When you want to wave goodbye to bad credit, who are you gonna call? (Hint: it’s not Kikoff)
We at Brigit did not invent the idea behind our Credit Builder tool, which helps you build your credit score without lifting a finger.
But we have to be equally honest about the fact that we’re the best at what we do.
Given that there’s a whole raft of other options out there, it can feel overwhelming to sort through them all to find what’s best for you.
So we made it easy with our side-by-side comparison of Brigit’s Credit Builder and Kikoff Credit.
Both are designed to help you build your credit score — but they work very differently.
In short, the main differences between Brigit’s Credit Builder and Kikoff Credit are:
- How big the loan is and its impact
- Which credit bureaus are reported to
- Whether or not you build savings
- Where in the country this feature is available, and
- Whether extra features are included
Loan size and impact
Brigit’s Credit Builder takes out a 1-year loan for $600 in your name and builds your credit score by making on-time monthly loan payments for you. This targets the most important piece of your credit score: your payment history. Payment history, which refers to whether you pay your bills on time, makes up 35 percent of your credit score. That’s why Credit Builder creates a strong history of on-time loan payments on your behalf to build your score quickly.
Kikoff, a credit health app, takes out a $500 revolving line of credit in your name with no expiration date. You can only use this credit to buy items from their online store, such as e-books on financial wellness, which start at $10. The cost of your purchase is broken up into monthly payments that you pay off over time and the payment amount depends on your purchase.
With Kikoff, you can’t choose your monthly payment amounts, but with Brigit you can choose an amount that works for you. You can set aside as little as $1 a month in savings for Brigit’s loan payments, and these savings are returned to you in full once your loan is complete. All you need to do is become a Brigit Plus member for $9.99 a month to start using Credit Builder.
In terms of impacting your credit score, Brigit’s $600 personal loan goes a lot farther than Kikoff’s $500 line of credit.
Reports to credit bureaus
Credit Builder by Brigit reports your on-time payments to all of the 3 major credit agencies, Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. That means no matter which credit agency a lender pulls your credit report from, they will see your positive payment history and new credit score.
Kikoff Credit only reports to two of the three major credit agencies, Experian and Equifax. That means if a lender views your Transunion credit report, it won’t show any of your on-time payments and improved credit score, because Kikoff did not report it to them.
Savings
Brigit saves all of your monthly loan payments to return to you in full after the loan is complete. You end up with a savings account and a new credit score!
Kikoff does not return any of your payments.
Availability in the United States
Brigit is available in all 50 states.
Kikoff is only available in 45 states — as of August 2021, you can’t use Kikoff’s services if you live in Delaware, Indiana, Nevada, Rhode Island, or South Dakota.
Extra features
Included in your Brigit Plus subscription are additional financial tools, such as budgeting tools and insights, instant cash up to $250, a full credit report, credit monitoring, and identity theft protection up to $1 million.
Kikoff Credit does not include any extra features.
Brigit’s Credit Builder is proud to be the more accessible option that builds your credit score, helps you save money, and gives you extra financial tools to invest in your future.
Sign up for Credit Builder today.
