Credit Report vs. Credit Score

A credit report is a summary of your history as a borrower, while a credit score is the credit report’s contents expressed as a number. The more positive information that’s on your credit report, the higher your credit score is, and the better your chances will be of getting a good credit card or loan.

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You can learn a lot about the differences between credit reports and scores just by examining your own and tracking how they change over time. But we’ll get you started by comparing them and offering some advice on how to improve both, below.

Key Differences Between a Credit Report and a Credit Score

What Is a Credit Report?

A credit report is a detailed record of your credit activities, including the loans and lines of credit that you’ve used, your payment history, credit inquiries, and collection accounts. It also lists personally identifiable information and public records like bankruptcies. People like lenders, creditors, and landlords review the information in your credit report to determine how financially responsible you are.

Learn more about what’s included in your credit report.

What Is a Credit Score?

A credit score is a three-digit number that is calculated using the information in your credit report. Your credit score can range from a low of 300 to a maximum of 850. This number indicates how risky it would be to lend money to you.

The higher your score is, the more likely it is that you can get approved for new credit cards and loans, get low interest rates, and be approved to rent an apartment. For instance, a person with a good credit score has about a 60% chance of getting approved for a general-purpose credit card, while someone with a bad credit score has just about a 20% chance, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Learn more about what a credit score is.

How to Get Your Credit Report and Score

You can check your credit report and credit score from each of the credit bureaus for free. You can access your credit report every week, though how often you can access your credit score may vary between the bureaus.

In addition, signing up for a free WalletHub account is a good move for both your credit report and score. You can check your daily updated TransUnion credit report and your VantageScore credit score for free on WalletHub. You’ll also benefit from personalized credit improvement advice. This will tell you not only how to improve your credit, but also how long it will take.

For more information, check out WalletHub’s guides about checking your credit report and credit score for free.

How to Improve Your Credit Report and Score

All credit scores are based on the contents of our major credit reports. So if you improve your credit report, your score will also rise. Below are some tips to improve your credit report and ultimately your credit score.

Make on-time payments.

Payment history is the most important component of your credit score. Having a history of on-time payments on your credit accounts and a steady stream of positive payment information flowing into your credit report bodes well for your credit score.

Maintain a low credit utilization ratio.

Your credit utilization is the percentage of your credit limit that you’re using. For example, if you have a total credit limit of $10,000 among all your credit cards and carry a total balance of $2,000, your overall credit utilization ratio is 20%. Credit utilization is calculated for each of your individual accounts, too.

You should keep your credit utilization ratios below 30% to avoid a significant decrease in your credit score. On average, people with a 740 or higher credit score tend to have a credit utilization ratio that is lower than 15%, according to Experian.

Avoid multiple credit inquiries at once.

Credit inquiries on your credit report can drop your credit score by up to five points. Multiple credit inquiries within a short amount of time can drop your score even further. That’s why you shouldn’t submit multiple credit applications at once. However, if you are shopping around for the best rate on an auto loan, student loan, or mortgage within a 14- to 45-day period, it will count as a single inquiry instead of multiple.

Check for errors and have them removed.

Regularly checking your credit report can help you quickly spot any errors or fraudulent accounts that show up. Disputing these items can get them removed from your credit reports and limit damage to your credit score.

For more tips, you can also check out WalletHub’s in-depth credit improvement guide.

Credit Bureaus vs. Credit Scoring Companies

Credit bureaus are the companies that produce credit reports. The major credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Credit bureaus are not, however, responsible for creating credit scores. Specialized companies – most notably, FICO and VantageScore – do that. Interestingly, though, VantageScore is an independent company that was started by the “big three” credit bureaus.

The fact that there are three major credit bureaus and two major credit scoring companies also means there isn’t one singular credit score. That’s a common myth, but there are actually hundreds of credit scoring models in use. However, the most common credit scores all use the same 300-850 range.

To learn more, check out WalletHub’s guide on the credit bureaus.