This is the fourth part of our credit score comparison series week one: FICO Vs PLUS, week two: FICO Vs VantageScore, week three: FICO Vs CE score). This week we are going to look the FICO score and Experian’s National Equivalency Score which is offered for free by Credit Sesame.
Comparison Table
| FICO Score | Experian National Equivalency Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Score | 300 | 360 |
| Maximum Score | 850 | 840 |
| Median Score | 723 | N/A |
| CRAÂ’s the score is based on | EX, EQ & TU | EX |
| Available to Individuals | Yes | Yes |
| Acessible for Free | Yes | Yes |
| Used by Lenders | Yes | Yes |
| Scoring Criteria | ||
| Payment History | 35.00% | 35.00% |
| Credit Utilization | 30.00% | 30.00% |
| Length of Credit History | 15.00% | 15.00% |
| Types of Credit used | 10.00% | 10.00% |
| Recent Searches for New Credit | 10.00% | 10.00% |
As you can see the scoring criteria are exactly the same for the two scores. This is not technically 100% true, Experian & Credit Sesame have never actually publicly stated the scoring criteria for the Equivalency score. They’ve only stated that it tries to emulate FICO, so we’ve assumed that their criteria would be the same.
The scores do have a scoring range difference, with the equivalency score having a slightly higher minimum score (360 vs FICO’s 350) and a slightly lower maximum score (840 vs FICO’s 840). Both scores are available to lenders, although the equivalency isn’t used by any creditors currently and FICO is used in 90% of lending decisions.
The equivalency score is available for free from Credit Sesame and this score is automatically updated monthly, they also provide you with a summary of your Experian report. FICO score’s are also available for free but take a bit more work to get them, here is a complete list of ways to get yours.
How Do The Scores Compare?
As the name suggests the Experian National Equivalency Score is based on data found in the Experian credit report so I pulled my Experian (04) score from myFICO for $15.95 using a promo code to get my FICO score. I then signed up to Credit Sesame to get my Equivalency score.
| Â | FICO | Equivalency Score |
|---|---|---|
| My Score | 821 | 833 |
I’m pretty proud of my Equivalency score, being only 7 points below the maximum. The fact that lenders don’t use the score does lessen how proud I am though, I’d much rather my FICO was higher.
Personally I see little point in tracking your Equivalency score or signing up for Credit Sesame. Although as Credit Sesame is free to join and no monthly fees, there is very little reason to not give it a go.
I’d personally just stick to checking your FICO score when you’re about to apply for a loan and being signed up to Credit Karma (for VantageScore which some lenders do look at) and Quizzle (they also provide V3 of VantageScore, and an extra two credit reports can be useful if you’re engaging in credit repair).
