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 touts that it will always be free to the consumers who use its website or mobile app. 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.
The main reason why credit scores can vary is because they use different scoring models. A FICO® Score is calculated using a different formula than a VantageScore. And while most credit scores use a scale of 300 to 850, that isn't always the case.
Our Verdict: Credit Karma has better credit monitoring and more features, but Experian actually gives you your “real” credit score. Plus it offers the wonderful Experian Boost tool. Since they're both free, it's worth it to get both of them.
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.
Consequently, when lenders check your FICO credit score, whether based on credit report data from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, they will likely use the FICO 8 scoring model. FICO 8 scores range between 300 and 850. A FICO score of at least 700 is considered a good score.
We pull your VantageScore 3.0 credit scores directly from TransUnion and Equifax. There are a few reasons why you might get different credit scores from each of the three major credit bureaus. One big reason why you may have different scores is that the three credit bureaus may have differing information about you.
The most accurate credit scores are the latest versions of the FICO Score and VantageScore credit-scoring models: FICO Score 8 and VantageScore 3.0.
If your bank, credit card issuer, auto lender or mortgage servicer participates in FICO ® Score Open Access, you can see your FICO ® Scores, along with the top factors affecting your scores, for free. Below is a list of some lenders participating in FICO ® Score Open Access. Look to see if your lender is listed.
Basically, "credit score" and "FICO® score" are all referring to the same thing. A FICO® score is a type of credit scoring model. While different reporting agencies may weigh factors slightly differently, they are all essentially measuring the same thing.
Some lenders report to all three major credit bureaus, but others report to only one or two. Because of this difference in reporting, each of the three credit bureaus may have slightly different credit report information for you and you may see different scores as a result.
But, despite that, you'd be surprised how many borrowers are shocked that their Credit Karma score is lower than the FICO scores their lender uses. Read on to find out why. And most importantly, what you need to know about credit scores when applying for a mortgage.
The credit scores and reports you see on Credit Karma come directly from TransUnion and Equifax, two of the three major consumer credit bureaus. The credit scores and reports you see on Credit Karma should accurately reflect your credit information as reported by those credit bureaus.
You can get your FICO® Score for free from hundreds of financial services companies, including banks, credit unions, credit card issuers and credit counselors that participate in the FICO® Score Open Access program and offer free scores to customers.
It's recommended you have a credit score of 620 or higher when you apply for a conventional loan. If your score is below 620, lenders either won't be able to approve your loan or may be required to offer you a higher interest rate, which can result in higher monthly payments.
A conventional loan requires a credit score of at least 620, but it's ideal to have a score of 740 or above, which could allow you to make a lower down payment, get a more attractive interest rate and save on private mortgage insurance.
The scoring model used in mortgage applications
While the FICO® 8 model is the most widely used scoring model for general lending decisions, banks use the following FICO scores when you apply for a mortgage: FICO® Score 2 (Experian) FICO® Score 5 (Equifax)
A FICO score of 650 is considered fair—better than poor, but less than good. It falls below the national average FICO® Score of 710, and solidly within the fair score range of 580 to 669.
Credit Score Range
FICO Scores range from 300 to 850. At first, VantageScore credit scores featured a different numerical scale (501 to 990). However, VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 adopted the same 300 to 850 scale that FICO uses. With both FICO and VantageScore models, higher scores are better.
The score you see on Credit Karma is out of 710 and the brackets are as follows: Scores 565 and below are considered Needs Work. Scores between 566-603 are considered Fair. Scores between 604-627 are considered Good.
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. Think of it this way — Credit Karma is like a newspaper that writes about the credit scores other companies give you.
What's a Good Score on the VantageScore 3.0 Model? The VantageScore model runs from 300 to 850. According to VantageScore, a good credit score on their model would be 661 to 780, and an excellent score would be anything above that.
This is due to a variety of factors, such as the many different credit score brands, score variations and score generations in commercial use at any given time. These factors are likely to yield different credit scores, even if your credit reports are identical across the three credit bureaus—which is also unusual.
Approval Odds are an Estimate, Not a Guarantee
If you apply for a credit card based on Credit Karma's Approval Odds and are declined, Credit Karma recommends that you check your credit report to make sure your information is correct.