Credit Score Guide Canada 2025 — Everything You Need to Know

Your credit score affects your mortgage rate, car loan, rental applications, and even some jobs. Here's exactly how Canadian credit scores work and what you can do to improve yours.

Canadian Credit Score Ranges

Score Range	Rating	What It Means
800–900	Exceptional	Best rates, instant approval on most products
740–799	Very Good	Above-average rates, strong approval likelihood
670–739	Good	Standard rates, most mainstream lenders approve
580–669	Fair	Higher rates, some restrictions, subprime lenders
300–579	Poor	Difficulty getting approved; secured products only

Canada uses the same 300–900 scale as the US FICO model. Most lenders consider 660+ "acceptable" and 720+ "good." The national average credit score in Canada is approximately 660–680.

The Five Factors That Make Up Your Credit Score

• Payment history (35%): The single biggest factor. Every on-time payment helps; every missed payment hurts. Even one 30-day late payment can drop your score 50–100 points.
• Credit utilization (30%): How much of your available credit you're using. Keeping utilization below 30% is standard advice; below 10% is ideal. A $1,000 balance on a $5,000 limit = 20% utilization.
• Length of credit history (15%): Older accounts help. Closing your oldest credit card hurts your score even if you pay everything else perfectly.
• Credit mix (10%): Having both revolving credit (credit cards) and installment credit (car loan, mortgage) improves scores marginally.
• New inquiries (10%): Hard inquiries from credit applications stay on your report for 2 years and temporarily lower your score. Soft inquiries (checking your own score, pre-approvals) are invisible to lenders.

Equifax vs. TransUnion — Two Different Scores

Canada has two major credit bureaus: Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. Each maintains a separate credit file on you, and each may have slightly different information depending on which creditors report to which bureau. Some lenders report to both; some report to only one.

This means your Equifax score and your TransUnion score may differ by 10–40 points. When applying for a mortgage, most lenders pull both. Monitor both bureaus regularly.

How to Check Your Credit Score for Free

• Borrowell: Free weekly Equifax score. Canada's most popular free credit monitoring app.
• Credit Karma Canada: Free TransUnion score, updated regularly.
• Equifax Canada: Free annual credit report (full file) directly from Equifax; score available for a fee or through Borrowell.
• TransUnion Canada: Free annual credit report directly; score through Credit Karma.
• Your bank: Many Canadian banks now show your credit score for free within their app (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC).

What Hurts Your Credit Score Most

• Missing payments — even one 30-day late payment has significant impact
• Maxing out credit cards (high utilization)
• Applying for multiple credit products in a short period
• Accounts sent to collections
• Consumer proposal or bankruptcy filings
• Closing old accounts (reduces average age of credit history)

What Helps Your Credit Score Most

• Paying every bill on time, every month — set up autopay for minimums at minimum
• Keeping credit card balances below 30% of your limit
• Not closing old credit card accounts (unless they carry fees)
• Allowing credit history to age
• Diversifying between credit cards and installment loans over time

Credit Score and Banking — The KOHO Connection

Many Canadians damage their scores through overdraft fees and missed payments triggered by cash flow problems. Switching to a prepaid account that can't overdraft eliminates NSF fees, prevents missed payments caused by insufficient funds, and removes the fee charges that drain money away from debt repayment. KOHO also offers a credit-building feature (KOHO Credit Building) that reports on-time payments to Equifax for a small monthly fee — one of the most accessible ways to build credit history in Canada.