuilding after a financial setback.
Financial providers have introduced innovative credit-building products to support consumers seeking to build credit without compromising their finances.
This list of the best products on the market today will help you find what works best for you. Good luck on your credit-building journey.
Experian Boost
#1 Credit-Building Product for Instant Score Increases
Experian is a leader in providing insights and tools to help consumers understand how to use credit productively.
Experian Boost is a tool that allows consumers to boost their FICO® credit score by adding on-time payments of cellphone, utility, subscription, and rent bills to their credit files.
Why We Love Experian Boost
We appreciate how easy it is to use Experian Boost to boost your credit score instantly. All you have to do is connect your bank accounts and select the bills you want to use.
Within seconds, Experian Boost looks at your on-time bill-pay history for the accounts you selected and returns an increased credit score.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 544K
- Average Android rating: 4.7
- # iOS app reviews: 2.1M
- Average iOS rating: 4.8
MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus
#1 Credit-Building Product for Saving
MoneyLion makes managing and spending money more manageable and accessible.
MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus provides a secured loan of up to $1,000 that helps you establish a year’s payment history with all three major US credit bureaus.
Why We Love MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus
MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus makes building a positive credit history less burdensome because it doesn’t require a hard credit check.
You receive a portion of your loan upfront to provide much-needed financial flexibility. You save by making on-time payments and receive the rest of the loan when you’re done.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 101K
- Average Android rating: 4.4
- # iOS app reviews: 107K
- Average iOS rating: 4.7
Brigit Credit Builder Loan
#1 Credit-Building Product for Lower Payments
The Brigit team designed its app for folks who may be living from paycheck to paycheck and are struggling to move forward financially.
The Brigit Credit Builder Loan advances Brigit’s values of fairness, transparency, and simplicity by enabling consumers to build a positive credit history without high payments.
Why We Love the Brigit Credit Builder Loan
On-time payments are the best way to attract favorable attention from the US credit bureaus.
The Brigit Credit Builder Loan is a secured loan that lets you choose how much to pay out of pocket and how much to pay from your deposit account. You can pay as little as $1 per month.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 152K
- Average Android rating: 4.7
- # iOS app reviews: 254K
- Average iOS rating: 4.8
Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card
#1 Credit-Building Product for Everyday Purchases
Chime is a leading financial technology company with a mission to provide basic banking services that are helpful, easy, and free.
The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card fits right in because it requires no annual fees or interest, no hard credit check to apply, and no minimum security deposit.
Why We Love the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card
All you need to do to build a higher credit score is move money from your Chime checking account to your card.
Turn on the Safer Credit Building feature to ensure there’s room on the account to repay what you spend automatically. Chime then informs the US credit bureaus about those auto payments.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 562K
- Average Android rating: 4.8
- # iOS app reviews: 703.9K
- Average iOS rating: 4.8
Dovly
#1 Credit-Building Product for Improving Credit History
Having healthy credit is critical to obtaining lower-priced credit in the amounts you need to make significant long-term purchases.
The Dovly app uses a fully automated credit engine to track, manage, and restore your credit on a 24/7 basis. The engine can even submit credit disputes to the three major US credit bureaus.
Why We Love Dovly
Many consumers don’t understand their power to work with the credit bureaus to remove errors in their history and improve their scores.
We love that Dovly makes working with the bureaus seamless. Most of Dovly’s premium members see a significant score increase in six months or less.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 9.29K
- Average Android rating: 4.7
- # iOS app reviews: 6.5K
- Average iOS rating: 4.9
Grow Credit
#1 Credit-Building Product for Streaming Subscription Fans
Are you among the millions who subscribe to streaming services like Netflix and Spotify? No judgment — you need to have a little fun, even if you’re building or rebuilding your credit history.
Try Grow Credit if you’re streaming-obsessed because it lets you connect your subscription accounts to the app and autopay them through your Grow Credit Mastercard® debit card.
Why We Love Grow Credit
We love that Grow Credit takes consumer preferences into account.
You can enjoy at-home and on-the-go entertainment from more than 100 streaming services while building a positive credit history.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 1.82K
- Average Android rating: 4.4
- # iOS app reviews: 6.8K
- Average iOS rating: 4.8
Boom
#1 Credit-Building Product for Renters
Renting an apartment or home is often the best course for consumers without a strong credit history.
But missing out on the positive credit benefits of making on-time mortgage payments is a huge loss. Boom lets you report your on-time rental payments to the three major US credit bureaus to improve your score.
Why We Love Boom
Boom provides access to your history of on-time rent payments far back into the past.
It’s great for catching up on your history and letting the bureaus know how responsible you’ve been.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 333
- Average Android rating: 4.2
- # iOS app reviews: 691
- Average iOS rating: 4.6
Fizz
#1 Credit-Building Product for Students
The worst thing you can do if you’re a new consumer is to get in over your head with debt. Yet many students do just that because they haven’t learned responsible financial behavior.
If you’re afraid you might be that kind of person, Fizz is a no-fee or interest debit card that automatically pays expenses daily and reports on-time bill payments to the three major US credit bureaus.
Why We Love Fizz
Fizz is packed with features like smart spending limits and rewards to make disciplining your finances less of a chore.
We love those daily paybacks because you literally can’t make a mistake and let a bill go overdue.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 54
- Average Android rating: 4.4
- # iOS app reviews: 143
- Average iOS rating: 4.4
Grain
#1 Credit-Building Product for Personalized Offers
For now, Grain is only available for the iPhone. It links your checking account to receive the best personalized credit offers. An Android version is coming.
Grain analyzes the cash flow in your checking account to deliver credit in seconds. Access your secured credit line in the amount of your installment amounts starting at $25.
Why We Love Grain
Grain taps into your payment history as a responsible consumer to get the most credit bang for your buck.
The app lets you gradually build toward accessing your total credit amount while on-time payments increase your credit score.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: n/a
- Average Android rating: n/a
- # iOS app reviews: 35.6K
- Average iOS rating: 4.6
Pave
#1 Credit-Building Product for Credit Insights
Pave concentrates on helping UK financial consumers learn what works and what doesn’t as they refine their spending and money management habits.
It does that by analyzing your credit file to give you personalized credit fixes and connecting to your accounts to remind you about upcoming bills.
Why We Love Pave
Pave can also improve your credit usage by opening a credit account that reports on-time payments to the three major UK credit reporting agencies.
It can also connect users to credit experts through What’s App, a helpful feature.
Key Stats
- # Android app reviews: 1.87K
- Average Android rating: 4.1
- # iOS app reviews: 4K
- Average iOS rating: 4.7
Whether you’re starting your financial journey, regrouping after an inconsistent spending and saving history, or looking to get to the next level to reach long-term financial goals, an innovative credit-building product can help you get there.
So install one or more today — there’s no time like the present to start reaching for your future!
