How Does a Credit Score Simulator Work?

Quick Answer

Credit score simulators are interactive tools that predict how credit decisions will affect your credit score, based on the factors that impact scores.

Young man holding mobile phone and talking, while typing on laptop and working at home

A credit score simulator is an interactive digital tool that predicts the effects that various scenarios can have on your credit score. These scenarios are related to your debts and payment decisions, such as paying down credit balances, placing a specific charge on one credit card or another, or opening a new loan or credit card account.

Using a credit score simulator can help you predict the credit impact of actions you might take and aid in your decision making. Here's how they work.

How a Credit Score Simulator Works

Some credit score simulators take the form of questionnaires: They ask for information and use your answers to estimate a credit score. For instance, you can see the impact certain actions could have on your FICO^® Score^☉ with the FICO^® Scores Estimator. This simulator estimates your score by asking 10 questions that cover the number of loans and credit card accounts you have, how long they've been open (or paid off), and your history of repaying them.

Other simulators, such as those featured on websites that provide credit scores for free, base their estimates on an actual credit score, and then estimate how that score would change in various scenarios.

The Experian FICO^® Score Simulator, available through an Experian membership, bases its calculations on your FICO 8 Score based on Experian data and shows how actions including the following might affect your score negatively or positively:

Applying for a new credit card or loan
Projecting your current debt history ahead two years (to show the influence of age of accounts)
Making a bill payment 30 days or more late
Closing out one (or all) of your credit cards
Maxing out one (or all) of your credit cards
Filing bankruptcy

For example, this is what Experian's FICO^® Score Simulator might show you if you give it the scenario of missing a bill payment:

Experian score simulator

How Your Credit Score Is Calculated

The accuracy and sophistication of credit score simulators can vary, but all of them consider the multiple factors that influence your credit scores:

Payment history: A track record of making debt payments on time benefits your credit scores—and just one payment that goes unpaid for 30 days or longer can do significant harm to your scores. Payment history is responsible for about 35% of your FICO^® Score.
Amounts owed: The amount of outstanding debt you carry and your credit utilization—the percentage of credit you're using on revolving accounts represented by outstanding balances—account for about 30% of your FICO^® Score. Carrying a balance on your credit cards can reduce your credit scores, with a 30% utilization on any credit card or other revolving account having a more severe effect. Individuals with excellent credit scores tend to keep utilization below 10%.
Length of credit history: A documented history managing credit can enhance your creditworthiness. All other factors being equal, your credit score will improve over time as the length of your credit history grows. Credit scoring systems factor in the age of your oldest loan or credit account, the age of your newest account and the average age of all accounts. Length of credit history is responsible for about 15% of your FICO^® Score.
Credit mix: Evidence that you can handle multiple debts and different forms of credit will tend to benefit your credit scores. Credit scoring systems favor a blend of credit types, such as installment debt (student loans, auto loans and mortgages, for instance) and revolving accounts (credit cards and lines of credit). Credit mix accounts for about 10% of your FICO^® Score. However, this doesn't mean it's a good idea to apply for new credit accounts with the sole justification of improving your credit mix.
New credit: Taking on new debt increases the statistical likelihood you'll fall behind on your other bills. Credit scoring systems track new credit by noting hard inquiries—credit checks associated with credit applications that are recorded in your credit reports. Credit scores typically dip a small amount after a hard inquiry appears and can rebound within a few months if you keep up with your bill payments. New credit is responsible for about 10% of your FICO^® Score.

Why Can Your Credit Scores Differ?

Credit scores from different scoring companies, such as the FICO^® Score and VantageScore^® , can differ from one another, even though both assign scores on a scale from 300 to 850. Furthermore, the credit report data scoring tools analyze is continually being updated. Even when operating on identical data, however, different versions of the FICO^® Score can generate different scores.

Since there are dozens of different versions of the FICO^® Score (and four different versions of the VantageScore) in use, there's no way to know ahead of time which any given lender will use. For that reason, even simulators that operate on an actual credit score may not reflect exactly what a lender will see when they check your credit.

Still, the factors that can affect your scores are more or less the same across scoring models, so making a concerted effort to improve your credit scores can yield results. By continuing to pay bills on time, keep credit card balances low and avoid applications for new credit, your scores have the potential to grow regardless of how they are calculated.

What Credit Score Simulators Can and Can't Do

Credit score simulators can:

Give you a general sense of whether a single action you take will have a positive or negative impact on your credit scores.
Estimate with reasonable accuracy the amount by which a given action will change your credit score.

Credit score simulators cannot:

Account for the credit score impact of multiple events that occur simultaneously or in close succession. The credit score impact of, say, taking out a new mortgage and putting a bedroom set on a credit card could affect credit scores more significantly than might be suggested by running each event through a simulator separately.
Fully anticipate and account for all the activity occurring across multiple credit accounts in a given month. This is why a simulated score should be taken as general guidance, not a precise forecast.

When Does It Make Sense to Use a Credit Score Simulator?

Situations in which a credit score simulator can help with sound decision making include the following:

When you're trying to choose which of several credit card balances to pay down first to achieve the fastest possible increase in your credit scores.
Before you submit a formal loan application, a simulator can give you an idea how much your credit scores might be affected by the new debt.
If you plan to take out a mortgage in the next year or two and know the credit score range you need to qualify, you can see how various actions you take today will help you achieve (or exceed) that target range—or move your score further away from it.

The Bottom Line

Credit score simulators can help you gain greater understanding of factors that affect credit scores and how your actions can influence them. Consulting a simulator to help think through a credit decision can be helpful. You can see your FICO^® Score 8 based on your Experian report for free, directly through Experian.

Note: Experian FICO^® Score Simulator image is shown as an example for educational purposes and may not reflect typical results.

Learn More About FICO Scores

What Is a FICO Score, and Why Is It Important?
Everything you want to know about your FICO Scores (aka credit scores).
How Do I Get My Real FICO Score?
You can get your FICO Score through banks, credit card issuers, online platforms and credit bureaus. But you want to know which FICO Score you get.
Can I Calculate My Credit Score?
Calculations behind credit scores are highly advanced and top secret, so you can’t work out your own score—but you can check your own score easily.

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

300 credit score 301 credit score 302 credit score 303 credit score 304 credit score 305 credit score 306 credit score 307 credit score 308 credit score 309 credit score 310 credit score 311 credit score 312 credit score 313 credit score 314 credit score 315 credit score 316 credit score 317 credit score 318 credit score 319 credit score 320 credit score 321 credit score 322 credit score 323 credit score 324 credit score 325 credit score 326 credit score 327 credit score 328 credit score 329 credit score 330 credit score 331 credit score 332 credit score 333 credit score 334 credit score 335 credit score 336 credit score 337 credit score 338 credit score 339 credit score 340 credit score 341 credit score 342 credit score 343 credit score 344 credit score 345 credit score 346 credit score 347 credit score 348 credit score 349 credit score 350 credit score 351 credit score 352 credit score 353 credit score 354 credit score 355 credit score 356 credit score 357 credit score 358 credit score 359 credit score 360 credit score 361 credit score 362 credit score 363 credit score 364 credit score 365 credit score 366 credit score 367 credit score 368 credit score 369 credit score 370 credit score 371 credit score 372 credit score 373 credit score 374 credit score 375 credit score 376 credit score 377 credit score 378 credit score 379 credit score 380 credit score 381 credit score 382 credit score 383 credit score 384 credit score 385 credit score 386 credit score 387 credit score 388 credit score 389 credit score 390 credit score 391 credit score 392 credit score 393 credit score 394 credit score 395 credit score 396 credit score 397 credit score 398 credit score 399 credit score 400 credit score 401 credit score 402 credit score 403 credit score 404 credit score 405 credit score 406 credit score 407 credit score 408 credit score 409 credit score 410 credit score 411 credit score 412 credit score 413 credit score 414 credit score 415 credit score 416 credit score 417 credit score 418 credit score 419 credit score 420 credit score 421 credit score 422 credit score 423 credit score 424 credit score 425 credit score 426 credit score 427 credit score 428 credit score 429 credit score 430 credit score 431 credit score 432 credit score 433 credit score 434 credit score 435 credit score 436 credit score 437 credit score 438 credit score 439 credit score 440 credit score 441 credit score 442 credit score 443 credit score 444 credit score 445 credit score 446 credit score 447 credit score 448 credit score 449 credit score 450 credit score 451 credit score 452 credit score 453 credit score 454 credit score 455 credit score 456 credit score 457 credit score 458 credit score 459 credit score 460 credit score 461 credit score 462 credit score 463 credit score 464 credit score 465 credit score 466 credit score 467 credit score 468 credit score 469 credit score 470 credit score 471 credit score 472 credit score 473 credit score 474 credit score 475 credit score 476 credit score 477 credit score 478 credit score 479 credit score 480 credit score 481 credit score 482 credit score 483 credit score 484 credit score 485 credit score 486 credit score 487 credit score 488 credit score 489 credit score 490 credit score 491 credit score 492 credit score 493 credit score 494 credit score 495 credit score 496 credit score 497 credit score 498 credit score 499 credit score 500 credit score 501 credit score 502 credit score 503 credit score 504 credit score 505 credit score 506 credit score 507 credit score 508 credit score 509 credit score 510 credit score 511 credit score 512 credit score 513 credit score 514 credit score 515 credit score 516 credit score 517 credit score 518 credit score 519 credit score 520 credit score 521 credit score 522 credit score 523 credit score 524 credit score 525 credit score 526 credit score 527 credit score 528 credit score 529 credit score 530 credit score 531 credit score 532 credit score 533 credit score 534 credit score 535 credit score 536 credit score 537 credit score 538 credit score 539 credit score 540 credit score 541 credit score 542 credit score 543 credit score 544 credit score 545 credit score 546 credit score 547 credit score 548 credit score 549 credit score 550 credit score 551 credit score 552 credit score 553 credit score 554 credit score 555 credit score 556 credit score 557 credit score 558 credit score 559 credit score 560 credit score 561 credit score 562 credit score 563 credit score 564 credit score 565 credit score 566 credit score 567 credit score 568 credit score 569 credit score 570 credit score 571 credit score 572 credit score 573 credit score 574 credit score 575 credit score 576 credit score 577 credit score 578 credit score 579 credit score

580 credit score 581 credit score 582 credit score 583 credit score 584 credit score 585 credit score 586 credit score 587 credit score 588 credit score 589 credit score 590 credit score 591 credit score 592 credit score 593 credit score 594 credit score 595 credit score 596 credit score 597 credit score 598 credit score 599 credit score 600 credit score 601 credit score 602 credit score 603 credit score 604 credit score 605 credit score 606 credit score 607 credit score 608 credit score 609 credit score 610 credit score 611 credit score 612 credit score 613 credit score 614 credit score 615 credit score 616 credit score 617 credit score 618 credit score 619 credit score 620 credit score 621 credit score 622 credit score 623 credit score 624 credit score 625 credit score 626 credit score 627 credit score 628 credit score 629 credit score 630 credit score 631 credit score 632 credit score 633 credit score 634 credit score 635 credit score 636 credit score 637 credit score 638 credit score 639 credit score 640 credit score 641 credit score 642 credit score 643 credit score 644 credit score 645 credit score 646 credit score 647 credit score 648 credit score 649 credit score 650 credit score 651 credit score 652 credit score 653 credit score 654 credit score 655 credit score 656 credit score 657 credit score 658 credit score 659 credit score 660 credit score 661 credit score 662 credit score 663 credit score 664 credit score 665 credit score 666 credit score 667 credit score 668 credit score 669 credit score

670 credit score 671 credit score 672 credit score 673 credit score 674 credit score 675 credit score 676 credit score 677 credit score 678 credit score 679 credit score 680 credit score 681 credit score 682 credit score 683 credit score 684 credit score 685 credit score 686 credit score 687 credit score 688 credit score 689 credit score 690 credit score 691 credit score 692 credit score 693 credit score 694 credit score 695 credit score 696 credit score 697 credit score 698 credit score 699 credit score 700 credit score 701 credit score 702 credit score 703 credit score 704 credit score 705 credit score 706 credit score 707 credit score 708 credit score 709 credit score 710 credit score 711 credit score 712 credit score 713 credit score 714 credit score 715 credit score 716 credit score 717 credit score 718 credit score 719 credit score 720 credit score 721 credit score 722 credit score 723 credit score 724 credit score 725 credit score 726 credit score 727 credit score 728 credit score 729 credit score 730 credit score 731 credit score 732 credit score 733 credit score 734 credit score 735 credit score 736 credit score 737 credit score 738 credit score 739 credit score

740 credit score 741 credit score 742 credit score 743 credit score 744 credit score 745 credit score 746 credit score 747 credit score 748 credit score 749 credit score 750 credit score 751 credit score 752 credit score 753 credit score 754 credit score 755 credit score 756 credit score 757 credit score 758 credit score 759 credit score 760 credit score 761 credit score 762 credit score 763 credit score 764 credit score 765 credit score 766 credit score 767 credit score 768 credit score 769 credit score 770 credit score 771 credit score 772 credit score 773 credit score 774 credit score 775 credit score 776 credit score 777 credit score 778 credit score 779 credit score 780 credit score 781 credit score 782 credit score 783 credit score 784 credit score 785 credit score 786 credit score 787 credit score 788 credit score 789 credit score 790 credit score 791 credit score 792 credit score 793 credit score 794 credit score 795 credit score 796 credit score 797 credit score 798 credit score 799 credit score

Resources

Credit Score

Credit Report

Fraud & Identity Theft

Improve Credit

Personal Finance

Calculators

How Does a Credit Score Simulator Work?

In this article:

How a Credit Score Simulator Works

How Your Credit Score Is Calculated

Why Can Your Credit Scores Differ?

What Credit Score Simulators Can and Can't Do

When Does It Make Sense to Use a Credit Score Simulator?

The Bottom Line

Learn More About FICO Scores

What Makes a Good Credit Score?

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

Resources

Latest Research

Latest Reviews

Credit support

Credit advice

Most popular

Credit reports

Credit scores

Improving credit

Establishing credit

Identity Theft support

Identity Theft Advice

Most popular

Identity theft and fraud

Cybersecurity

Privacy

Money advice

Most popular

Digital checking account

Save money on bills

Credit Card advice

Most popular

Balance transfer

Cash back

For bad credit

For fair credit

For students

APR

Rewards

New to credit

Loan advice

Most popular

Debt consolidation

Personal

Auto Insurance advice

Most popular

In this article:

How a Credit Score Simulator Works

How Your Credit Score Is Calculated

Why Can Your Credit Scores Differ?

What Credit Score Simulators Can and Can't Do

When Does It Make Sense to Use a Credit Score Simulator?

The Bottom Line

Learn More About FICO Scores

What Makes a Good Credit Score?

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

Resources

Latest Research

Latest Reviews