Free Credit Check

Your credit standing is important because it can either save or cost you a lot of money. It can also create or deny you opportunities, such as buying a home or landing your dream job. That’s because decision–makers, from creditors and lenders to landlords and employers, use credit data to evaluate applicants. They use it to determine whether you’re eligible for approval. And it’s also the basis for your interest rates, insurance premiums, credit lines, etc.

How does your actual credit score fit into all of this? Well, your credit score is basically your credit report in number form, providing a shorthand way to express how much risk you pose to lenders. Responsible habits as a borrower – particularly paying your bills on time – leads to positive information in your major credit reports. Positive credit report info leads to a higher credit score. And a higher credit score leads to savings.

For example, a 100-point difference in your score would cost you roughly $40,000 in interest over the life of a 30-year, $300,000 home loan, according to a Fair Isaac Corporation report.

So make sure to take action if a free credit-score simulator or your actual credit score indicates the need for credit improvement. To see what you should focus on, check out the Credit Analysis portion of your free WalletHub account.

This credit score estimator gives you a general sense of your credit standing. And it does so for free, without requiring any personal information. With a credit score estimate, you’ll be able to focus your search for a credit card or loan. As a result, this could help you avoid wasting time or applying for an offer you’re unlikely to be approved for.

This credit simulator also is useful in that it gives you a sense of where your credit should be, based on your general consumer profile. Plus, if your actual credit score differs significantly from what this free online credit check indicates it should be, that could be a sign of a problem.

Of course, no credit score estimator will be as accurate as checking your actual credit score. And even some free credit score sites aren’t that useful because they don’t update their scores more than once per week or month. WalletHub is the only site with free credit scores and reports that are updated daily.

You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub – the only site that offers free credit scores and credit reports that are updated on a daily basis. Although we believe that WalletHub is the best option for a variety of reasons, it’s not the only credit-score provider in town. This article will give you a sense of how some of the most notable alternatives stack up against WalletHub.

Finally, it’s worth noting that there is no one “real” credit score. You’ll never know what type of model a given lender will use to evaluate you. So you shouldn’t get too worried about checking a certain type.

The specifics differ from credit score to credit score. But all scores are based on the information in our three major credit reports: those from TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. So as long as you make sure positive information is flowing into these reports and regularly review them for accuracy, your credit score will be in good shape no matter what recipe is used.

With that being said, VantageScore and FICO credit scores are the most common. And you can find a breakdown of their ingredients below. The categorization differs slightly, but each major factor has pretty much the same weight.
 

For more info, check out WalletHub’s guide on how credit scores are calculated.