Your score may vary depending on which agency your credit report is extracted from, as not everyone receives the same information about their credit accounts. Credit Karma is different from Experian. There are a few reasons why your Credit Karma credit score is lower than your Experian score. Some companies only report your credit history to one or two credit bureaus.
Credit Karma uses two of the three major credit bureaus and rates your creditworthiness according to the widely used (but not as widely used as FICO) VantageScore system. Slight differences in calculations between VantageScore and FICO credit ratings can cause significant variations in ratings, making Credit Karma less accurate than most can appreciate. Credit Karma offers even more interactive tools and resources than Experian to help you improve your credit scores and meet your financial goals. If the information is found to be erroneous, your credit report and Experian credit scores will be adjusted in your favor.
However, it is important that consumers take the time (and nominal cost) to also review their FICO credit ratings from each of the three major credit bureaus from time to time. That distinctive difference is important because credit bureaus are the only bureaus that assign credit scores. The differences between these versions of credit rating may be subtle, but the details used to calculate a person's credit score vary enough to create multiple scores for a single person at any given time. In addition to this free service, Credit Karma has other related services, including a security monitoring service and alerts for when someone has performed a credit check on you.
Consumers can get a free copy of their credit report from each of the three credit bureaus each year to keep track of what lenders see. When you access your information about Credit Karma, it is considered a soft query that is not reported to the credit bureaus. The higher the credit score, the stronger the borrower will be perceived to be when a new credit application is submitted. A good reason to monitor your credit ratings is to have an idea of what others will see when they check your credit.
Credit Karma recommends money-saving credit cards that are likely to be approved for. Unlike Experian, Credit Karma provides credit scores calculated using the VantageScore system instead of the FICO score. Currently, Credit Karma allows users to view their Equifax VantageScore 3.0 and their TransUnion VantageScore 3.0, not an Experian credit score of any kind.
