Traditional credit repair is a paid black box. Pure DIY is free but slow. 850ai is the middle path: software you control, with every price published before you pay. 850ai vs Lexington Law is the company-vs-software version.
| Dimension | Traditional repair | Pure DIY | 850ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup / first-work fee | Common | $0 | |
| Monthly cost | $79–$139 | Free (your time) | From $8.50 (30-day free trial) |
| Who writes the letters | They do (templates) | You do | AI drafts, you review & edit |
| You approve every send | Rarely | Always — your click triggers it | |
| Mailing fees | Often undisclosed | Postage | Published 850mail rates |
| CFPB & FTC escalation | Sometimes | On you | Built in (Auto plan) |
| Response reading & follow-up | Varies | On you | Automated tracking |
| Home/car/business & funding tools | Auto plan | ||
| Contract | Varies | None — cancel anytime |
AI drafts each dispute with the law it stands on. You read, edit, or regenerate before anything is sent.
One letter from its card, or a whole batch with Deploy — nothing mails without your explicit direction.
Plan prices and per-letter 850mail rates are public. No setup fees, no hidden mail charges, no contracts.
They work differently. A traditional company acts on your behalf for a setup fee plus roughly $79–$139/mo, and you rarely see letters before they go out. 850ai is software you operate: the AI drafts letters from your report, you review and edit them, and nothing is sent until you click send or Deploy. Plans are published up front and mailing is billed at published per-letter 850mail rates.
Yes — disputing is your right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and costs only postage if you do everything by hand. 850ai automates the tedious parts: reading all three reports, identifying disputable items, drafting cited letters, tracking 30-day investigation windows, and escalations. You can always download any letter free and mail it yourself.
Three ways: (1) depth — beyond bureau letters, 850ai handles creditor disputes, CFPB and FTC filings, response reading, and escalation strategy; (2) control — you review, edit, and click Deploy on every batch; (3) transparent mailing — 850mail rates are published per letter at my850.ai/mail-pricing, while many competitors charge undisclosed per-letter fees.
No, and no honest service can. 850ai helps you dispute information that may be inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable, or too old to report. Results vary and no specific outcome can be guaranteed.
Short video lessons with quizzes — learn the strategy, then use 850ai to execute it on your own report.
More guides: Remove collections · Blog · AI alternatives · vs Credit Repair Cloud · vs Lexington Law · Free tools · Free reports · 850 University
See plans & pricingComparisons reflect publicly available information about typical services in each category and may change; verify current terms with any provider. 850ai helps you dispute information that may be inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable, or too old to be reported. Results vary and are not guaranteed.