ActiveCred vs Credicated

Both put a small charge on a card you no longer use, so the bank sees activity and does not close it for inactivity. They differ in how they price several cards, how often they charge and what they show you.

Head to head

What does it cost to keep my cards open?

How often each card is charged
ActiveCredCheaper$12.99a yearOptimizer plan + $0.50 a charge
Credicated$21.25a yearGold plan, 15% off

ActiveCred costs $8.26 a year less than Credicated for 5 cards, each charged once a quarter.

How these figures are worked out

ActiveCred

  • Optimizer plan, for 4 to 6 cards: $2.99 a year
  • 5 cards × 4 charges a year = 20 charges at $0.50: $10.00
  • Total: $2.99 + $10.00 = $12.99 a year

Source: activecred.it/#pricing. ActiveCred’s own prices on November 14, 2026.

Credicated

  • Gold plan: $1.25 a quarter per card, $5.00 a year
  • 5 cards × $5.00 = $25.00
  • Multi-card discount, 15% at 5 cards or more: less $3.75
  • Total: $21.25 a year

Not counted: the MULTI plan, $0.59 a charge, which is for bank accounts that require a number of debit transactions each month.

Source: credicated.com. Read from the company’s site on November 14, 2026.

Prices and features read from each company's public website on November 14, 2026. Each may have changed since; follow the links to check.

Where they differ

Price

ActiveCred$0.99 to $4.99 a year by number of cards, plus a $0.50 activity charge on each card each time it runs
Credicated$1.25 a year per card (Silver, one charge a year), $1.25 a quarter (Gold), $0.99 a month (Platinum), or $0.59 a charge (MULTI, for frequent charges)

Schedule

ActiveCredBy default matched to each card's bank, every 3 to 12 months; any schedule from weekly to once a year, set per card
CredicatedYearly, quarterly or monthly, chosen by plan

Several cards

ActiveCredOne plan covers 1 to 20 cards
CredicatedOne subscription per card. Discounts of 15% at 5 cards, 25% at 15 and 40% at 45 on the Silver, Gold and Platinum plans

Card details

ActiveCredCard entered through Stripe; ActiveCred stores a token, never the number
CredicatedCard entered through a Shopify checkout; Credicated says it never sees or stores the number

Managing it

ActiveCredA dashboard (Pulse) that shows every card, its schedule and its history; a demo to try first
CredicatedA "Manage My Subscriptions" page on its store

Also offers

ActiveCredA free inactivity checker and sourced issuer closure data
CredicatedA MULTI plan for bank accounts that require a number of debit transactions each month

Where Credicated is the better pick

  • One card, or five, charged once a year. Credicated costs $1.25 a year for one card against ActiveCred's $1.49, and $5.31 for five against $5.49.
  • Debit transactions for a high-interest checking account. Its MULTI plan, at $0.59 a charge, is for bank accounts that require a number of debit transactions each month.

Which to choose

Credicated suits someone with one card who wants a single yearly charge at the lowest sticker price, or someone who needs frequent charges on a debit card to qualify for a high-interest checking account.

ActiveCred suits someone with several cards from several banks. It gives you one plan, a schedule matched to each bank, and a dashboard that shows every card and its next charge. It is also the cheapest of the five at a quarterly or monthly charge for any number of cards, and at a yearly charge from 9 cards up.

How often a card needs a charge

No US bank publishes how long a card may sit unused. The shortest closure cardholders report is about 10 months, at Wells Fargo; Citi and Bank of America are reported at two years or more.

A charge every quarter stays inside every reported window. ActiveCred's own default follows the bank: each card is charged at no more than half its bank's shortest reported window, every 3 to 12 months. A yearly charge is enough for some banks and too thin for others. The inactivity checker shows the reported window for each bank, and the sources are in how long each issuer waits.

Questions

What is the difference between ActiveCred and Credicated?

Both run small charges on unused credit cards to stop banks closing them for inactivity. Credicated: $1.25 a year per card (Silver, one charge a year), $1.25 a quarter (Gold), $0.99 a month (Platinum), or $0.59 a charge (MULTI, for frequent charges); schedule: yearly, quarterly or monthly, chosen by plan. ActiveCred: $0.99 to $4.99 a year for 1 to 20 cards, plus a $0.50 activity charge on a card each time it is charged; schedule: by default as often as the card's bank requires, every 3 to 12 months; any schedule from weekly to once a year, set per card.

Is ActiveCred cheaper than Credicated?

At one charge a quarter, ActiveCred costs $2.99 a year for one card against $5.00 for Credicated, and $44.99 for 20 cards against $75.00. At one charge a year, Credicated costs $1.25 for one card, less than ActiveCred at $1.49; for 20 cards ActiveCred costs $14.99 against $18.75.

Other services

Credicated's website

See ActiveCred with sample cards before deciding

Plans cost $0.99 to $4.99 a year for 1 to 20 cards, plus a $0.50 activity charge on a card each time it is charged. By default each card is charged as often as its bank requires, every 3 to 12 months. Cancel in Settings at any time; a cancellation in the first hour is refunded in full.

Try the demo See plans
  • No SSN and no credit check
  • No bank login or access to your accounts
  • Card held by Stripe; ActiveCred keeps a token
  • Cancel online in Settings, at any time

How ActiveCred handles cards