Credit Karma shows TransUnion and Equifax; Credit Sesame just shows TransUnion. Credit Sesame offers better identity protection options. Credit Karma offers a more detailed credit score simulator. Credit Karma provides access to more financial services (like tax prep and the unclaimed money finder).
Are The Scores Accurate? Credit sesame uses what is known as the Experian National Equivalency score. The score is accurate for what it is, but this is not the same score lenders look at when you make an application for a loan.
Looking beyond cosmetics, the first difference you'll see between the apps is Credit Karma gives you access to reports from two credit reporting bureaus: TransUnion and Equifax. ... Credit Sesame shows the same, but only from TransUnion.
Best Overall AnnualCreditReport.com
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau confirms that AnnualCreditReport.com is the official website that allows you to access each of your credit reports from all three of the major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — at no cost.
Credit Karma scores are directly reported by two of the three credit agencies and are as accurate as someone can expect from a free credit monitoring service. More often than not, the accuracy of credit karma scores is in the right wheelhouse.
Why your Credit Karma credit score differs
Your score can then differ based on what bureau your credit report is pulled from since they don't all receive the same information about your credit accounts. Secondly, different credit score models (and versions) exist across the board.
The credit scores and credit reports you see on Credit Karma come directly from TransUnion and Equifax, two of the three major consumer credit bureaus. They should accurately reflect your credit information as reported by those bureaus — but they may not match other reports and scores out there.
Credit Karma is different from Experian. While Experian compiles your credit report and determines your credit score, Credit Karma simply shows you credit scores and report information from Equifax and TransUnion.
But how accurate is Credit Karma? In some cases, as seen in an example below, Credit Karma may be off by 20 to 25 points.
Checking your free credit scores on Credit Karma doesn't hurt your credit. These credit score checks are known as soft inquiries, which don't affect your credit at all. Hard inquiries (also known as “hard pulls”) generally happen when a lender checks your credit while reviewing your application for a financial product.
We show your approval odds as either very good, good, fair, or poor. Please keep in mind that Credit Sesame can never guarantee you will be approved for any card, even if your odds are strong; however, it is safest to apply for the cards which show you have a good or very good chance of being approved.
Using Credit Sesame does not affect your score in any way. When Credit Sesame accesses your credit on your behalf there is only a "soft" credit inquiry into your credit which does not hurt your score like a hard inquiry from a lender might.
Credit Sesame uses VantageScore® 3.0, a scoring model provided by TransUnion, one of the three major credit bureaus. VantageScore® 3.0 was developed by all three of the credit bureaus to be an alternative to other commercial scoring models like FICO.
For a score with a range between 300 and 850, a credit score of 700 or above is generally considered good. A score of 800 or above on the same range is considered to be excellent. Most consumers have credit scores that fall between 600 and 750.
Although ranges vary depending on the credit scoring model, generally credit scores from 580 to 669 are considered fair; 670 to 739 are considered good; 740 to 799 are considered very good; and 800 and up are considered excellent.
It usually takes about four to six weeks for lenders to report new information (like new balances or payment activity) to TransUnion, and the frequency of updates can vary by lender. So it can take up to seven weeks for any changes or new information to show on Credit Karma.
What's the catch? Yes, Credit Karma is a legitimate free website that provides you with your credit score and report, no strings attached. It's really free, and you don't need to put in your credit card number or remember to cancel your free trial.
FICO 8 scores range between 300 and 850. A FICO score of at least 700 is considered a good score. There are also industry-specific versions of credit scores that businesses use. For example, the FICO Bankcard Score 8 is the most widely used score when you apply for a new credit card or a credit-limit increase.
Credit scores help lenders evaluate whether they want to do business with you. The FICO® Score☉ , which is the most widely used scoring model, falls in a range that goes up to 850. The lowest credit score in this range is 300. But the reality is that almost nobody has a score that low.
Credit scoring models consider information from your credit reports that falls into one of five categories: payment history, amounts owed, age of credit, new accounts/inquiries and credit mix. The better you manage credit in each of these categories, the higher your scores.
The credit bureau that gives the lowest FICO or Vantage score tends to be the one that lenders use the most in your geographic area. Lenders typically slice the pie (between Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) at the three-digit zip code level.
The highest credit score you can have on the most widely used scales is an 850. For common versions of FICO and VantageScore, the scale ranges from 300 to 850 and lenders typically consider anything above 720 excellent credit.
For other types of credit, such as personal loans, student loans and retail credit, you'll likely want to know your FICO® Score 8, which is the score most widely used by lenders.