Checking your credit score costs nothing and takes less than five minutes. Yet millions of UK consumers still don't know their score — which means they're applying for credit blind, risking rejections that damage the very score they're trying to protect.
Here are the best free options available right now, and which one is right for you.
For most people, ClearScore is the best starting point. It's free forever (no trial, no card needed), it's updated weekly, and the mobile app is genuinely excellent. If you want the most complete picture — seeing all four UK credit agencies at once — Checkmyfile's 30-day free trial is worth doing before you apply for anything significant like a mortgage.
Takes 2 minutes. Soft search — won't affect your credit file.
Check with ClearScore →ClearScore shows your Equifax credit score and report, updated weekly. There's no premium tier to upsell you to — the service is funded by showing you personalised product offers (loans, cards) you can choose to explore or ignore.
Best for: Everyone. Especially good if you want an app to check regularly and set score goals.
Experian is the UK's largest credit reference agency, so seeing your Experian score gives you a clear view of how most mortgage and loan lenders see you. The free tier shows your score — for the full report and monitoring alerts, you'd need to upgrade to CreditExpert (£14.99/month).
Best for: People preparing for a mortgage application, where lenders most often use Experian data.
Checkmyfile is unique in the UK — it pulls data from all four credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva) into one report. This matters because different lenders check different agencies, and you might have an error at one that you'd never spot by only checking another.
The 30-day free trial is genuinely free — just remember to cancel if you don't want to pay £14.99/month after that.
Best for: Anyone preparing for a major credit application (mortgage, large loan) and wanting to catch any errors across all agencies first.
TotallyMoney shows your TransUnion credit score and pairs it with your personalised approval odds for credit cards and loans. If you're actively looking to borrow, this is a useful combination — check your score and see what you're likely to get approved for in one go.
Best for: People who want to compare credit products alongside their score.
No. Checking your own score is always a soft search — it appears in your own credit file record but is invisible to lenders and has zero effect on your score. You can check as often as you like.
What does affect your score is a hard search — when a lender formally checks your file as part of a credit application. That's why using eligibility checkers before applying is so important.
Check your score free, then see which loans and credit cards you're likely to qualify for.
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