Comparison

Grow Credit vs First Progress

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Grow Credit

Build credit history for free by using your existing subscriptions. This app helps you establish a credit score on all three major bureaus without requiring prior credit history. It offers various plans to suit your credit-building needs.

Highlights
  • Build credit using subscriptions
  • No prior credit history required
  • Reports to all three credit bureaus
  • Free FICO score access
  • Credit education resources
  • Grow MasterCard
Read full description

With over 700,000 downloads, Grow Credit, featured on the 2022 Forbes Fintech 50 and recognized as one of America's most innovative companies, helps consumers build credit for free using their subscriptions, with no prior credit history required. As featured in the App Store “Hot This Week” section. Your credit score is different on Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Having a strong score on all three matters as mortgage lenders, car dealers, and credit card companies often review more than one to determine a consumer's creditworthiness. Grow helps you boost your credit score quickly on all three. Grow your credit with your subscriptions in three easy steps: - Apply for your Grow MasterCard. - Link your bank account. - Add your subscriptions: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Spotify, HBO Max, or over 100 others. Your subscriptions will be billed to your Grow MasterCard, and we’ll automatically debit your bank account every month and report your progress to all three credit bureaus. A better credit score means lower interest rates on future loans, which could save you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Applying for Grow will not result in a hard credit pull and will not affect your credit score. We recommend using Grow alongside Rocket Money and Credit Karma. The press raves about Grow: Techcrunch.com: Grow "is a pretty elegant way to solve a problem that’s a real barrier to entry for a large number of financial services. Credit scores can impact mortgages, the ability to receive small business loans, and a host of other services that are ways to boost economic opportunity." Creditcards.com: Grow is "a very useful tool for climbing the ladder and eventually qualifying for a better card." Nerdwallet.com: "The Grow Credit Mastercard is ideal for those with no credit or poor credit." Grow offers 4 plans: * Build Free - Reports a $204 credit line to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - $17 monthly spending limit - Option to upgrade to a Grow membership after 6 months of consecutive on-time payments - Cost: Free * Build Secured - Reports a $204 credit line to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - $17 monthly spending limit - Option to upgrade to a Grow membership after 6 months of consecutive on-time payments - $17 security deposit required - refundable after 12 consecutive on-time payments - Cost: $2.99 per month * Grow - Reports a $600 credit line to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - $50 monthly spending limit - Access to premium subscriptions, including your cell phone bill (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or Sprint) - Cost: $4.99 per month * Accelerate - Reports an $1,800 credit line to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - $150 monthly spending limit - Access to premium subscriptions, including your cell phone bill (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or Sprint) - Cost: $9.99 per month Additional Features: - Plan duration: 12 months - renewable. - Free FICO Score - Free credit education blogs and tutorials. We look forward to assisting you in your credit-building journey! Bank-Level Security: • Your data is protected with 256-bit encryption bank-level security and is never stored on your devices. This app is operated by Grow Credit, Inc. Questions or suggestions can be directed to behappy@growcredit.com.

About

First Progress

Manage your credit card account securely and conveniently on the go. Make payments, view transaction history, monitor your credit limit, and redeem rewards. Access your account details anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Manage account anytime, anywhere
  • Make secure payments
  • View transaction history
  • Monitor available credit limit
  • Redeem rewards
Features
Read full description

The First Progress Mobile App is the easiest way for cardholders to manage their credit card account. Download the Mobile App today! The First Progress Mobile App allows you to: · Manage your First Progress account anytime, anywhere! · Make secure payments to your account · View your transaction history and current statements · Stay in control by monitoring your available credit limit · Redeem your rewards (if applicable) +Calculated on the VantageScore 3.0 model. Your VantageScore 3.0 from Experian® indicates your credit risk level and may not be used by all lenders. Click here to learn more about this.

Screenshots

Grow Credit4 screens
First Progress4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Grow Credit at 4.8 against First Progress's 1.7. Grow Credit also leads on review sentiment (48% vs 6%) and ratings volume (10K vs 147). First Progress's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Grow Credit holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Grow Credit has 10K ratings behind it against 147, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Grow Credit's written reviews are positive against 6% of First Progress's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grow Credit ships an update fortnightly, First Progress monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Grow Credit versus First Progress: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrow CreditFirst Progress
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (10K ratings) — better1.7 (147 ratings)
Positive reviews47.7% of reviews — better5.7% of reviews
Number of ratings10K — better147
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB226 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGrow CreditVervent, Inc

Customer experience

Grow Credit

All ratings10,120 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral1.9%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews195 reviews
Positive47.7%
Neutral5.1%
Negative47.2%

First Progress

All ratings147 ratings
Positive13.6%
Neutral5.4%
Negative81.0%
Written reviews105 reviews
Positive5.7%
Neutral7.6%
Negative86.7%

User reviews

Grow Credit

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for building credit
  • 🚀 Easy to set up and use
  • 💡 Convenient way to pay subscriptions
  • 🚀 Quick credit score improvements
  • 👍 Good customer service

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent payment processing
  • 🔒 Difficulty changing payment methods
  • 🐛 Inaccurate credit reporting
  • 🔒 Lack of transparency
  • 🐛 Buggy app experience

First Progress

From 147 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to navigate
  • 🚀 Fantastic
  • 💡 No chip on card

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes
  • 🐛 App doesn't work
  • 🐛 App payment not working
  • 🐛 App unreliable
  • 🐛 Difficult to make payments

Bugs and requests

Grow Credit

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Late payment reporting despite on-time payments
  • Difficulty closing accounts
  • Payments not processing correctly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Increase credit limits
  • Allow payment of more subscription types
  • Provide phone support
  • Improve app stability and user experience

First Progress

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes when trying to log in
  • App doesn't allow creating an account
  • App doesn't work
  • App freezes
  • App forgets user credentials

Requested features

3 requests
  • Improve app functionality
  • Implement auto-pay
  • Provide better payment options

In-app purchases

None

Grow Credit

No in-app purchases

None

First Progress

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Grow Credit free?
Grow Credit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is First Progress free?
First Progress is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Grow Credit or First Progress?
Grow Credit is rated higher. Grow Credit averages 4.8 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while First Progress averages 1.7 from 147 ratings.
Do Grow Credit or First Progress have ads?
Neither Grow Credit nor First Progress shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grow Credit or First Progress?
Grow Credit ships an update fortnightly, and First Progress monthly. Most recently, Grow Credit was updated on September 29, 2026 and First Progress on September 28, 2026.

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