Alternative
MoneyLion Credit Builder Loan: MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus Cost, Reviews, and a MoneyLion Alternative
The MoneyLion Credit Builder Loan is only open to Credit Builder Plus members, and that membership costs $19.99 a month on top of the loan payment. The loan is up to $1,000 over 12 months at an APR of 5.99% to 29.99%, reported to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, with a soft pull only. Part or all of the money sits in a Credit Reserve Account that is not FDIC insured until you finish paying. MoneyLion's own help center says the loan cannot be cancelled once you accept it, while the membership can be cancelled only after the first two months. CreditPal is not a loan: it reads your existing credit file, explains which factors are costing you points, simulates a change before you make it and sequences a plan, from $7 a month.
Current score
What is moving the score
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Turn an action on above to see the likely direction and rough size of the change, with the reasoning.
The plan, in order of what pays off first
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Pick a profile, run a what-if, see your plan
Side by side
CreditPal vs MoneyLion
| Capability | CreditPal | MoneyLion |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay each month | From $7 | $19.99 membership plus the loan payment |
| Membership over 12 months | $84 at $7 a month | $239.88, on top of loan interest |
| Minimum commitment | Month to month | Membership cannot be cancelled in the first two months. The loan cannot be cancelled at all once accepted |
| Adds a new installment account to your report | No | Yes, up to $1,000 over 12 months |
| Explains which existing factors are holding your score down | Weekly score updates and general insights | |
| What-if simulator before you act | ||
| Hard inquiry to sign up | No | No, soft pull only |
| Where your money sits | Nothing is held | Credit Reserve Account at DriveWealth, not FDIC insured |
| Requires a linked checking account | No | Yes, with a positive balance |
| Prioritized plan personalized to your file |
Comparison reflects general product positioning and is provided in good faith. Verify current capabilities with each vendor.
The field
What the tools cost and who each one is for
| Tool | What it actually is | Typical price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus | Membership that unlocks a credit builder loan of up to $1,000 over 12 months, weekly credit monitoring, rent reporting, identity theft protection and cash advance perks | $19.99 a month plus the loan payment. Loan APR 5.99% to 29.99% | People who want a small installment loan with some cash up front and will use the rest of the MoneyLion app |
| Self | Credit builder loan held in a certificate of deposit. Three bureaus. You get most of the money back at the end. | $25, $35, $48 or $150 a month for 24 months. Net cost $89 to $531 | Thin files that can afford a larger payment and want it mostly returned |
| Kovo | Installment account that buys Kovo's own tools on credit. Reports to four bureaus including Innovis | $10 a month for 24 months, $240, none of it returned | People who want the lowest monthly payment and accept that nothing comes back |
| Kikoff | Revolving line spendable only in the Kikoff store, no credit check | $5, $20 or $35 a month for a $750, $2,500 or $3,500 reported line | Thin files that want a new revolving tradeline for the lowest monthly price |
| CreditPal | AI credit coach. Reads your file read-only, explains which factors are costing you points, simulates changes before you make them and sequences a plan. Opens nothing and lends nothing. | From $7 a month | People whose score is held down by accounts they already have |
MoneyLion figures were read off moneylion.com/credit-builders/cb-plus and the MoneyLion help center articles on the Credit Builder Loan, the Credit Reserve Account, loan APR, membership comparison and cancellation on 26 September 2026. Self, Kovo and Kikoff figures come from their own sites on the dates shown on their pages here. Vendors change prices, so confirm at checkout.
How much does the MoneyLion Credit Builder Loan really cost?
Two things cost money: the Credit Builder Plus membership at $19.99 a month, and the interest on the loan. MoneyLion states the membership is required for loan access, so there is no way to take the loan on its own. It does not publish a fixed rate. You see your amount, term and APR, somewhere between 5.99% and 29.99%, before you accept.
Here is what a $1,000 loan over 12 months works out to at three points in that range, with the membership kept for the full year. These are our own calculations on a standard amortizing loan, not MoneyLion quotes, and your approved amount can be lower than $1,000:
| Loan APR | Loan payment a month | Interest over 12 months | Membership for 12 months | Total cost of borrowing | Monthly outlay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.99% | $86.06 | $32.74 | $239.88 | $272.62 | $106.05 |
| 19.99% | $92.63 | $111.56 | $239.88 | $351.44 | $112.62 |
| 29.99% | $97.48 | $169.79 | $239.88 | $409.67 | $117.47 |
The membership is the bigger cost at every rate. Even at the top APR, the loan interest is about $170 against $240 of membership. That is the opposite of how most reviews frame it, which lead with the APR. The figure that decides whether this is good value is the $19.99, and it is also the one part you have some control over.
Can you cancel MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus?
Yes, but not in the first two months, and cancelling does not end the loan. MoneyLion's help center says: "Once you've agreed to the loan terms, you can't cancel the loan." It also says you "can cancel your Credit Builder Plus Membership after the first two months," and warns that "cancelling your membership won't cancel your loan payments."
Read together, that means the minimum membership spend is $39.98, and the rest of the year is optional. Someone who cancels after month two and keeps paying the loan would pay roughly $200 less than the full-year figures above. Before you do, check your loan agreement: the loan disclosure says the reserve funds are released once the loan is paid off "and until your Credit Builder Plus membership payments are current," so make sure no membership fee is left unpaid when you cancel. You also lose weekly monitoring and the right to apply for another loan without rejoining.
Cancelling is done in the app under Profile, Settings, Manage membership. If the button does not appear, MoneyLion says you are probably still inside the two-month period.
How does the Credit Reserve Account work?
When you are approved, the loan is split. Some of it may be paid to your checking account up front, and the rest goes into a Credit Reserve Account in your name. MoneyLion calls a loan with no upfront cash "fully secured" and one with some cash "partially secured," and it decides which you get from underwriting and your credit history.
The reserve is not a bank deposit. MoneyLion's disclosure says it is maintained by ML Wealth LLC and held by DriveWealth LLC, member SIPC and FINRA, in money market or cash sweep vehicles, and that "Credit Reserve Accounts Are Not FDIC Insured, No Bank Guarantee, Investments May Lose Value." You cannot touch it until the loan is paid off, although you can use it to pay the loan off in full. Funds arrive 10 to 14 days after your final payment.
Compare that with Self, where the money sits in a certificate of deposit at an FDIC member bank. If insured savings matter to you, our Self credit builder review sets out Self's four plans and what each one returns.
What MoneyLion credit builder reviews leave out
Reviews in Google mostly repeat a claim that half of members gained 42 points in 60 days. The figure on MoneyLion's page today is different: "Our members have improved their credit scores by 25+ points within 60 days," and its footnote limits that to credit score data from over 83,077 members with an active loan between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2024. It is a vendor claim about its own members, and MoneyLion itself says "Credit score improvement is not guaranteed."
The other gaps are practical. The loan cannot be refinanced, per the help center. Missed payments are reported to all three bureaus after 30 days, and stopping autopay does not stop the obligation. The "up to $19.99 cashback every month" that the page advertises comes from the Lion's Share rewards program and depends on completing challenges and making $10+ purchases with a MoneyLion debit card, so treat it as a possible discount, not a price cut.
Credit Builder Plus does bundle more than the loan. Its comparison table lists rent reporting to the bureaus, identity theft protection and weekly credit monitoring as included. If those are features you would pay for anyway, the $19.99 looks more reasonable. If you only want the tradeline, it is an expensive way to get one.
When a MoneyLion credit builder alternative makes more sense
A credit builder loan helps one specific file: a thin one with few accounts and no recent late payments. It adds 12 months of on-time installment history. It does nothing about a collection, a maxed-out card or a late payment already on your report, and MoneyLion does not claim otherwise.
If your file is thin, compare the full cost before choosing. Self returns most of what you pay, Kovo costs $10 a month and returns nothing, and Kikoff adds a revolving line from $5 a month. Our roundup of credit builder apps puts them side by side, and our Kovo review shows why the cheapest monthly price is not always the cheapest option.
If your score is low because of accounts you already have, a new loan is the wrong tool. That is what CreditPal is for, at $7 a month. It connects read-only, explains in plain English which factors are costing you the most points, lets you simulate a change before you make it, and puts the fixes in the order that pays. It lends nothing, opens no accounts, does not file disputes and does not report rent.
Straight answers
Questions people ask before they buy
How much is the MoneyLion Credit Builder Loan?
The loan requires a Credit Builder Plus membership at $19.99 a month, plus the loan payment. Loans go up to $1,000 over 12 months at an APR between 5.99% and 29.99%. On a $1,000 loan, our calculation puts the full-year cost at about $273 at the lowest APR and $410 at the highest, most of it membership fees.
Is MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus worth it?
It is worth it if you have a thin file, want some cash up front and will use the extras such as rent reporting and weekly monitoring. It is poor value if you only want a tradeline, because the $239.88 a year membership costs more than the loan interest at any APR MoneyLion offers.
Can I cancel MoneyLion Credit Builder Plus?
Yes, after the first two months. MoneyLion's help center says the membership can be cancelled after two months, but the loan cannot be cancelled once you accept it and cancelling the membership does not stop the loan payments. Cancel in the app under Profile, Settings, Manage membership.
Does MoneyLion Credit Builder do a hard credit check?
No. MoneyLion runs a soft credit pull, which does not affect your score. To qualify you must be 18 or older, a US citizen or permanent resident with a valid Social Security number, and have a checking account with a positive balance.
Does MoneyLion report to all three credit bureaus?
Yes. MoneyLion states that Credit Builder Loan payments are reported to TransUnion, Equifax and Experian over the 12-month term. Missed payments are also reported to all three after 30 days, so autopay matters.
Why did I not get any cash up front from MoneyLion?
You were given a fully secured loan. MoneyLion holds the whole amount in the Credit Reserve Account until the last payment, based on underwriting and your credit history. It says on-time payments may qualify you for a partially secured loan with some upfront cash next time.
Is the MoneyLion Credit Reserve Account FDIC insured?
No. MoneyLion's disclosure says Credit Reserve Accounts are held by DriveWealth LLC, member SIPC and FINRA, and are not FDIC insured, carry no bank guarantee and may lose value. Self, by contrast, holds its loan funds in a certificate of deposit at FDIC member banks.
What is the best MoneyLion credit builder alternative?
For a thin file, Self returns most of what you pay and Kikoff adds a revolving line from $5 a month. If your score is held down by accounts you already have, CreditPal explains which factors cost the most and sequences what to fix, from $7 a month, without a loan.
Other comparisons
See it on your own credit profile
Connect read-only, transparent pricing, no credit card. Educational only, never a lender or financial advice. Decide for yourself.