What is the difference in Equifax scoring and FICO?

[mx6bfast]

My wife is pretty much about to be offered a job in another state and we will eventually end up moving there. I have done some preliminary credit score checking and was able to get a 3 credit score from Experian for $14.95. My EQ score was the lowest at 668. I did the free fico score last year so I'm waiting to get that in a few months again, but I remember my fico being right around the same score. So is there a difference in fico and EQ? the bottom of each page mentions EQ in it as being related somehow. I find it hard to believe that my account hasn't gone up but by single digits by paying off over $15k in debts and only 1 credit pull in over a year.

There is a 64 point difference in my highest score EX (732) and lowest EQ (668). TU is 684. I'm hoping to get a mortgage loan for around 5%

[Lel]

The three major credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax, and Transunion - all have their own FICO score models developed by Fair Isaac.  So there are three different FICO scores, one from each bureau.  Because of differences in the formula and in the information recorded at each credit bureau, FICO scores can vary, sometimes over a large range.

The scores that you bought from Experian for $14.95 are not true FICO scores.  They are credit scores that are generated by a non-FICO formula.  It probably uses very similar criteria as that used by the FICO score formulas, but many people have learned that these non-FICO scores can be poor predictors of one's actual FICO scores.

You can buy your true Equifax and Transunion FICO scores from this site or from equifax.com and transunioncs.com, respectively.  The Experian FICO score, unfortunately, is not available on this site or from Experian directly.  The score you purchase on the Experian site is not a FICO score.

Because non-FICO scores are not used by mortgage lenders, you should consider pulling your true EQ and TU FICO scores to see where you stand.  One caveat, however - the TU score that is available here is the TU 98 version, whereas the the version used by most mortgage lenders is TU 04.  There are differences in the scoring formula, so your TU score from here will probably be slightly different from your lender-pulled TU score.

[911gt34life]

is Equifax score and myfico score is it same system ?

[Lel]

The Equifax score most commonly used by lenders is the Beacon 5.0 version.  This is the same score that you get from this website.  If you and your lender pull your Equifax FICO scores on the same day, they will be identical.

[MattH]

As others have noted, EX refuses to sell genuine FICO scores to consumers, instead selling either their "True Credit" scores or "Vantage Scores."  True Credit scores, known here as FAKOS, have a similar scale and interpretation to FICO scores but are probably not a whole lot more accurate than what you could get for free from the Estimator if you answer its questions accurately.  The Estimator is also a good way to experiment with scenarios (what would be the impact if this or that happens).  Vantage Scores have a different scale so cannot be compared directly at all; elsewhere I recently posted a comparison of their published percentile distributions:

detailed comparison Vantage vs FICO

There are three ways that I know of by which consumers can get EX FICO scores.  First, by applying for a loan with a lender who lets you see the scores they pull (the most common source for folks on these boards seems to be mortgage brokers).  Second, if you work for the State of PA, or certain other jobs like teaching in local public schools there, or got a degree from certain PA colleges, you can join a credit union and get EX FICO scores as a membership benefit.  Third, recently Chase has begun offering approximate EX FICO scores (just the first two digits, for instance 77 meaning 770-779) to some of their customers (but not me even though I am a Chase customer, when I asked all they would say is that I can't get it but they would not tell me how they decide who does get it).