Key takeaway: You can check your credit scores by using free services like Credit Karma and myFICO, as well as tools from banks, credit counselors and credit bureaus. You have many credit scores, and they can differ based on the credit scoring model, timing of the report or which credit bureaus your lender reports to.
To check your credit scores, you can use tools from consumer credit bureaus, banks, credit card issuers, credit score services and certified credit counselors.
These credit score tools typically provide access to certain credit scoring models, including FICO® Score 8 or VantageScore® 3.0. Many of these options are free, but not all. Some companies charge a fee for their services or will lock specific scoring models behind a paywall.
Credit Karma provides free VantageScore® 3.0 credit scores that you can check daily from TransUnion and Equifax. It also provides free credit monitoring that can alert you to changes on your credit reports.
- How do I check my credit scores?
- Which credit scores do lenders use?
- Why do I have different credit scores?
- What credit factors affect my credit scores?
- Next steps: Check your credit reports
- FAQs about checking credit scores
How do I check my credit scores?
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, U.S. consumers are entitled to receive one free credit report from each of the three major consumer credit bureaus every year. Thanks to a COVID-era program that has become permanent, however, the three main credit bureaus will provide you with a free copy of your credit reports weekly at annualcreditreport.com.
Keep in mind that those reports don’t include free credit scores.
To get your scores, you must access them separately. Here are the main places where you can get your credit scores:
- Credit bureaus: You can get your scores from the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, but you might be charged a fee for certain versions.
- Lenders: If you have a credit card or loan, your credit card company or lender may provide access to your credit scores on your monthly statement. Many banks and credit card companies also have credit score tools built into their apps or websites. Some credit card issuers allow you to check your scores even if you’re not a cardholder with them. For example, you can use the American Express® MyCredit Guide tool and CreditWise from Capital One for free.
- Credit score services: Many companies provide credit scores for free, but some charge a monthly fee. Some websites do a combination of both, providing certain scores for free but locking others behind fees. For example, myFICO provides your FICO® Score 8 for free but charges for scores from other FICO scoring models. Before you sign up, make sure to read the fine print.
- Certified counselors: If you’re working with a reputable credit counselor or HUD-approved housing counselor, they may offer you access to your credit scores.
Your credit scores help lenders assess your credit risk, so if you check them routinely, you’ll know where you may stand before applying for loans, credit cards or even housing.
In some cases, you may need to provide personal information, such as your name, date of birth, address and Social Security number, to receive access to your scores. In other cases, the information may be readily available on your monthly loan or credit card statement or once you log into your online account.
How do I check my free credit scores with Credit Karma?
Credit Karma provides free VantageScore® 3.0 credit scores from two out of the three major credit bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax. You can check these scores daily by creating an account with Credit Karma. Once you’ve verified your identity, Credit Karma will use the information provided to retrieve your credit scores and credit reports.
You can get your FICO scores for free using other services or tools.
How do I check my business credit score?
Businesses have their own credit bureaus and credit scores separate from consumer ones. Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax Business and Experian Business are the major business credit bureaus, and they each have their own scoring models and credit factors.
Here’s an overview of how to check your business credit score with each of them:
- Dun & Bradstreet: Get a D-U-N-S Number for your business if you don’t have one already. Then, you can get a PAYDEX score through the company or through a provider like Nav.
- Equifax Business: Order your business credit report from the company and get access to your Credit Risk and Failure Risk scores.
- Experian Business: Order your business credit report from Experian, which will include your Experian Business credit scores.
Which credit scores do lenders use?
Companies use a variety of credit scores to make decisions, including whether to approve you for loan applications, insurance premiums (in certain states), rental requests and, in some states, employment applications.
But they also may use their own proprietary models or consider other factors such as your income, employment history and debt-to-income ratio.
Some common scoring models your lender may use include:
- FICO® Score 8, the most widely used version of FICO credit scores.
- FICO® Score 10, the first FICO suite with a version that tracks trended data (FICO® Score 10T).
- FICO® Auto Score, an industry-specific score mainly used by auto lenders.
- FICO® Bankcard Score, an industry-specific score mainly used by banks and credit card issuers.
- VantageScore® 3.0, a widely used credit scoring model created by the three credit bureaus.
- VantageScore® 4.0, another scoring model from VantageScore and the first score version to track trended data. The Federal Housing Finance Agency also began accepting VantageScore 4.0 for all mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac starting in late 2025.
Why do I have different credit scores?
You have multiple credit scores for several reasons. There are dozens of credit scoring models, and different models have different scoring criteria and formulas.
Here are some other reasons your scores may be different:
- They use different credit reports: Not all lenders report to all credit bureaus, meaning your credit reports might not look exactly the same. Because your credit scores are generated using information from your credit reports, they can be different depending on what reports are used.
- They use information reported on different dates: Your credit scores can change any time new information is reported, so your scores may be different depending on when they were pulled. Plus, lenders might not report to each credit bureau at the same time, so some credit reports may show information from older dates when you review your scores.
What credit factors affect my credit scores?
Credit scores are calculated by weighing information taken from your credit reports. While every credit scoring model is calculated a little differently, they all generally look at the same five main credit factors:
- Payment history: Payment history is the single most important factor to your credit scores. It measures whether you consistently make on-time payments.
- Credit utilization: This factor looks at the amount of credit you’re using compared to your total available credit. FICO considers this part of its “amounts owed” category.
- Length of credit history: This factor measures the age of your oldest and newest accounts and the average age of all accounts. VantageScore includes this factor in its “depth of credit” category.
- Credit mix: This looks at the different types of credit accounts you have, such as credit cards, auto loans and personal loans. VantageScore includes this factor in its “depth of credit” category.
- Recent credit activity: This includes any new credit applications you’ve submitted and any new credit accounts you’ve opened. A flurry of recent credit applications may be an indicator of financial strain for some lenders.
Here’s how FICO® Score 8 and VantageScore® 3.0, two widely used scoring models, weigh credit score factors:
| Credit score factor | FICO® Score 8 | VantageScore® 3.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Payment history | 35% | 40% |
| Amounts owed / credit utilization | 30% | 20% |
| Length / depth of credit history | 15% | 21% |
| Credit mix | 10% | N/A, included in credit depth |
| Balances | N/A | 11% |
| Recent credit activity | 10% | 5% |
| Available credit | N/A | 3% |
Next steps: Check your credit reports
Because your credit scores are generated based on information included in your credit reports, it’s important to monitor your credit reports as well as your scores.
You can start by getting free credit reports from TransUnion and Equifax through Credit Karma. By law, you’re also entitled to free credit reports from all three credit bureaus through the government-authorized website annualcreditreport.com.
Review your reports carefully to ensure all the information is accurate. If you find information on your TransUnion or Equifax report that’s not correct, you can dispute the error to try and resolve the issue.
If you want to raise your scores, take a look at these steps you can take to improve your credit.
FAQs about checking credit scores
Because credit bureaus typically report new information on a month-to-month basis, consider checking your scores monthly if you want to track changes over time. You may want to check your scores more often if you’re applying for loans or a new job, or if you’re new to building credit.
Victims of identity theft should be especially watchful of their credit scores until all instances of fraud have been resolved.
No, checking your credit score won’t hurt it. When you check your credit scores, you perform a soft inquiry on your own credit, which has no impact. You can check your credit score daily on Credit Karma with no impact.
Yes, you can check your credit scores without a credit card. Some credit card issuers offer credit score service platforms that are accessible even if you’re not a cardholder with the company. You can also check your credit scores for free by using a credit score service like Credit Karma, which provides VantageScore® 3.0 credit scores through TransUnion and Equifax.
If you don’t have any credit accounts and haven’t begun building credit, however, you might be credit invisible, meaning you don’t have credit history yet with any of the three main credit bureaus.