How do you check your credit score for free?

Check your credit score for free through your credit card issuer's online portal (most major issuers provide free FICO or VantageScore), through AnnualCreditReport.com for full credit reports, or through free monitoring services like Credit Karma (VantageScore) or Experian Free (FICO Score 8).

Your credit card issuer (easiest first step)

Many major credit card issuers now provide free FICO scores as part of their online banking portal or mobile app — at no cost to cardholders, with no credit impact (soft inquiry only). Check your issuer's website for a 'FICO Score' or 'Credit Score' tab. Which score you see depends on the issuer: some use FICO Score 8, some use the newer FICO Score 9, and some show scores based on a single bureau report (usually Experian or TransUnion).

AnnualCreditReport.com — free full credit reports

AnnualCreditReport.com is the only federally authorized source for free credit reports from all three major bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Note: the reports show your full credit history (accounts, payment history, inquiries, public records) but do NOT include your credit score number. Pull all three reports and review them for accuracy. Under current rules (permanent extension from the pandemic-era policy), you can access free reports weekly from each bureau.

Free monitoring services — credit score number

For the actual score number on an ongoing basis, several free services provide regular updates:

Credit Karma — free VantageScore 3.0 from TransUnion and Equifax, updated weekly. Not a FICO score, but tracks trends accurately.
Experian Free — free FICO Score 8 based on your Experian credit file, updated monthly. This is an actual FICO score, the model most widely used in lending.
Credit Sesame — free VantageScore from TransUnion, monthly updates.
Discover Credit Scorecard — free FICO Score 8 from Experian, even for non-Discover customers.

FICO vs. VantageScore — does it matter?

Both FICO and VantageScore use a 300–850 range and the same general factors (payment history, utilization, history length, etc.). The key practical difference: over 90% of U.S. lenders use FICO scores in credit decisions, per myFICO. VantageScore is useful for tracking trends (and is free on many platforms), but your actual FICO score may differ — sometimes by 20–40 points. Before a major loan application, check your FICO score specifically from Experian Free, your card issuer, or myFICO.com.

Does checking your credit score hurt it?

No. Checking your own credit score — through any of the free services above, through AnnualCreditReport.com, or by any lender pre-qualifying you with a soft inquiry — does NOT affect your score. Only hard inquiries (formal credit applications you authorize) impact your score. The CFPB explains this distinction clearly: soft inquiries and self-checks have zero score impact.

Sources

FICO scores are used by over 90% of U.S. lenders in credit decisions — making FICO the most relevant score to check before a major loan application. — myFICO
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only federally authorized source for free credit reports — mandated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Reports are available weekly (permanently extended from pandemic-era policy). — AnnualCreditReport.com
The CFPB confirms that checking your own credit report or score (soft inquiry) has no effect on your credit score — only hard inquiries from formal credit applications count. — CFPB — Credit Reports and Scores
Experian provides a free FICO Score 8 (the most widely used FICO model) at no cost through Experian Free — updated monthly and accessible without a paid subscription. — Experian

Key takeaways

Check your credit card issuer's portal first — most major issuers provide free FICO scores in their app.
AnnualCreditReport.com gives free full credit reports (no score number) from all three bureaus — pull these to check for errors.
Experian Free and Discover Credit Scorecard provide free actual FICO scores; Credit Karma is free VantageScore (good for trends, not lender-exact).
Checking your own credit never hurts your score — only hard inquiries from loan applications do.
Before a major application, get your actual FICO score — not just VantageScore — since 90%+ of lenders use FICO.