Experian
Experian is one of the three major U.S. credit bureaus, providing consumer credit reports, FICO scores, identity protection, and an expanding suite of digital banking, bill-negotiation, and insurance-comparison products, alongside enterprise decisioning, fraud, and data analytics services for businesses.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersCosta Mesa, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Experian does
Experian is one of the three nationwide U.S. consumer credit bureaus (alongside Equifax and TransUnion) and a subsidiary of Dublin-headquartered Experian plc, dual-listed on the NYSE and London Stock Exchange under ticker EXPN. In the United States, the operating entity is Experian Information Solutions, Inc., headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. The company maintains a proprietary consumer credit database populated by thousands of data furnishers and licenses that data, alongside derived scores and analytics, to lenders, mortgage originators, insurers, healthcare organizations, and other enterprises for underwriting, fraud detection, and regulatory compliance.
On the consumer side, Experian offers free credit reports and FICO® Scores through experian.com and mobile apps, layered with subscription-based premium monitoring, identity-theft and dark-web protection, and a suite of branded products — Experian Boost® (alternative-data score uplift), Experian Go™ (thin-file onboarding), Experian Smart Money™ (FDIC-insured digital checking and savings issued through Community Federal Savings Bank under a Mastercard license), Experian CreditLock, No Ding Decline™, and Experian BillFixer™. The business also operates affiliate marketplaces for credit cards, personal loans, and auto/home insurance (the last via its Gabi Personal Insurance Agency subsidiary, licensed in all 50 states and D.C.).
Commercially, Experian runs a hybrid GTM: a direct-to-consumer self-serve funnel driven by content marketing and SEO plus a sales-led enterprise motion for B2B decisioning software, business credit reports, fraud management, and industry-specific solutions in healthcare and mortgage. Revenue is generated through consumer subscriptions, enterprise SaaS/decisioning contracts, affiliate referral commissions from lenders and insurers, and banking-related transaction economics — a diversified mix that monetizes the same underlying credit dataset across multiple customer types.
Experian firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Experian
- Legal name
- Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
- Website
- https://experian.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Experian is one of the three major U.S. credit bureaus, providing consumer credit reports, FICO scores, identity protection, and an expanding suite of digital banking, bill-negotiation, and insurance-comparison products, alongside enterprise decisioning, fraud, and data analytics services for businesses.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Experian industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Credit Reporting Services
- NAICS
- Credit Bureaus (561450), Credit Bureaus (56145), Consumer Lending (522291), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223), Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231)
- SIC
- Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320), Personal Credit Institutions (6141), Loan Brokers (6163)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Credit Bureaus & Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies (FSAKAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Credit Education, Monitoring & Consumer Credit Management Tools (FSAKAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Experian is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Costa Mesa
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Experian business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Consumer Subscription Services: Freemium model with free basic credit monitoring and paid premium memberships offering enhanced features, credit reports, FICO scores, and identity protection.
- Business Credit Services: B2B revenue from business credit reports, credit profiles, decisioning software, fraud management, healthcare solutions, and mortgage solutions for enterprise clients.
- Affiliate/Referral Revenue: Commission revenue from financial product referrals including credit cards, personal loans, insurance products, and other financial services through the Experian marketplace.
- Banking Services: Revenue from Experian Smart Money digital checking and savings accounts, including potential interchange fees and partnership arrangements with Community Federal Savings Bank.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free basic credit access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium Experian Membership |
| Subscription | Monthly | Smart Money Checking Account |
| Subscription | Monthly | Smart Money Savings Account |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bill Negotiation Service |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Insurance Comparison Service |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Experian product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Experian is a credit reporting agency that provides consumers with free credit reports, FICO scores, credit monitoring, and identity theft protection, and offers proprietary tools such as Experian Boost® (which factors utility, telecom and streaming payments into credit scores), Experian Go™ (for thin-file consumers), Experian CreditLock, Experian BillFixer™, and No Ding Decline™ prequalification. For businesses, Experian sells credit reports, decisioning software, fraud management, and analytics solutions across automotive, healthcare, and mortgage verticals.
Product overview
Experian is a consumer and business credit bureau offering a comprehensive financial management platform. The core consumer offering includes free credit reports and FICO® Scores, enhanced by Experian Boost® (for raising scores through payment history) and Experian Go™ (for establishing credit). Experian provides a digital banking suite featuring Experian Smart Money™ Digital Checking and Savings Accounts, which help users build credit through bill payments. Additional products include identity theft protection with dark web scanning, Experian CreditLock for credit file access control, No Ding Decline™ credit card matching, and Experian BillFixer™ for subscription management. The platform extends to business solutions including business credit reports, decisioning software, fraud management, and industry-specific solutions for healthcare and mortgage sectors. The architecture combines core credit services with modular products for banking, insurance comparison, and business intelligence.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Experian Boost®: Free feature that links to bank account to give credit for bills already paid like phone and utility bills
- Experian Go™
- Experian Smart Money™
- No Ding Decline™
- Experian CreditLock
- Experian BillFixer™
Products and services
- Free Experian Credit Report and FICO Score Free access to the consumer's Experian credit report and FICO credit score, provided to individual consumers for personal credit monitoring and education.
- Experian Boost® Tool that allows consumers to add eligible utility, telecom, and certain streaming service payments to their Experian credit file, which can improve their FICO score. Targeted at consumers seeking to build or rebuild credit.
- Experian Go™ Initiates a credit profile for thin-file or no-file consumers who have never had credit, enabling them to begin building a credit history.
- Experian CreditLock Allows consumers to lock and unlock their Experian credit file in real time via the Experian app, preventing new credit applications from being opened in their name.
- Experian IdentityWorks / Identity Theft Protection Subscription-based identity theft monitoring, fraud detection, and identity restoration service that monitors personal information across credit and non-credit data sources for misuse.
- No Ding Decline™ Soft-pull prequalification that matches consumers to credit card and personal loan offers without generating a hard inquiry on their credit report.
- Experian BillFixer™ Service that helps consumers identify and negotiate lower rates on recurring bills such as cable, internet, and phone, as a paid add-on to Experian memberships.
- Experian Smart Money™ Digital Checking Account FDIC-insured digital checking account with an early-pay-day feature and automatic Experian Boost enrollment, offered in partnership with Cross River Bank and Community Federal Savings Bank.
- Experian Smart Money™ Digital Savings Account (Experian Save) FDIC-insured high-yield digital savings account (Experian Save) with automatic savings features, offered through Cross River Bank / Community Federal Savings Bank partnership.
- Experian Credit Card Marketplace Online marketplace that lets consumers compare credit card offers matched to their Experian credit profile, with no-hard-inquiry prequalification through No Ding Decline.
- Experian Personal Loan Marketplace Online marketplace that matches consumers seeking personal loans to offers from partner lenders such as LendingClub.
- Experian Insurance Marketplace (Auto and Home via Gabi) Auto insurance comparison marketplace powered by Gabi Personal Insurance Agency, allowing consumers to compare and switch auto insurance coverage.
- Experian Business Credit Reports and Data Commercial credit reports, business credit scores (Intelliscore Plus), and business credit data sold to lenders, insurers, and other businesses evaluating business credit risk.
- Experian Decisioning Software Platform Enterprise decisioning software used by lenders and other businesses to automate credit risk, fraud, and customer management decisions across the customer lifecycle.
- Experian Fraud Management Solutions Business-facing fraud detection and prevention solutions that leverage Experian's identity and credit data to identify fraudulent applications and transactions.
- Experian Automotive Solutions Vertical data, analytics, and decisioning products tailored to automotive dealers, lenders, and manufacturers, including AutoCheck vehicle history and Experian Auto.
- Experian Healthcare Solutions Data, analytics, and identity products designed for healthcare payers, providers, and pharmacies, including patient access, coverage detection, and identity management.
- Experian Mortgage Solutions Credit, verification, and decisioning solutions built for mortgage lenders and originators across the home loan lifecycle.
Quantifiable outcome
- Users can raise credit scores instantly using Experian Boost by linking bank accounts and getting credit for existing bill payments
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Experian
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Experian technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Experian partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Community Federal Savings Bank (CFSB)coreCFSB is the issuing bank for Experian Smart Money digital checking and savings accounts. Experian acts as Program Manager while CFSB provides FDIC-insured banking services. Partnership enables Experian to offer digital banking products that help users build credit through bill payment reporting.
- Gabi Personal Insurance Agency, Inc.coreLicensed insurance agency subsidiary through which Experian offers car insurance comparison quotes from top-rated insurance companies. Customers saved an average of $1,007 per year switching through the service.
- Mastercard InternationalcoreMastercard licenses the Experian Smart Money Debit Card. Card is accepted at over 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs through the Allpoint network. Digital wallet integration available with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
- AnnualCreditReport.comminorPartnership to promote free annual credit report access as part of Experian's credit support offerings. Experian is one of the three bureaus providing data through this service.
- Financial Product Lenders (SoFi, Best Egg, etc.)minorExperian operates a loan marketplace connecting consumers with personal loan providers including SoFi, Best Egg, Upstart, Avant, and others through affiliate referral arrangements.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Experian competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Experian social profiles
Digital presenceExperian compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Experian financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Experian leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Experian subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Experian funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Experian M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Experian
What does Experian do?
Experian is a credit reporting agency that provides consumers with free credit reports, FICO scores, credit monitoring, and identity theft protection, and offers proprietary tools such as Experian Boost® (which factors utility, telecom and streaming payments into credit scores), Experian Go™ (for thin-file consumers), Experian CreditLock, Experian BillFixer™, and No Ding Decline™ prequalification. For businesses, Experian sells credit reports, decisioning software, fraud management, and analytics solutions across automotive, healthcare, and mortgage verticals.
Is Experian a public or private company?
Experian is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Experian founded?
Experian was founded in 1996.
Where is Experian based?
Experian is headquartered in Costa Mesa, United States, in the North America region.
How does Experian make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Consumer Subscription Services are the primary driver. The others are business Credit Services, affiliate/Referral Revenue and banking Services.
Does Experian have an API?
No public API is recorded for Experian.
What industry is Experian in?
Experian's product category is Credit Reporting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAKAKAA, Credit Bureaus & Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies, with a secondary code of FSAKAKAJ, Credit Education, Monitoring & Consumer Credit Management Tools. Its NAICS code is 561450 and its SIC code is 7320.