MaxWorth vs Kudos: Which Credit Card Benefits Tracker Is Better? (2026)
Quick answer: These two solve different problems. Kudos is a checkout tool: a browser extension that picks the best card as you pay, fills it in and layers its own cashback offers on top, with benefit tracking as a secondary feature and an optional Plaid link. MaxWorth is a benefit tracker first: every credit on its cycle with reminders, Amex and Chase offer activation, shopping-portal comparison and award flight search, with no account connection at all. If your money leaks at checkout, Kudos; if it leaks in unused annual-fee credits, MaxWorth. Many people run both.
Field by field
| Field | MaxWorth | Kudos |
|---|---|---|
| Bank login | Never. There is no account-connection feature in the product. | Optional Plaid link for spending insights. We could not confirm from a primary source whether any core feature needs it. |
| Marks credits used automatically | No. You tap "used"; cycle-aware reminders fire before each credit expires. | No. |
| Card-linked offer activation | Amex and Chase, one click, via the Chrome and Safari extension. | Five issuers: Amex, Chase, Citi, Bank of America, Wells Fargo (Capital One listed as coming soon). |
| Shopping-portal rate comparison | Yes: 10+ shopping portals compared per store, checked daily, with stacking flagged. | No. It has its own boosted-cashback offers at checkout instead. |
| Award flight search | Yes, inside the points tracker. | No. |
| Countries covered | United States, Canada, Australia (hand-verified card data). | United States. |
| Platforms | iOS; Chrome and Safari extensions. No Android, no web app. | iOS and web; Chrome, Safari and Edge extensions. Android availability is contradictory across sources. |
| List price | Free · $7.99/mo · $60/yr · $159.99 lifetime | Free core · ≈$72/yr Premium (secondary reporting) · $240 lifetime |
Where Kudos wins
- Best-card recommendation and autofill at the moment of online checkout, which is its whole product.
- Offer activation at five issuers (Amex, Chase, Citi, BofA, Wells Fargo) against MaxWorth's two.
- Its own boosted-cashback offers at thousands of merchants.
- Extensions for Edge as well as Chrome and Safari, plus a web app.
Where MaxWorth wins
- Benefit tracking is the core product, not a side feature: cycle-aware credits, expiry reminders, annual-fee ROI.
- Compares 10+ shopping portals per store, so you see the portal rate, not only Kudos' own offer.
- Award flight search and points tracking.
- Canada and Australia; Kudos is US-only.
- No account connection of any kind; Kudos offers a Plaid link.
What each costs
MaxWorth: Free · $7.99/mo · $60/yr · $159.99 lifetime. Kudos: Free core · ≈$72/yr Premium (secondary reporting) · $240 lifetime. List prices only; this page does not track promotions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Kudos without connecting a bank?
Yes. The Plaid link powers spending insights; the checkout extension works without it. Whether any paid feature depends on it is something we could not confirm from a primary source.
Do MaxWorth and Kudos overlap?
Only at "which card should I use": both answer it, Kudos at checkout and MaxWorth by category and nearby merchant. Everything else is different, which is why running both is common.
Which is cheaper?
Both have free cores. Kudos Premium is reported at roughly $72/yr or $240 lifetime; MaxWorth Premium is $60/yr or $159.99 lifetime.
Sources and check dates
- MaxWorth (checked 2026-10-03): MaxWorth App Store listing · MaxWorth Chrome Web Store listing
- Kudos (checked 2026-09-20): Kudos website and blog (features, lifetime pricing)
MaxWorth publishes this site. Every claim about the rival comes from its own site, help centre or store listing; anything we could not confirm is marked as such rather than written as "no".