Credit
Best Credit Repair Software
Be careful when you buy credit repair software. Many programs promise a lot, including dramatic increases in your credit score.
In reality, the software cannot provide a miracle cure for a bad credit score. When you buy a credit repair software program, you’re buying tools to help you repair your own credit.
The software can make your credit repair process easier, but it’s still up to you to do the actual repair work.
So which credit repair software program offers the best tool kit for your project? Let’s take a closer look to find out.
The Best Credit Repair Software Programs
Credit repair software should make life easier when you’re working to repair your credit — whether because you fell behind on your bills or because of reporting errors to the credit bureaus.
Here are my favorite credit repair software programs:
- Experian Boost
- Personal Credit Software
- TurnScor
- Credit-Aid
- Credit Detailer
- Intuit Turbo
Click on the map below to see how a credit repair professional can help save you time
compared to DIY software.
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Experian Boost
I want to mention Experian Boost first because it’s an anomaly on this list.
Rather than offering a toolkit to help you send and track dispute letters and goodwill letters to your credit card company, Experian Boost focuses only on boosting your score with Experian.
Here’s another key difference between Experian Boost and traditional credit repair software programs: Experian Boost gets results quickly without much work required by you.
When you sign up for this free service, Experian will sync with your bank account to analyze your utility and cell phone payments.
Typically, your utility and cell phone providers don’t report your payments to the credit bureaus. But by syncing with your bank account, Experian can incorporate these ongoing payments into your payment history.
If you always make on-time payments, syncing your bank with Experian will bolster your payment history, which is one of the biggest components of your FICO score.
As long as you’ve been paying your utility and cell phone bills on time, Experian Boost can increase your FICO score, especially if your score is below 680 right now. (Disclaimer: If you’ve made late payments recently, Experian Boost could hurt your score!)
This is one of the easiest ways to boost your credit score without putting in a lot of work upfront. But it’s also a Band-aid approach compared with a thorough credit repair project which removes negative items from your credit history.
Best For: Consumers with thin credit files or people with Fico Scores lower than 680
Price: Free
Experian Boost Pros:
- Free of cost
- Quick Set up Process
Experian Boost Cons:
- If a lender uses credit reports from Transunion or Equifax to determine your eligibility, Experian Boost won’t help.
Start Boosting Your Credit Today!
Personal Credit Builder Software
Marketed as Personal Credit Repair and Personal Credit Builder, this program has become a go-to software solution for people with negative items pulling down their credit scores.
Unlike many other programs, Personal Credit partially automates the process of reaching out to the three major credit bureaus to dispute your negative credit information. This process can help you see results within 30 to 60 days.
Personal Credit works best for someone whose credit score has decreased because of a credit reporting error or because of recent fraudulent activity such as identity theft.
More advanced credit problems — such as a long history of delinquent bills or the presence of numerous charge-offs in your history — will take longer to repair. But this is true with any method of credit repair.
Best For: Someone with a simple credit reporting issue in need of a quick solution.
Price: $199.97 (Limited Time Offer!) – Original Price is $400
Personal Credit Software Pros:
- Easy to use
- Quick results for simple problems
- Helpful legal support information included
Personal Credit Software Cons:
- Cost is higher than competitors
- More nuanced problems take more time to fix
TurnScor
Each year I find myself liking TurnScor even more, partly because it addresses the nuances of long-term credit repair and maintenance — one of my favorite topics!
Credit maintenance should become a way of life as you monitor your credit score and fine tune your credit file by opening and closing accounts.
While it’s easy enough for anyone with basic computer skills to use TurnScor, the program encourages a slower, more deliberate approach to credit repair and maintenance.
This process can seem slow and time-consuming at first, but if you’re interested in long-term results, the knowledge and skills you’ll gain will pay off.
Best For: Someone with poor or fair credit who would like to steadily improve credit over months and years.
Price: $40
TurnScor Pros:
- A longer view of your credit life
- Great price point
TurnScor Cons:
- Slower results for simple problems
- The process can seem too immersive for someone who wants a quick fix
Credit Aid
Credit Aid is the elder statesperson of the credit repair business. This program helped launch the credit repair industry back in 2002.
While not as fast-acting as the Personal Credit Builder Software package I listed above, Credit Aid can still help you get your credit life back on track.
You can buy Credit Aid at a significantly lower price than Personal Credit because you’ll be doing more of the legwork with Credit Aid.
The program gives you the tools you need such as templates for letters to credit bureaus and a diary to help you keep up with your correspondence with the bureaus.
But you’ll be generating the letters and entering your correspondence into the log yourself.
The software also comes with a succinct guide to your rights as a borrower under federal law.
Best For: Someone who wants to be in the driver’s seat but still needs helpful tools.
Price: $30 ($10 for each extra license)
Credit Aid Pros:
- Low price point
- Established company
- Thorough credit repair tool set
Credit Aid Cons:
- User pays less but does more legwork
Credit Detailer
Here’s another established software program that keeps on plugging along by helping consumers fix their credit problems.
Like Personal Credit, Credit Detailer specializes in helping people who have credit reporting errors dragging down their score and preventing them from getting good interest rates on loans.
Also, like Personal Credit, you can expect Credit Detailer to do more automation on your behalf. Credit Detailer can generate letters and track responses from the credit reporting bureaus and collections agents.
If organization isn’t one of your strengths, you may need this level of automation.
You won’t get a sleek interface with Credit Detailer. Though frequently updated, secure, and efficient, Credit Detailer isn’t the easiest program to use, especially for mobile natives.
Best For: Someone who wants a robust credit repair partner.
Price: $300 to $400 depending on promotions
Credit Detailer Pros:
- Bilingual (Full Spanish version available)
- Established company
- A thorough approach
Credit Detailer Cons:
- Higher price point
Intuit Turbo
You won’t find a more intuitive approach to credit monitoring than Intuit’s Turbo app and desktop program.
You may know Intuit from its industry-leading TurboTax software and online tax prep and its Mint program for monthly budgeting. You’ll get a similar ease of use with Turbo.
So why doesn’t Turbo rank higher on this list? Because it’s not really credit repair software. By itself, the app won’t help you take action to fix a credit problem.
However, the app can help guide you to better decisions because it provides so much information about your financial life at your fingertips. After all, the first step to improving your credit should be to find out exactly where you stand.
Turbo can help with that, and it won’t hit you with upsells and spam day and night.
Best For: A conscientious DIYer who wants to keep a finger on the pulse of his or her credit life.
Price: Free
Intuit Turbo Pros:
- User-friendly, mobile-first design
Intuit Turbo Cons:
- Does not take action or provide a toolset
Do You Need Pro Level Software?
As you shop and compare credit repair software programs, you’ll come across some more expensive options — some with monthly use rates and others with four-figure price points.
In most cases, these are Pro versions of the programs listed above; in other cases they’re credit repair business software programs for professionals.
Chances are, you won’t need this extra processing power unless you plan to open your own credit repair company and use the software to help clients other than yourself.
If you’re simply searching for tools to help you fix your credit, a program’s “Home” or “Basic” package should be enough.
If you are thinking about helping others repair their credit, check out Credit Repair Cloud which provides a great and affordable way to manage your clients’ credit reports. Credit Repair Cloud has a nice CRM platform.
Alternatives to Credit Repair Software
Credit repair software has its advantages:
- You Pay Once: Unlike hiring a professional to fix your credit, you typically don’t pay monthly rates to use software. You simply buy the program and use it on your own terms.
- You Pay Less: Since it’s a one-time purchase price rather than an ongoing subscription, you can pay less to buy software, especially compared to a credit repair service that charges you every month for a year or two.
- You Stay In Control: Instead of hiring someone to do the legwork for you, credit software typically gives you the tools needed to improve your own score. This is important to consumers who value financial privacy.
Despite these advantages, there are times you may prefer hiring an actual credit repair professional to help fix your credit.
This may be especially true for people who have a wide variety of problems creating a multi-layered credit mess.
These more complex scenarios usually include:
- Charge-offs
- Bankruptcies
- Tax liens
- Reporting errors
- Delinquencies
- Debt-to-income ratio problems
Multi-layered problems often require more customized solutions and more persistent advocacy on your behalf — both of which credit repair companies can provide for an ongoing monthly fee.
How to DIY Credit Repair
Whether you’re using a software program or a professional credit repair service, keep in mind you can fix your own credit without help from either.
That’s right: You already can access your credit score and send appeals letters or make phone calls to the credit bureaus to dispute aspects of your reports.
This DIY credit repair approach requires a lot of tenacity, persistence, and organization skills which is why software or a paid service can be so helpful.
I recommend a DIY credit repair approach if you have a couple late payments on your credit file. Often, writing a goodwill letter can fix minor problems for the cost of a postage stamp.
More complicated problems require more persistence which takes time. Writing multiple dispute letters and following up on each one individually requires some kind of system.
If you can provide a reliable system yourself, you can save money on software costs or credit repair company fees. But consumers often need some kind of help managing this time-consuming process.
That’s why credit repair organizations like Lexington Law and Credit Saint exist.
Choosing the Right Software
Like any toolbox, a credit repair software program should match your credit repair needs. You wouldn’t use a screwdriver to hammer a nail. Likewise, you’ll get the best results if your credit repair software matches its job.
Your ultimate goal should drive your choice in software:
- If you have a fairly simple problem and need a quick solution: Consider one of the more expensive programs such as Personal Credit or Credit Detailer. Or go without software and take the full DIY approach.
- If you’re looking to improve your long-term credit life: Consider a less goal-specific program such as Credit Aid or TurnScor. Or try an actual credit repair company.
- If you need easy-to-access information: Consider Intuit’s Turbo app as an info gathering tool. Apps like Credit Sesame and Credit Karma can also help, though they will send more credit card offers.
- If you need a quick bump to your FICO score: Consider Experian Boost, the free and easy way to incorporate utility and cell phone payments into your payment history with Experian only.
Always Keep Improving
To lenders and insurance agents, your credit score communicates your level of honesty as a person. It’s not necessarily fair, but it’s an efficient system which limits risks and keeps costs low.
Increasing your credit score or repairing a falsely low score will impact your ability to borrow and can decrease the amount you’ll pay to borrow or get insured.
Credit repair software can help you fix your credit problem. But just like any other worthwhile project, you’ll have to continue monitoring and tweaking your credit life.