Credit Strong vs Self

Two Big Names in the Credit Builder Loan Space

Both Self and Credit Strong are two big players in the credit builder loan space and they are similar in many aspects. The key differences is that Self also has a secured credit card and allows you to set aside part of your credit builder loan for a security deposit in their secured credit card even if you have not fully paid off the credit builder loan. In contrast, Credit Strong is more of a "pure play" credit builder loan. In this comparison, we will compare both Self and Credit Strong and find out which is better.

Credit Builder Refresher

For those who are still unclear about what a credit builder loan is, here is a refresher. Unlike a traditional loan that gives you the loan amount to your bank account, a credit builder loan withholds that amount until you have paid off the full amount. While you are paying off the loan amount, it is reported to the credit bureaus. Because you are not given the loan amount upfront, the credit builder loan provider faces very little risk and hence most credit builder loans do not require any credit checks. So the net effect is that with a credit builder loan, you are building your credit history whilst "saving". Now that we have gotten this out of the way, let's continue with our comparison of Self and Credit Strong.

The Basics

Credit Strong Basics

Credit Strong has two programs, the Instal and Magnum programs. And the Instal has two programs , "Build" and "Build and Save". The "Build Program" provides $1,000 and $2,500 in their credit building program with 120 month (10 years) maturities. The "Build and Save Program" has much shorter maturities (24 months and 36 months).

The Credit Strong Magnum program has a much larger loans and they tout this as the route to go if you are looking to build your credit in order to get a business loan or are looking to build your credit to get a larger personal loan or a credit card with higher limits. Magnum plans have 10 years (120 months) maturity. Altogether, there are 7 plans which Credit Strong offers their customers. The table below shows all of Credit Strongs plans.

Program	Installment Amount	Maturity	Payment Amount
Instal - Build	$1,000	120 Months	$15/month
Instal - Build	$2,500	120 Months	$30/month
Instal - Build and Save	$1,000	36 Months	$38/month
Instal - Build and Save	$1,000	24 Months	$48/month
Instal - Build and Save	$2,000	24 Months	$96/month
Instal - Magnum	$5,000	120 Months	$55/month
Instal - Magnum	$10,000	120 Months	$110/month

Self Credit Builder Basics

The Self Credit Builder allows you to choose from 4 payment plans starting from $25 up to $150 a month. The term maturities are either 12 months or 24 months depending on the plan that you choose. Self also has a secured credit card which you can get once you have "deposited" or "saved" $100 and made a minimum of 3 $25 payments. That $100 can be used as your secured credit card's security deposit. Below is a table showing the various credit builder plans.

Program	Installment Amount	Maturity	Payment Amount
Self	$520	24 Months	$25/month
Self	$724	24 Months	$35/month
Self	$539	12 Months	$48/month
Self	$1,663	12 Months	$150/month

Similarities

• No Credit Checks - Both Self and Credit Strong does not perform any hard inquiry or credit checks when you apply so you will definitely be approved.


• Reports to Credit Bureaus - Both report to the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).


• Cancellable - Both services allow you to cancel at any time and receive a refund (minus the interest and fees).


• Free Credit Scores - Both Self and Credit Strong provide free credit scores to monitor your credit. Self uses Experian Vantage 3.0 scores while Credit Strong uses FICO Score 8 from TransUnion.

Differences

• Self has secured credit card - Both Self and Credit Strong have slightly different philosophies. While Credit Strong is a pure credit builder loan, Self has both a credit builder loan and a secured credit card. One you have "saved" $100, you can use that as a security deposit for a Self Secured Visa.


• Different Loan Amounts and Maturities - As you can see from above, both Self and Credit Strong have different loan amounts, monthly payment plans as well as maturities to choose from. Credit Strong has credit builder loans with larger amounts and also longer maturities.


• Availability - Self is available in all 50 states whereas Credit Strong is not available in Wisconsin and Vermont.

Which is better?

To be honest, it is really tough to say which is the better credit builder. Both offer a wide range of maturities and loan amount and you can simply pick one that suits your needs. Both Self and Credit Strong has credit builder loans with short maturities. All of Self's term maturities are either 12 or 24 months. Credit Strong has shorter maturities are either 24 onths or 36 months. So if shorter term maturities matters to you, you have a good amount of choice to pick from between Self and Credit Strong. The advantage of picking a credit builder loan with a short maturity is that you can access your money sooner.

However, some of you might want an installment loan on your credit report that has a larger loan amount. In that case, Credit Strong's Magnum offerings would be more suitable as they have loan amounts of $5,000 and $10,000. However, you have to bear in mind that the term maturities are 10 years and that is quite some time before you can access your savings.

Some of you might simply be looking at credit builder loans as a stop gap measure to save up for a security deposit to fund a secured credit card. If this describes you, then I would go with Self because this is what they are specifically designed for (to help folks save for a secured credit card).

To sum up, there are some scenarios where you would choose either Self or Credit Strong. They each have their strenghts and some of their offerings and terms might suit some better. But together, they both should have something that should suit anyone looking at credit builder loans.