Credit improvement isn't only for people with bad credit. Unless you have a perfect score, it always helps to continuously increase your score. A higher credit score can impact everything from applying for a credit card, to mortgage, and even renting an apartment.
There are many credit improvement tools out there for Canadians that can build credit scores quickly. These aren't credit repair companies that you have to pay, they're tools that help increase your credit score, whether it be bad or good. We analyzed dozens of the best credit improvement tools, and rated the best ones below.
Best free credit score app
- Monitor and track your credit score for free
- Learn about credit easily on the blog
- Get access to the credit builder*
Borrowell is the go-to credit score app in Canada, serving over a million people by providing free credit reports at the touch of a button. Currently, Borrowell offers Equifax credit reports based on a 300-850 score range and 2.0 Risk Score, which helps you assess your creditworthiness and take actionable steps to improve it.
To access your credit score for free, you can create an account in less than 3 minutes by answering a few identity verification questions. Once your account is activated, you can start receiving weekly updates on your credit score, track changes and what caused them, and get valuable insights about what's impacting your score.
Borrowell will analyze your credit profile and make personalized recommendations for credit products and other banking services that you are most likely to qualify for. This helps protect your credit score from the negative impact of hard credit checks and rejected applications for products you don’t qualify for.
Best credit building subscription
Take out a line of credit, pay it off on time and build your credit history. We'll be with you every step of the way.
KOHO provides an innovative Credit Building subscription plan designed to boost your score without going into debt or applying for credit. For $10 a month, the KOHO Easy plan will open a tradeline on your credit file and report your monthly payment for 6 months. Alternatively, you can pay for the full 6 months upfront with a single lump sum payment. There are no credit checks, interest, penalties or late fees to worry about and you can cancel at any time. At the end of the six months, you can choose to resubscribe to keep building your score.
- Annual fee : 0$
- Interest Rate : Between 19.99%-26.99%
Average cashback: Earn an average of 5% unlimited cashback at thousands of Neo partners.
Credit Building is also available at $7/month with the Essential and Extra plans as well as $5/month with the Everything plan.
KOHO is a Toronto-based neobank that gives you the ability to access your funds, manage your finances, and earn both cash back and banking-beating interest on every dollar you spend and save. The company’s goal is to make managing money simpler, faster, and more transparent. Through its app users can get instant access to their accounts, transfer money, and monitor their spending through a variety of features that help them reach financial goals.
Best rent reporting subscription
Nestled inside Canada’s favourite free credit score app is a feature that lets you hack your rent to build credit. Borrowell launched Rent Advantage in July 2022, the first service in Canada that lets renters self-report their monthly rent payments to Equifax – no need to involve your landlord or upload a lease.
With Rent Advantage, renters can sign up and connect their bank account where they make rent payments. There is a low-cost monthly subscription fee of $5, which you can cancel anytime without penalty. Having said that, reporting for as long as possible allows you to build a strong payment history which has the biggest impact on your credit score calculation.
Best for online shopping
In December 2022, Sezzle announced the launch of Sezzle Up, a new feature that lets Sezzle users opt-in to have their payments reported to Equifax – for free. Now you can improve your credit score by making your Sezzle payments on time. Similar to a credit card, Sezzle Up is considered to be a revolving line of credit. At the end of each month, they review your outstanding balance and payment status and report that information to Equifax.
Sezzle is a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) provider that allows shoppers to pay for their purchases over time in installments instead of all at once. This structure enables customers to break down larger purchases into smaller, easier-to-manage payments spread out over several months. Additionally, it also provides users with access to various deals and discounts as well as rewards for making purchases with partner retailers.
Best for positive payment history
Rocket Money, formerly TrueBill, is a money management app that helps you stay on top of your financial obligations. It can monitor all your paid subscriptions and even cancel them on your behalf when necessary. With Rocket Money’s push notifications, you can keep track of upcoming bills, like your credit cards and loans, so you never miss a payment because you overspent or simply forgot.
It also generates a free credit score report and credit history for you, plus it negotiates bills if it appears you’re overpaying for something. The base app is free, but some features require a subscription fee between $3-$12 per month. Coupled with features that save money and boost your cash flow, you can pay your credit card balances down faster which has a positive impact on your credit score.
Best for credit card debt
Using the Hardbacon Debt Repayment Calculator is a great way to improve your credit score. Paying down credit card balances has a positive effect on your credit because it reduces your credit utilization ratio – meaning you are using less of your available credit than before. Additionally, making regular payments helps demonstrate commitment to creditors and shows them you're reliable which improves your creditworthiness.
The Hardbacon Debt Repayment Calculator is designed to help you pay down your debts using the Avalanche Method. The Debt Avalanche method is a debt repayment strategy designed to help borrowers efficiently pay off their debts with the highest interest charges. For example, credit cards can carry interest rates that range from 19% to 25%. The Debt Repayment Calculator helps you determine how much of your excess cash flow you can allocate towards paying down your credit card bills each month to help you get out of debt and save money on interest.
Best credit building loan
Use a credit building loan to improve your credit and achieve your financial goals.
Refresh Financial offers a Credit Builder Loan that is designed to help people with poor or no credit history build credit. There is no credit check or security deposit required. With this loan, funds are not advanced to you upfront. Instead, a portion of each payment is saved and the balance is given to at the end of the term.
By using the Credit Builder Loan, you can improve your credit score by making simple, on-time payments each month. These payments are then reported to TransUnion and Equifax, so that you can start building your credit profile or repair any existing damage.
Best secured credit card
- Annual fee : 0$
- Interest Rate : Between 19.99%-26.99%
Average cashback: Earn an average of 5% unlimited cashback at thousands of Neo partners.
The Neo Secured Mastercard is a credit improvement tool designed to help Canadians establish or rebuild their credit history. Unlike traditional credit cards, there is no credit check and approval is guaranteed. There is a $50 minimum security deposit required, and your credit limit is equal to the amount of your security funds. Just like a traditional credit card, payments are reported to the credit bureaus and your purchases can earn up to 15% cash back.
To get started with the
Best traditional credit card
Annual Fee: $0
Interest Rate: 19.99% on purchases, 22.99% cash advances
Rewards: Up to 4% CT Money on purchases, up to 5¢ CT Money per litre at select gas stations
The Canadian Tire Triangle Mastercard is a popular credit card in Canada that can help you improve your credit score while earning rewards at the same time. This card is much easier to get than most other credit cards because there is no minimum credit score or income required in order to be eligible. Those with recent bankruptcies on their credit file have been known to qualify.
The Triangle Mastercard is a great credit improvement tool because it reports to major credit bureaus. By using it responsibly and paying on time, you can build up your credit score, making it easier to acquire loans, mortgages and other types of financial products down the line. You also benefit from the Triangle loyalty rewards program that allows users to earn up to 4% in Canadian Tire Money on eligible purchases, as well as 5¢ CT Money per litre of gas at select locations.
Conclusion: Methodology
There are many different Canadian credit improvement tools out there, and various things you can do to increase your credit score. The solutions listed were selected after comparing dozens of different tools and companies out there. The main things we looked at were ease of use, user reviews, reputation and trust score, and low minimal fees to get started and to continue being a user.
- Monitor and track your credit score for free
- Learn about credit easily on the blog
- Get access to the credit builder*
About The Author: Arthur Dubois
Passionate about personal finance and financial technology, Arthur Dubois is a writer and SEO specialist at Hardbacon. Since his arrival in Canada, he’s built his credit score from nothing.
Arthur invests in the stock market but doesn’t pay any fees because he uses National Bank Direct Brokerage online broker and Wealthsimple’s robo-advisor. He pays for his subscriptions online with his KOHO prepaid card, and uses his Tangerine credit card for most of his in-store purchases. When he buys bitcoins, it’s with the BitBuy online platform. Of course it goes without saying that he uses the Hardbacon app so that he can manage all of his finances from one convenient place.
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