Credit Score Basics > Equifax or Experian: which credit score matters more?

Equifax or Experian: which credit score matters more?

The UK has three leading credit reference agencies (CRAs). They all do pretty much the same thing: hold your data securely, put together your credit report, and calculate your credit score. Lenders then use this data to decide whether to approve your loan applications.

Equifax and Experian are two of these CRAs and probably the most well-known.

If you’re wondering which one to pay more attention to, the answer is simple: whichever one the lender you’re asking for a loan works with.

That’s because different banks, lenders, and utility companies don’t always work with all three credit reference agencies. Even when they do, they usually prefer one over the others.

For example, let’s say that you were once late paying a credit card bill. If your credit card provider works with Experian and not Equifax, this missed payment will not show on the Equifax credit report. So you might see that only your Experian credit score took a minor hit while your Equifax score is still intact.

How can I figure out which CRA a lender works with?

Most banks, lenders, credit card providers, etc., will be transparent about which CRA they work with. The best way to find out is to visit their website or ask customer service. This will help you decide which credit report to review and which credit score to pay more attention to.

How are the Equifax and Experian credit scores different?

Equifax and Experian use slightly different formulas to calculate your credit score, but they’re similar overall.

First, their credit score ranges are almost similar: Equifax's credit score range is between 0 and 1000, while Experian’s score is between 0 and 999.

Second, Experian and Equifax also use similar information when calculating your credit score:

• Payment history (how reliably you’ve paid your bills),
• Credit utilisation (how close you are to your credit limit),
• Credit mix (how many different kinds of credit you have, and how many of each kind of credit you have),
• New credit incurred (how many new credit accounts you’ve opened recently and the number of hard checks that you have in your credit report),
• Length of credit history (how long you’ve had loans and credit cards),
• Address history ( how often you’ve moved home and whether you’re registered to vote),
• And adverse events (like CCJs or bankruptcies).

It’s difficult to say what the exact formula is – all credit reference agencies guard this information closely. However, we know that your payment history and credit utilisation matter the most, while adverse events can have the most significant negative impact.

While it’s hard to say exactly how Equifax or Experian calculate their scores, you can get an idea of how they perceive you by looking at which credit rating band your credit score falls in for each.

• To qualify for an “excellent” credit score, Equifax requires at least 811 out of 1000 points. Experian, however, requires a score of at least 961 out of 999.
• The worst credit rating band also looks different. Experian has a “very poor” band between 0 and 560, which they claim will result in rejection for most loans, credit cards, and mortgages. Equifax’s worst band is called “poor,” between 0 and 438.

In other words, Experian's credit score model seems much more restrictive than Equifax's. Of course, reality is not quite like this: it all depends on your situation.

Experian is different in another way: you might find improving your Experian credit history easier than the Equifax one. That’s because of a few reasons:

• Experian offers a free service called Experian Boost, which lets you connect your bank account to your Experian account. This way, you can make some of your regular payments (council tax, ISA direct debits, and entertainment subscriptions like Netflix) count toward your Experian credit score.
• Experian also has more partnerships with credit-building tools that allow you to report your rent payments and include them on your credit file. One such tool is Wollit. Wollit reports your monthly rent payments to Experian, helping you show potential lenders that you pay bills on time and are financially reliable. It also reports your monthly subscription to all three agencies as a loan repayment, potentially helping you further boost your credit score.

• Credit Reference Agencies