Why is my credit score different on different sites?

What is a credit score?

Your credit score is a three or four-digit number that represents how creditworthy you are deemed to be. The higher your score, the better.

It's used by lenders to help decide whether to approve you for credit — such as credit cards, loans, or mortgages — and at what interest rate. A higher score generally means better chances of approval and access to more competitive rates.

What is a credit reference agency?

A credit reference agency (CRA) is an independent organisation that gathers and securely stores details about your credit history from lenders, service providers, and public bodies.

There are three credit reference agencies (CRAs) in the UK:

• TransUnion
• Equifax
• Experian

When you apply for credit, lenders will usually check your score with one of the CRAs, but you won't always know which one. If a lender turns you down, you can ask them which CRA they used — and they're required to tell you. You can do this by contacting their customer service team directly, by phone or email. Once you know which agency they used, you can check your report with that CRA to try to understand why you were declined and spot anything that might need correcting.

Lenders will also use their own credit scoring systems, based on CRA data plus information included on your application.

Where can I find my credit score?

Under the Consumer Credit Act (1974) and the General Data Protection Regulation (2018), you have the right to access your statutory credit report from any of the credit reference agencies for free. This report will show the credit information lenders may use to assess your creditworthiness — but you won't actually see your score. To see your actual score, you can use a free credit score service such as CredAbility, which pulls your data from the credit reference agencies and display it in a simple dashboard.

Why is my credit score different on different sites?

There are several reasons why your score might differ between sites.

The data each CRA holds about you may be slightly different. Banks, utility companies, and other organisations may report information about your credit to one, two, or all three CRAs — so each agency may have a slightly different picture of your financial history.

Each CRA uses its own scoring model. The methods they use to calculate your score can weigh certain information more heavily than others — for example, one agency might place more emphasis on credit utilisation, while another focuses more on payment history.

Scores are updated at different times. Lenders typically report information to the CRAs once a month, but not always on the same date. So if your credit card provider reports to Experian on the 1st of the month and to Equifax on the 25th, your scores could look different for most of the month — even if your financial situation hasn't changed. This is one of the most common reasons for short-term differences between sites

Which credit score is the most accurate?

No single agency is more accurate than the other two. All three use different scoring ranges and bands, so a direct comparison between them isn't really meaningful.

What matters more is the band you fall into — poor, fair, good, or excellent — rather than the specific number.

In general, you should fall into a broadly similar band across all three agencies. If you're rated poor with one CRA but good or excellent with the others, that's worth investigating. It could indicate an error on your file or, in rarer cases, a sign of fraud — check your report with that agency and dispute anything that doesn't look right.

Credit score ranges

The table below shows how each CRA bands their scores:

Credit score	Equifax	Experian	TransUnion
Very Poor	—	0–560	0–550
Poor	0–438	561–720	551–565
Fair	439–530	721–880	566–603
Good	531–670	881–960	604–627
Very Good	671–810	961–1,120	—
Excellent	811–1,000	1,121–1,250	628–710

As the table shows, the scoring ranges are completely different across the three agencies. A score of 700 with TransUnion is excellent, but the same number with Experian would be rated poor. This is why it's important to look at the band — not just the number — when checking your score.

Should I be worried if my credit scores are different?

Not usually. Some variation between sites is completely normal and expected. What you're looking for is broadly consistent banding — if you're fair with one agency, you'd expect to be fair or good with the others.

The most useful thing you can do is check all three reports a few times a year, keep an eye on your score over time, and focus on consistent improvements rather than individual numbers.