Report vs score
A credit report is your history: accounts you hold, how much you owe, whether you paid on time, and sometimes public records. It is kept by credit reference agencies or bureaus.
A credit score is a number calculated from that report. Different agencies and lenders use different scoring models, so you may see different scores. Lenders may also use their own criteria. Think of the report as the source data and the score as one summary of it.
How reports work, and how to see yours for free, varies by country. Most countries have a free way to check.
What commonly influences a score
Scoring models differ, but these factors appear in most of them:
| Factor | What it means | Healthy habit |
|---|---|---|
| Payment history | Did you pay on time? | Never miss a due date |
| Utilisation | How much available credit you use | Keep balances low relative to limits |
| Length of history | How long accounts have been open | Keep older accounts in good standing |
| New credit | Recent applications and hard checks | Space out applications |
| Credit mix | Types of credit held | Not worth chasing for its own sake |