Borrowell vs. Credit Karma: What's The Difference?

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Keeping track of your credit score and how it fluctuates over time is an important part of managing and improving your financial health. Having good credit gives you access to better interest rates when you apply for financial products like a mortgage, loan or credit card.

Your credit score and what impacts it can be confusing, and until a few years ago you could only obtain your score directly from a credit bureau (often with a cost). Now, Canadians can easily access their credit score and report for free through a handful of companies, including Borrowell and Credit Karma.

While both companies give you access to your credit score, each offers additional features and products to help you become a more informed and responsible consumer of credit.

Borrowell

Founded in 2014 and based in Toronto, Borrowell was the first company to provide Canadians free access to their credit scores. Now one of Canada’s largest financial technology companies serving over 3 million members, Borrowell has been recognized internationally in the Fintech 100, and has been named as one of Canada’s top growing companies by The Globe and Mail for six years in a row.

Borrowell offers a range of financial tools to help strengthen your financial health, and has a comprehensive comparison marketplace that allows members to compare the top credit products from across Canada, such as credit cards, loans and mortgages from financial providers like American Express, BMO, Capital One, Fairstone and more. 

Borrowell has an app that’s available on both Android and iOS. The app and web versions are synced so you’ll always see the most up to date information, regardless of where you’re accessing your profile.

Free credit score monitoring

Borrowell gives members free access to their Equifax credit score and report. Scores are updated every single week, and checking your score won’t hurt it. You can track your progress and credit health through your credit dashboard.

Borrowell also offers personalized financial product recommendations tailored to your credit profile, and including Credit Builder, an affordable way to build your credit history with monthly payments, and Rent Advantage^™, a program that allows Canadian renters to build their credit history with their rent.

Borrowell Credit Builder 

Borrowell’s Credit Builder provides an easy and affordable way to start building your credit.

Credit Builder is reported on your credit report as an instalment loan. You'll make biweekly payments of $5, $15 or $25 for 48 months, and Borrowell will report this to Equifax Canada, one of the two credit bureaus in Canada. Your payment history accounts for the largest portion of your credit score (about 35%). A history of on-time payments can help boost your credit score over time.

Borrowell Rent Advantage™ 

Borrowell also offers Rent Advantage^™, the first product in Canada which allows users to have their monthly rent payments reported on their Equifax Canada credit report without landlord involvement. You have the option of reporting up to 24 months of past rent history, future monthly rent payments or a combination of both. This empowers Borrowell members to build their credit history with the rent payments they already make every month!

Credit coaching

The Borrowell app provides members with personalized tips and credit education. When you log in to their account, you’ll see an overview of your credit history, including your credit utilization rate and any late payments, which are factors that affect your credit score. Based on your credit history, you’ll also be offered tips and advice  on how you can improve your score so that you can strengthen your credit over time.

Financial product marketplace 

Borrowell uses artificial intelligence (AI) to recommend products that are the best fit for you given your credit profile. By being a member, you’ll be able to compare rates and features within the app and take advantage of some of the most competitive offers in Canada. Borrowell’s financial marketplace gives you access to the best products for you from over 75 partners including credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, bank accounts, insurance for home, auto and other needs and investment products such as Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) and automated investment platforms.

How does Borrowell make money?

If you use a product that Borrowell recommends, they are paid a small referral fee from that financial service provider. They also generate revenue through subscriptions to their various financial products.

Is Borrowell safe to use?

Borrowell is trusted by over 3 million Canadians. They take the security of their members’ personal and banking details very seriously. Borrowell uses 256-bit encryption, which is the same encryption banks use to ensure private information is kept safe and secure.

Credit Karma

Credit Karma is an American company that expanded to Canada in 2016. Credit Karma offers free credit scores, credit reports, and credit monitoring to residents of Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Credit Karma provides additional services, such as tax filing and credit card recommendations, to U.S. residents.

Free credit score monitoring

Credit Karma gives members free access to their TransUnion credit score and report as well as free credit monitoring. 

This is different from Borrowell, which provides scores from Equifax, the other of Canada's two credit unions.  

Personal loans

Credit Karma is partnered with LoanConnect, a Canada-based search engine, to connect users with a variety of loan options including small short-term loans, long-term instalment loans, and open-ended lines of credit.  LoanConnect is separate from Credit Karma so you won’t be able to track applications or offers through your Credit Karma account.

How does Credit Karma make money?

Similar to Borrowell, Credit Karma makes money through referral fees that are paid out if you use a product that they recommend. 

Is Credit Karma safe to use?

Credit Karma uses 128-bit or higher encryption to protect the transmission of its customer’s data, and validate the security of their site on a regular basis.

Borrowell vs. Credit Karma: Main Differences

Although you can access your credit score for free from either Borrowell or Credit Karma, there are some key differences between them and the range of financial tools they offer:

*As of September 2025

What Borrowell offers that Credit Karma doesn't:

With Borrowell, you can access your full Equifax credit report for free. Equifax is one of the two major consumer credit bureau in Canada, so your Equifax credit score is a great indicator of your financial health.

Borrowell also offers a suite of tools that make it easy to build your credit score without having to take on debt! With Borrowell Rent Advantage™, you can have your monthly rent payments reported to Equifax so that they contribute towards your credit score. You can even have up to 24 months of past rent payments reported to Equifax, depending on your plan. Borrowell Credit Builder is a credit building product where you make biweekly payments of $5, $15 or $25 for 48 months that are included on your Equifax credit report.

Borrowell is also the only app that gifts you a reward when you refer your friends! You’ll find your unique referral link under Account Settings in the app. For every friend that signs up through your link, you’ll receive a gift card.

What Credit Karma offers that Borrowell doesn't:

With Credit Karma, you can access your TransUnion credit report, which might be slightly different from your Equifax report.

Credit Karma does offer a suite of financial products to customers in the United States, but these are not available to Canadians.

Why is my Borrowell credit score different to my Credit Karma credit score?

There are two major credit bureaus in Canada: Equifax and TransUnion. Borrowell provides you with your Equifax credit score, and Credit Karma allows you to access your TransUnion credit score.

Each credit bureau has a slightly different scoring model, so your Equifax and TransUnion credit scores can vary. It’s important to note that one score is not more accurate than the other; rather, they are based on different scoring methods. Both provide you with an indication of your credit health and financial standing.

The Bottom Line

Regardless of how you choose to monitor your credit or access a loan, do the research required to make an educated decision. Any products you use should support your long-term goals, not hinder your financial health.