TransUnion VS Equifax VS Experian: A Guide To The Major Credit Reporting Bureaus

What are the three major credit reporting bureaus, what do they do, and what do they mean for your small business credit score?

WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Kymberlin Bush
Expert Contributor

Last updated onUpdated December 17, 2025

REVIEWED BY

Editor & Senior Staff Writer

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Key Takeaways

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion all collect credit data differently, which is why your credit report and score can vary by bureau.
Experian offers the most comprehensive personal credit monitoring, while TransUnion stands out for business credit services and reporting.
Checking reports from all three bureaus helps you catch errors, monitor fraud, and put yourself in a stronger position when applying for a business loan.

Looking to apply for a small business loan? Even if you’ve never applied for one below, you’re most likely familiar with a personal credit score or even a credit report.

Credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion provide credit reports that give lenders a good idea of your credit history and reliability. But which bureau is right for you or your business?

What Is The Difference Between Equifax, TransUnion & Experian?

Here’s a basic breakdown that compares Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Read on to learn more about each credit bureau.

	Equifax	Experian	TransUnion
Free credit report	Monthly	Monthly	Annually
Free monthly credit score
Credit monitoring	Credit Monitor Plan and up		Credit Monitoring Plan
Identity protection	Complete Plan	Premium Plan and up	Credit Monitoring Plan
Business credit score

Equifax: Best Free Credit Lock Service

Equifax offers basic credit report and credit score services as well as several business products. The most notable aspect of Equifax is its free credit lock service that allows individuals to protect their data at no additional cost.

Plans & Products Offered

Equifax offers basic credit report and credit score services, as well as a free credit lock service.

Core Credit: Free plan offering basics with a monthly credit score and report.
Credit Monitor: $4.95/month. Includes credit report/score monitoring and the Equifax credit report lock.
Complete: $9.95/month. Includes automatic fraud alerts, identity restoration services, and up to $500k identity theft insurance.

Business Services

Equifax offers several products to help you manage your small business. Business service pricing is no longer advertised, so we can assume the company uses a custom quote-based pricing model.

Equifax’s services include risk mitigation, credit monitoring, fraud prevention, and additional services.

Experian: Best Credit Report & Score Monitoring

What really sets Experian apart from the competitors is that you can monitor your credit report from each of the three bureaus, so you can have all your credit information in one place. Experian also offers a FICO score simulator.

Plans & Products Offered

Experian offers personal credit monitoring and identity protection products as well as loan matching and credit card matching services.

Basic: Free plan. Includes free Experian credit report and FICO score, credit monitoring and alerts, FICO Score tracker, and FICO Score monitoring.
Premium: $24.99/month after 7-day free trial. Includes advanced identity theft monitoring, monthly privacy scans, and 3-bureau credit monitoring and alerts.
Family: $34.99/month after 7-day free trial. Includes a Premium plan for one additional adult and identity monitoring for up to 10 children.

Business Services

Experian offers the following plans for business credit services.

CreditScore Report: $49.95/report. Includes one-time view of the scored report, Intelliscore and Financial Stability Risk Rating, a summary of credit and business information, and summary of financial payment information.
ProfilePlus Report: $59.95/report. Includes detailed credit and business information, detailed financial payment information, and in-depth credit history with trades.
Valuation Report: $149/report. Includes business value calculation, cost-effective assembly multi-page report, Key Performance Indicators, and business fair market value.
Business Credit Advantage: $199 annually. Includes unlimited access to review updates, Intelliscore and Financial Stability Risk Rating with tracking and improvement tips, Real-time change alerts, identity of reported accounts, easy dispute process and tacking, free Dark Web surveillance, lending details seen by banks, and your industry benchmark score.

In addition, Experian offers other business services ranging from tenant screening to customer acquisition.

TransUnion: Best Business Credit Report Monitoring

TransUnion is the smallest of the three credit bureaus but packs the biggest punch where business services are concerned. TransUnion also offers a credit score simulator like Experian.

Plans & Products Offered

TransUnion offers basic credit report and credit score products, as well as a free credit monitoring and identity theft service.

Credit Monitoring: $29.95/month. Includes access to unlimited TransUnion credit report and score views, as well as credit lock/unlock, credit change alerts, and a score trending and score simulator tool.
TrueIdentity: Free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. Includes unlimited TransUnion credit reports, alerts to critical credit information changes, and an easy-to-use credit lock service.

Business Services

TransUnion offers quote-based pricing for business credit scores.

In addition, TransUnion offers marketing, fraud detection, healthcare revenue protection, customer acquisition, and more services to help your business thrive.

How To Choose: TransUnion VS Equifax VS Experian

Since each credit bureau collects different data regarding your credit history, it’s incredibly important to check your credit report with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Luckily, you are legally guaranteed a free annual credit report from each bureau.

One recommendation is to stagger your annual free credit report. Check your Equifax report, then your Experian report four months later, and then your TransUnion report after another four months. This way, you can always have a rough idea of what your credit report looks like without losing a penny.

If you simply want more control over your credit report and credit score, Experian offers the most bang for your buck in terms of personal credit monitoring and identity protection. However, TransUnion offers the most business-related products.

Being proactive about your credit report can help ensure your credit report is accurate and can help catch any early signs of fraud, and knowing your credit score is the first step to improving your business credit score.

Next, check out our articles on the main purpose of credit bureaus and an in-depth look into credit reports VS credit scores to keep up-to-date on current credit monitoring practices.