Check Credit Score Free Canada — Every Option Compared

You don't need to pay to know your credit score in Canada. Here are all the legitimate free options — what they show, which bureau they use, and how often they update.

Free Credit Score Options in Canada

Service	Bureau	Update Frequency	Cost	Full Report?
Borrowell	Equifax	Weekly	Free	Yes (free)
Credit Karma Canada	TransUnion	Weekly	Free	Yes (free)
Equifax Canada (direct)	Equifax	Annual (free)	Free report; score costs extra	Yes (score separate)
TransUnion Canada (direct)	TransUnion	Annual (free)	Free report; score costs extra	Yes (score separate)
RBC Mobile	Equifax	Monthly	Free (RBC clients)	Score only
TD MySpend	TransUnion	Monthly	Free (TD clients)	Score only
Scotiabank app	TransUnion	Monthly	Free (Scotia clients)	Score only
BMO app	TransUnion	Monthly	Free (BMO clients)	Score only
KOHO app	Equifax	Monthly	Free (KOHO clients)	Score only

Borrowell — Best for Equifax Score Monitoring

Borrowell is a Canadian fintech that provides free weekly Equifax credit scores. Sign up with your name, email, address, and a verification question — no credit card required. Within minutes you have your Equifax score and a full credit report breakdown showing every account, inquiry, and public record.

Borrowell also shows your score history over time, explains which factors are helping or hurting, and provides personalized recommendations for financial products. It generates revenue through those recommendations — which is how it provides the service for free.

Credit Karma Canada — Best for TransUnion Score Monitoring

Credit Karma Canada offers free TransUnion credit scores and reports. The interface shows your score factors, account details, and a timeline of your score history. Like Borrowell, it monetizes through product recommendations. The score updates frequently and the full report shows every item on your TransUnion file.

Getting Your Full Credit Report Directly from the Bureaus

Both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada are legally required to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once per year upon request. This is your complete credit file — every account, every inquiry, every public record. It does not automatically include your score (the numerical score costs extra unless you use Borrowell or Credit Karma).

To request from Equifax: visit equifax.ca and use the free annual report option or mail a request form.

To request from TransUnion: visit transunion.ca and use the free annual report option.

These official report requests are soft inquiries and do not affect your score.

Hard vs. Soft Inquiries — What Checking Your Score Does

Checking your own credit score through any of the above methods is a soft inquiry. Soft inquiries are not visible to lenders and do not affect your credit score. You can check your own score as often as you want with zero impact.

Hard inquiries occur when you apply for credit (mortgage, car loan, credit card). These are visible to other lenders and temporarily lower your score by 5–10 points. They remain on your report for 2 years.

How Often Should You Check Your Credit Score?

At minimum, check your score and report once every 3 months. This allows you to:

• Catch identity theft or fraud early (new accounts you didn't open)
• Identify errors before they affect a major application
• Track progress if you're actively rebuilding credit
• Ensure negative items are removed on schedule (collections after 6–7 years, bankruptcy after 6–7 years)

If you're actively working to improve your score, checking weekly via Borrowell or Credit Karma is entirely appropriate — it's free and has no impact on your score.