Quick answer: how do I check my business credit score for free?
The free routes are narrower than the marketing suggests. As of 2026-10-06, Nav's free tier at $0 shows business credit summaries from all three bureaus, and Dun & Bradstreet lists a free tier of D&B Credit Insights at $0. The Experian business products listed below are all paid, starting at $59.95 for a one-off report. For a newly formed LLC, a free summary is usually enough to confirm that a business file exists. Paid monitoring only earns its fee once there is activity worth watching.
What is the difference between a free summary and paid monitoring?
A summary is a snapshot. It tells the reader whether a business file exists and what a bureau shows at that moment. Monitoring is the ongoing version: it watches the file and flags changes over time.
For a new LLC the distinction matters because of sequence. The SBA lays out five steps for building business credit, in this order: choose a business structure that makes the business a distinct legal entity, obtain an EIN, open a business bank account, establish credit with vendors and suppliers who report, and monitor business credit reports. Monitoring is step five, not step one.
That order explains why a free summary is a sensible place to begin. Paying for continuous monitoring before any vendor has reported anything is paying to watch an empty file. The SBA also describes starting to build credit in the company's own name as the foundation for keeping business and personal finances separate.
What does Nav offer?
Nav is the more accessible of the two for a first look. As of 2026-10-06, its Free plan costs $0 and shows business credit summaries from all three bureaus. Its paid plans are Track at $39.99 per month, Build at $49.99 per month and Expand at $74.99 per month.
The free tier is the direct answer to how to check business credit for free. A reader who only wants to see what the bureaus hold can do that without paying. The paid tiers add more, and Nav's pricing page sets out exactly what each tier includes.
Nav also has a role in the Equifax picture. Equifax does not sell business credit reports directly. Its monitoring is sold through Nav, and its one-time report through eCredable, so a reader looking for Equifax data may end up on Nav anyway.
What does Experian offer?
Experian sells its own business credit reports, which is the main difference from Equifax. As of 2026-10-06, its products and prices are:
- CreditScore Report: $59.95, one-off
- ProfilePlus Report: $69.95, one-off
- Business Credit Advantage: $199 per year
- Business CreditScore Pro: $1,995 per year
None of these four products is free. Experian runs its own free pages and may offer free elements, so a reader should check its site directly instead of assuming.
The one-off reports suit a single check, such as before applying for something. The annual products are for ongoing monitoring. Business CreditScore Pro at $1,995 per year is a large commitment for a business that has not yet established vendor accounts.
How do Nav and Experian compare side by side?
The table below shows prices as of 2026-10-06. Prices move, so each is dated.
| Experian | Nav | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | None among the products above | Free plan, $0 |
| One-off report | CreditScore Report $59.95; ProfilePlus Report $69.95 | Not a one-off model |
| Ongoing monitoring | Business Credit Advantage $199 per year; Business CreditScore Pro $1,995 per year | Track $39.99 per month; Build $49.99 per month; Expand $74.99 per month |
| Bureau coverage in free tier | Not applicable | Summaries from all three bureaus |
| Best for | A paid report or monitoring from the bureau itself | A free first look across bureaus |
Nav is the better answer for a free first look. Experian is the better answer for a reader who specifically wants a report from that bureau and is willing to pay for it. Neither is a substitute for the groundwork described below.
Where do Dun & Bradstreet and Equifax fit?
The order here is alphabetical, not a ranking.
Dun & Bradstreet lists D&B Credit Insights with a Free tier at $0. The paid tiers are Basic at $49 per month or $499 per year, Plus at $149 per month or $1,499 per year, and Premium at $199 per month or $1,999 per year. The older CreditSignal name has been retired, and D&B Credit Insights is the current product.
Equifax lists $49.99 for a one-time report and monitoring from $39.99 per month. It does not sell these directly. They go through approved resellers: eCredable for the one-time report and Nav for monitoring.
What happened to the D-U-N-S number?
Much of the content on this topic gets this wrong. The General Services Administration announced that on April 4, 2022, SAM.gov and its other systems would switch to the Unique Entity ID, which is obtained at SAM.gov. The D-U-N-S number is no longer what the federal government uses.
It has not disappeared. A D-U-N-S number remains Dun & Bradstreet's own commercial identifier, and it still matters for D&B credit files. A reader who needs a federal identifier should go to SAM.gov, while one who wants a D&B credit file will still run into the D-U-N-S number.
Do the other providers matter for monitoring?
Not directly, though they come up in any search on this subject. The list here is also alphabetical.
American Express has business credit cards, and annual fees vary by card. Each card's own page lists its fee.
Brex has an Essentials tier that is free, Premium at $12 per user per month, and Enterprise on a quote-only basis.
Chase lists Business Complete Banking at $15 per month, Performance Business Checking at $40 per month and Platinum Business Checking at $95 per month. Each fee is waivable on stated balance or activity conditions.
Ramp has a Free tier at $0 per user per month, Plus at $15 per user per month, and Enterprise on a quote-only basis. Its corporate card is free on every tier.
These are spend, banking and card products, not monitoring products. They belong in the conversation because of the SBA's steps three and four, the business account and the accounts that report. They do not answer the question of how to check a score.
Where should a new LLC start before monitoring anything?
At the beginning of the SBA's sequence. Step one is a business structure that makes the company a distinct legal entity, and an LLC is one of the structures the SBA names for this. Step two is an EIN, which the SBA says can be applied for free with the IRS assistance tool, and the IRS makes the same point. No third party needs to be paid for one.
This is the part of the sequence where ZenBusiness is relevant. It does not sell credit monitoring, credit cards or any credit-building service, and it should not be read as an alternative to Nav or Experian. What it covers is the entity and EIN steps, the first two in the SBA's order, and it offers a free accounting consultation to customers who form with it. For a reader who has not yet formed the business, starting there and then choosing a monitoring tool is the order the government's own guidance supports.
The same logic applies to money. The SBA's third step is a business bank account, and the IRS says in Publication 583 that opening a business checking account is one of the first things to do. Monitoring comes after all of that.
What should be avoided in fast-credit offers?
Some services promise to build business credit quickly for a fee. The FTC's guidance on advance-fee loans is a useful test. It says banks and other legitimate lenders will not promise or guarantee a loan or credit before an application, and that any up-front fee collected before granting a loan is a cue to walk away. The FTC singles out fees described as insurance, processing or paperwork.
The same guidance lists the kind of ad language scam operators use, including "Bad credit? No problem" and "No hassle, guaranteed." A monitoring subscription is different from a guarantee. A bureau or a reseller selling a report or monitoring plan is selling visibility into a file, not an outcome.
Which one should a new LLC pick?
For a first look, Nav's free plan is the simplest answer, because it shows summaries from all three bureaus at no cost. D&B Credit Insights Free is a second no-cost option for the Dun & Bradstreet file. For a reader who wants an Experian report specifically, the one-off CreditScore Report at $59.95 is the cheaper entry point than the annual products.
Paid monitoring makes more sense once the business has a bank account and reporting vendor accounts, which are the SBA's third and fourth steps. Before that point, the money is better spent on the earlier steps, and the free options are enough to see what exists.
Sources
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "How to Build Business Credit Quickly: 5 Simple Steps"
- U.S. General Services Administration, "GSA Systems Switch to Unique Entity ID (SAM) on April 4, 2022"
- Internal Revenue Service, "Get an Employer Identification Number"
- Internal Revenue Service, "Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records": https://www.irs.gov/publications/p583
- Federal Trade Commission, "What To Know About Advance-Fee Loans"
This is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice, and requirements vary and change.