5 Best Apps Like Kikoff to Build Your Credit Quickly! [2024]

Apps Like Kikoff – Are you looking for a service that helps you build your credit? If so, you’ve come to the right place. With the credit building apps, you can build your credit with on-time payments. 

Kikoff is such a credit building service that is developed to keep your utilization rate low and reports your monthly payments to the major credit bureaus. 

Though Kikoff is legit and doesn’t perform credit checks while signing up, it doesn’t hurt to check out other credit building services. Moreover, people have complained that using Kikoff can damage your score. 

So, in this article, we have provided the best Kikoff alternatives that monitor your credit and help you build your credit score. Without further ado, let’s get started.

List of Apps Like Kikoff

Here is the curated list of the best apps like Kikoff.

Self

With Self, your payment history makes up 35% of your credit score. All you need to do is to open a Credit Builder Account and make monthly payments on time, so you can build a positive payment history. 

After you choose a payment plan that is best for you, Self will place your money in CD, and you’ll get the funds after you pay the full loan amount. 

Besides, it doesn’t require your credit history, and to protect your data, it uses 256-bit encryption. Along with credit building, it also includes credit score monitoring. 

How Does Self Work?

Get started with Self by applying for a credit-builder account. Then, you can choose the payment term and the amount that fits your budget and pay it off in that specified amount of time. 

Since your monthly payments are reported to all the credit bureaus, every on-time monthly payment builds credit history and adds to your savings. 

As soon you’ve paid off your Credit Builder account, your CD unlocks, and the money is yours minus the fees and interest. 

Cost: It offers four credit builder plans that are as follows

Plan	Small Builder	Medium Builder	Large Builder	X-Large Builder
Cost	$25/mo for 24 months	$35/mo for 24 months	$48/mo for 12 months	$150/mo for 12 months
Admin fee	$9	$9	$9	$9
Total payments	$600	$840	$576	$1800
Get back	$520	$724	$539	$1663
Final cost	$89	$125	$46	$146

The administration fee which is $9 for setting up an account is non-refundable. 

Reports to: All three major consumer credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion

Pros	Cons
All payments are reported to the three major credit bureaus to help you build your credit	Upfront administration fee is non-refundable
No need of your credit history	People with negative bank account history may not quality
Administration fee is affordable	Costs you 5% a month if you miss the grace period of 15 days

Credit Strong 

Credit Strong is one of the best apps like Kikoff that help people build credit with Credit Builder loans. 

Since it is a fusion of a secured consumer installment loan and a savings account, you’ll build both credit history and savings. 

How Does Credit Strong Work?

For you to sign up for an account with Credit Strong, you must be at least 18 years old and a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident with a valid social security number. 

It helps build your credit by helping you create a steady history of on-time payments. So, if you are eligible, just get started by creating an account, and then they will create an installment loan for you. 

You don’t get the funds on the first day because they are immediately deposited into the savings account and each month you make a fixed monthly payment of principal and interest on the loan. 

Cost: It offers different kinds of plans, including  

Revolv 

• 99/year 
• Instantly build $500 of revolving credit 
• Build payment history
• Optimize your utilization 
• Build savings 
• Get a FICO Score monthly for free

Instal: it further offers two plans 

$15 a month	$30 a month
$1,000 installment account reported	$2,500 installment account reported
Lowest cost Instal account available	Increases the amount of credit reported
Build up to 120 months of payment history	Build up to 120 months of payment history
Cancel anytime with no penalty	Cancel anytime with no penalty

MAGNUM: It includes two other plans 

$55 a month	$110 a month
$5,000 installment account reported	$10,000 installment account reported
Demonstrated repayment on larger credit obligations	Demonstrated repayment on larger credit obligations
Build personal credit for business purposes	Build personal credit for business purposes
Build up to 120 months of payment history	Build up to 120 months of payment history
Cancel anytime with no penalty	Cancel anytime with no penalty

Reports to: All three major consumer credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion

Pros	Cons
Offers a FICO 8 credit score	Higher administrative fee than most competitors
No credit check	Relatively expensive
Ability to cancel anytime	No mobile app

Chime Credit Builder

Chime Credit Builder is another credit builder app like Kikoff. On average, it’ll help you improve your credit score by 30 points with regular and on-time payments. 

Since it doesn’t have a pre-set credit limit, it all depends on the money you move into your Credit Builder secured account, which typically sets your spending limit on the card. 

So, Chime Credit Builder is a modern-day solution to a secured credit card without any interest, monthly fee, annual fee, overdraft fee, or minimum balance requirements. 

How Does Chime Credit Builder Work?

First, you’ll need to move money into your Credit Builder secured account. To move money, you’ll need a Chime Checking Account and a qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more.  

Once you are qualified, you can set your spending limit for the card by depositing money into your secured account. Then, you can use Chime's credit builder card wherever Visa is accepted. 

At the end of every month, make payments to stay on top of your credit score. It’ll report your on-time payments to the major credit bureaus. So, your everyday purchases like groceries, subscriptions, gas, and bills will count towards your credit history. 

Cost: There is no annual fee

Reports to: All three major consumer credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion

Pros	Cons
No annual fee	Should open an account with Chime
No monthly fees and no minimum balance fees	Spending limit depends on the amount you deposit
No credit check	No rewards
Doesn’t verify your banking history
Flexible credit limit

Experian Boost

With Experian Boost, check your FICO score and credit report in the app anytime, anywhere. Select the credit card, loan, or auto insurance that’s right for you and compare personalized options matched to your credit profile. 

Using Experian Boost allows your phone, streaming, and utility payments to count towards your Experian credit score. Since it only counts positive payment history, missed utility, streaming and cell phone payments will not affect your credit score. 

Apart from the ability to boost your credit score, it also provides updates to your Experian credit report and FICO scores every 30 days. 

How Does Experian Boost Work?

Like Chime Credit Builder, Experian also helps you build your credit score with utility and phone payments. Moreover, it also factors in on-time Netflix payments and thus, gives customers even more opportunities to improve their credit scores. 

So, get started with Experian Boost by creating a free account and then linking your online bank accounts. Once you verify that you want to add the accounts to your credit file, your credit scores will be calculated using the newly added payment data. 

Though it lets anyone to sign up for Experian Boost, those with little to no credit or customers with poor to fair credit scores tend to benefit the most. 

Cost: Experian boost is entirely free. Once you sign up, you’ll be automatically enrolled in a free Experian CreditWorks Basic membership that offers extra services like free credit monitoring and a free FICO Score. 

It doesn’t charge to connect your bank accounts and even though you wish to disconnect your account, you get to keep your Experian CreditWorks Basic membership. 

Reports to: Since it is provided by Experian, it only influences your Experian credit report and credit score. 

Pros	Cons
Free	Need to pay for your utility bills from your online checking account
Late payments won’t hurt your credit score	Only suited for people who already have a credit file
Average credit score improvement is 14 points

MoneyLion Credit Builder

Lastly, we have MoneyLion Credit Builder on our list of Kikoff alternatives. MoneyLion’s Credit Builder helps you create a credit history or rebuild your credit while you save. 

And unlike most of the apps listed in this article, it’ll give you access to a portion of your loan funds instantly. 

Along with building your credit score, it’ll also monitor your credit by viewing your credit score and other essential credit factors like credit utilization anytime. 

How Does MoneyLion Credit Builder Work?

To get started with Credit Builder, all you need to do is to apply for a loan of up to $1,000 and receive a portion of your funds upfront with the remaining saved in a Credit Reserve Account. 

Then, set up automatic loan repayments to your pay cycle for easy payments. And with on-time payments, build a credit score. 

After you pay off your full loan amount and build credit, get the remaining funds from your Credit Reserve Account to spend however you like.

Cost: Credit Builder Plus costs $19.99a month

Reports to: All three major consumer credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion

Pros	Cons
No hard credit check	Loan funds go to the reserve account till you pay back the loan
Immediate delivery if you choose to have the money deposited in your MoneyLion account	Loan amount is capped at $1,000
	Charges a monthly membership fee

Final thoughts: To help you choose the perfect app like kikoff that help you boost your credit score; we have reviewed all the apps listed in this article. 

Now, it is your decision to pick up a service that meets your requirements. However, before deciding, ensure that it offers reports from all the credit bureaus, includes detailed monitoring features, and most importantly, consider the pricing and fees. 

Hopefully, this post on the best Kikoff alternatives has let you know everything about them, including how they work, cost, pros & cons, and helped you select the best credit building service that meets your requirements.