Credit Karma is the most widely used credit monitoring website. It’s a great resource for keeping an eye on your credit.

But…

Did you know that the credit scores you see on Credit Karma aren’t the same ones a lender uses? Lenders use the FICO scores and Credit Karma uses the Vantage score model.

So… what’s the difference?

The way they determine your score. Here’s how they stack up against each other.

FICO Score

• Payment History – 35%

• Credit Utilization – 30%

• Length of Credit History – 15%

• New Credit – 10%

• Credit Mix – 10%

Vantage Score

• Payment History – 40%

• Age and Type of Credit – 21%

• Credit Utilization- 20%

• Total Balances/Debt – 11%

• New Credit – 5%

• Available Credit – 3%

While most of the factors that go into determining your score are similar the percentage changes can make for a big difference in your credit score. For example, if you had a maxed out credit card, the Vantage model would be more forgiving than the FICO model.

FICO scores are what 90% of lending institutions use. It’s been around since 1989 and is considered to be a more reliable method.

For more details about FICO scores be sure to check out our blog post on How Credit Works.