Short answer: KOHO Credit Building is a paid subscription inside the KOHO app that reports a small KOHO account to a Canadian credit bureau every month, so on-time payments build a payment history. KOHO advertises it at $10 a month, with no deposit, no application and no hard credit check. It suits a thin file that needs one cheap reported account. It cannot remove accurate negative information.
What is KOHO Credit Building?
KOHO Credit Building is a monthly subscription feature inside the KOHO money app that creates a reported credit account in your name and sends its payment record to a credit bureau. You are not borrowing money, and there is nothing to pay back beyond the subscription itself. KOHO calls it "KOHO Credit Builder" on its product page and "Credit Building" elsewhere; both names describe the same feature as of October 2026.
A tradeline is a single credit account as it appears on your credit report, carrying the account type, the date it opened, the limit or loan amount, the balance, and the month-by-month payment record. According to Equifax Canada, a credit report lists the credit accounts, "also known as 'tradelines,'" that you have established with lenders, and each account generally shows the account type, your credit limit or loan amount, the balance and your payment history. A credit-building subscription works by adding one of those lines to a file that does not have enough of them.
That matters because a Canadian score, on the 300 to 900 range the bureaus use, is built mostly from accounts that report: payment history carries roughly 35% of the weight, how much of your available credit you use roughly 30%, length of history roughly 15%, mix of account types roughly 10%, and recent inquiries roughly 10%. A file with no reporting account gives the biggest two nothing to work with.
How much does KOHO Credit Building cost?
KOHO Credit Building costs $10 a month as a standalone subscription, as of October 2026. KOHO's own credit-building product page states the price as "KOHO credit builder for $10/month" and adds "Pick a plan and save up to 50% off Credit Building," without naming the discounted amounts there. KOHO's own help article repeats the figure, saying KOHO "advertises Credit Building for $10 per month."
There is no upfront cash. KOHO states on that product page that "There are no deposits, hard credit checks, or applications," which is the clearest practical difference between this product and a secured credit card: a secured card wants a refundable deposit before it reports anything, and that deposit is usually what stops people.
Two cost points are worth knowing. The size of the plan discount is not published on the credit-building page, so your real monthly cost depends on which KOHO plan you hold. And because this is a subscription rather than a loan, you get no money back at the end, unlike a credit builder loan, which returns the savings portion.
Which credit bureau does KOHO Credit Building report to?
KOHO's product page says the feature reports to both national bureaus, while KOHO's own help page says it reports to one, so this is the detail to confirm before you pay. On its credit-building product page, KOHO states that "KOHO reports your Credit Building payment activity to both Equifax and TransUnion." On its help page on whether KOHO is good for credit building, KOHO states that it "currently reports Credit Building activity to Equifax but not TransUnion." Both pages were live in October 2026.
This is not a small discrepancy, because Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada each build their own report from whatever lenders choose to send them. A lender who pulls one bureau may see an account the other has never heard of, so a line that reaches only one bureau only helps with the lenders who pull it.
None of that is a reason to avoid the product. It is a reason to ask KOHO in writing which bureaus your account reports to, then check your own file after the second month.
How fast does KOHO Credit Building show up on your credit report?
KOHO reports Credit Building activity monthly, but KOHO does not publish how many days pass before the first report lands, so plan for one to two full billing cycles rather than days. KOHO's help page states that the company reports account activity to Equifax every month. Neither that page nor the product page gives a first-report timeline as of October 2026.
One to two cycles is normal across the category: reporting runs in monthly batches, and an account opened mid-cycle waits for the next one.
What we can tell you from our own side of the wire: AvenaCredit reports its membership to Equifax Canada as a line of credit, and the first report appears on the Equifax file 30 to 45 days after the first payment — not immediately, and not on the day you sign up. We state that range because it is what the reporting cycle allows, and every Canadian credit-building product is bound by the same cycle. If you are weighing a subscription against borrowing to build credit, we set out what a reported membership does that a credit builder loan does not.
What does KOHO Credit Building actually report?
KOHO reports payment history, account standing, the balance and credit utilization on the credit-building account, and KOHO's own help page states that missed or overdue payments may also be reported. That last point is worth reading twice: a reported account is reported honestly, so a missed payment on a credit-building product can cost you points rather than earn them.
Credit utilization is the share of an account's limit showing as a balance when the account reports. Because utilization carries roughly 30% of a Canadian score, a reported revolving account with a high balance on reporting day can pull a score down even when every payment is on time. If you take any reported revolving product, learn how much of your limit to show when the account reports before you lean on it.
What KOHO Credit Building does not do is remove anything. No Canadian product, KOHO's included, can take an accurate late payment, collection, consumer proposal or bankruptcy off your file early. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, information about late or unpaid credit cards and loans stays on your report for up to six years; a consumer proposal comes off three years after the included debts are paid or six years after signing, whichever comes first; and a first bankruptcy comes off six years after discharge, with TransUnion keeping it seven years in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. A credit-building subscription adds good history beside that record. It does not erase it.
KOHO Credit Building compared with a secured card and the AvenaCredit plans
The table below compares what each product costs every month, what cash it asks for upfront, what it reports and to which bureau, using each company's own published terms as of October 2026.
| Product | Monthly cost | Upfront cash | What is reported | To which bureau |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOHO Credit Building | $10 standalone; KOHO advertises up to 50% off with a KOHO plan | None — KOHO states no deposits, hard credit checks or applications | Payment history, account standing, balance and utilization; missed payments may be reported | KOHO's product page says Equifax and TransUnion; KOHO's help page says Equifax only |
| A standard secured credit card | Varies by issuer; some charge an annual fee, some none | A refundable security deposit, typically a few hundred dollars | A revolving credit card account with its limit, balance and payment history | Depends on the issuer; some report to one bureau, some to both |
| AvenaCredit Starter | $24.99 | None | A $1,000 line of credit, plus balance alerts, dashboard and tips | Equifax Canada only |
| AvenaCredit Build | $34.99 | None | A $1,500 line of credit, plus rent and utility reporting, phone bills included | Equifax Canada only |
| AvenaCredit Boost | $84.99 | None | A $4,000 line of credit, rent and utility reporting, two years of past rent backdated, 1-on-1 credit guidance, secured card included free | Equifax Canada only |
Read the table as a price-per-reported-line question rather than a winner. KOHO Credit Building is the cheapest way on this list to get one reported account, and if a single cheap line is all you need, it is the better buy. AvenaCredit costs more and reports a larger line of credit plus, on Build and Boost, rent and utility accounts you already pay; its plans use no hard credit check, and its optional secured card adds a second Equifax line for $9.99 a month with no credit check, only an identity check at sign-up.
Pros and cons of KOHO Credit Building
KOHO Credit Building's strengths are its price and its lack of friction; its weaknesses are the thinness of what it reports and the uncertainty about where it reports. That makes it a reasonable first product and a weak only product for a badly damaged file.
- Pro — no deposit, no application, no hard credit check. KOHO's product page states there are no deposits, hard credit checks or applications, which puts it in reach of a file that would be declined elsewhere.
- Pro — the lowest published monthly price in the category. At $10 a month as of October 2026 it is cheaper than every reported membership and most credit builder loans.
- Pro — it sits inside an app you may already use. If KOHO is already your spending account, credit building is one toggle rather than a new provider and a new payment date.
- Con — KOHO's own pages disagree on which bureaus get the data. One bureau or two changes what the product is worth, and as of October 2026 you have to ask to find out.
- Con — one small line, and no money back. The subscription builds payment history but returns nothing at the end, where a credit builder loan returns the savings portion.
- Con — missed payments can be reported. KOHO's help page says overdue payments may be reported, so an account you cannot comfortably pay every month is a risk, not a shortcut.
- Con — KOHO's score claim is narrower than it looks. KOHO's product page shows "+74 points" as the average increase seen with its credit-building tools, and its own footnote limits that to users who started at 450 or under and used the tools for at least 12 months with on-time payments. KOHO also states that Credit Building is not a credit repair tool and does not guarantee an improvement.
Who should get KOHO Credit Building, and who should skip it?
KOHO Credit Building suits someone with a thin or empty file, a tight budget and no spare cash for a deposit, who wants one reported account at the lowest monthly price. A student, a newcomer in their first year, or anyone who has never held a card in Canada falls in that group, and for them $10 a month beats paying more for a bigger line they do not yet need.
Who should skip it. Skip it if you already have one or two healthy reporting accounts, because a third small line adds little. Skip it if your problem is a damaged file rather than an empty one: a collection or a discharged bankruptcy is not undone by a cheap new account, and a file in that state usually needs more reported volume, not less. Skip it if the bureau question above is unresolved and you know which bureau your lender pulls. And skip any credit-building subscription, this one included, if a month of it would mean missing a payment somewhere else — paying your existing obligations on time outranks every product on this page.
If what you want is a credit card rather than a reported subscription, a deposit-backed card is the usual route into one, and how a secured credit card works explains what the deposit does and why no credit check is needed. The AvenaCredit secured card is a Mastercard with a refundable deposit of $250 to $5,000, reported to Equifax Canada as a second line, and it is included free with Boost. It is not open for applications yet; the card page takes names for launch.
If the cheap single line is not enough, the three AvenaCredit plans report a larger line of credit to Equifax Canada and, from Build upward, the rent and utility payments you already make, phone bills included. Starter is $24.99 a month and reports a $1,000 line of credit with balance alerts, a dashboard, tips and the Rebuild Your Credit ebook. The plans use no hard credit check and you can cancel anytime. They are not open yet either: the pricing page takes launch-list sign-ups until memberships open.
Whichever you pick, the arithmetic is the same: one reported account, paid on time, every month. Read how long building credit from scratch actually takes and how to choose between a secured card, a credit builder loan and a reported membership, then compare the three plans against the $10 option.
Next step: If your file is empty and your budget is tight, KOHO's $10 line is a fair place to start. If your file is thin and you want the larger reported line of credit with balance alerts from the first month, put your name down for Starter at $24.99 a month on the AvenaCredit pricing page and start the month memberships open.
Common questions
Is KOHO Credit Building legit?
Yes. KOHO is a Canadian financial technology company, and Credit Building is a real reported account rather than a score-repair scheme. KOHO states on its own pages that the product is not a credit repair tool and does not guarantee a score improvement, which is the accurate way to describe any credit-building product in Canada.
Does KOHO Credit Building need a credit check?
No. KOHO states on its credit-building product page that there are no deposits, hard credit checks or applications. That means signing up leaves no hard inquiry on your Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada file, which matters if you are about to apply for anything else.
Can KOHO Credit Building remove a collection or a bankruptcy from my report?
No, and no company in Canada can remove accurate information early. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, late or unpaid accounts stay up to six years, and a first bankruptcy comes off six years after discharge. A credit-building account adds new on-time history beside that record while it ages out.
How much does KOHO Credit Building cost per month?
KOHO advertises $10 a month for Credit Building as a standalone subscription, as of October 2026, and says you can save up to 50% off that price with a paid KOHO plan, without publishing the discounted amounts on its credit-building page. There is no deposit and no application fee.
Is KOHO Credit Building better than a secured credit card?
It is cheaper and faster to start, because a secured credit card needs a refundable deposit of a few hundred dollars first. A secured card reports a revolving credit card account, which is the account type most thin Canadian files are missing, so it is often the stronger line once you can fund the deposit.
Does KOHO Credit Building report to Equifax or TransUnion?
KOHO's credit-building product page says payment activity goes to both Equifax and TransUnion, while KOHO's own help article says it reports to Equifax but not TransUnion. Both statements were published in October 2026, so ask KOHO in writing which applies to your account, then check both of your own reports after two months.
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