Five things build a credit score, and payment history is the largest of them.

Equifax Canada names five factors and roughly how much each weighs: payment history about 35%, how much of your limits you use about 30%, length of credit history about 15%, credit mix about 10%, and inquiries about 10%. The exact formula is not published, so read these as a guide.

One fixed formula, the same everywhere, that someone could write down for you.

There is no single formula you can look up. But what goes into a score is published, and so is a rough idea of how much each part counts.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says credit bureaus and lenders use different formulas to calculate your score, and do not share the exact details. It also says the score you see may be different from the score a lender sees, because a lender may give more weight to certain information.

Equifax Canada says each credit bureau has multiple scoring algorithms, and that lenders typically request only one of them when making decisions. So there is not one score. There are many, built from the same kind of information.

What FCAC does publish is the list of common factors: how long you have had credit, the types of credit you use, whether you carry a balance or miss payments, how much you owe, how close you are to your limit, and how often you apply for new credit.

Equifax Canada groups those factors into five, and gives what it calls a general breakdown of how much the models consider each one.

Read these as a guide, not as the formula for your own score. Equifax marks each figure as approximate, and says there are many different scoring models, with some differences in the calculations. TransUnion Canada names the same five kinds of factor in words and gives no percentages.

FCAC calls your payment history the most important part of your credit score. On Equifax’s breakdown it is about 35%, a little over a third.

That makes it the largest single factor. It does not make it larger than the other four together, which are about 65% between them. The video on this page opens by calling payment history the one factor that matters more than everything else combined. Its own figure, 35%, says otherwise, and so does Equifax’s. The video’s advice to pay on time every time still holds.

A late payment lasts. FCAC says information about late or unpaid credit cards and loans can stay on your report for up to six years. It also says to make at least the minimum payment if you cannot pay the full amount.

FCAC calls this your credit utilization rate: how much credit you use compared to your credit limit. It suggests using less than 30% of your total credit limit. Its own example is a $5,000 limit with $1,000 normally used, which is 20%.

On Equifax’s breakdown this is about 30%. Together with payment history, that is about 65% of the weight in two things: paying on time and keeping balances low. That is the video’s closing point, and it holds, as long as the figures are read as approximate.

The video also says your utilization is typically reported on your statement date, and to pay your balance down before that date. The sources this page checked do not support that. TransUnion says lenders report to the credit bureaus at different times during the month, and Equifax says the same. Neither ties the reported balance to your statement date. To know when your balance is reported, ask your card issuer. How the reported balance works is set out in the Credit Cards path.

Credit history. FCAC says lenders want to see a long and stable credit history, and that closing an older account can hurt your score, because you lose older credit history and reduce your available credit. It suggests keeping an old account open if it has no annual fee, is easy to manage, and you can use it now and then.

Credit mix. FCAC says you may have a lower score if you only have one type of credit product, and that lenders want to see you can manage more than one type. It also says to only borrow money you are able to pay back. At about 10% on Equifax’s breakdown, this is not a reason to take a loan you do not need, which is also the video’s view.

Inquiries. When a lender checks your credit report, the bureau records it. FCAC says too many inquiries close together may make lenders think you urgently need credit or are spending beyond your means. When you shop for a car loan or a mortgage, FCAC says quotes from different lenders within two weeks are treated as one inquiry. It says these inquiries stay on your report for 3 years with Equifax and 6 years with TransUnion. The video says three years in Canada, which matches the Equifax figure only.

What is a good credit score in Canada

FCAC says scores usually range from 300 to 900, and a higher score is better. Equifax Canada says that although scoring models vary, scores from 660 to 724 are generally considered good, 725 to 759 very good, and 760 and up excellent. It describes scores generally below 560 as the poor range.

Does checking my own score lower it

No. FCAC says checking your own credit report or score does not affect your credit score. Requesting your own report is what FCAC calls a soft inquiry, which only appears on the version of the report you can see. A hard inquiry, such as a credit card or mortgage application, does affect it.

Why is my score different in two places

Equifax says not every lender reports to both credit bureaus, and that lenders may report at different times. Each bureau also has more than one scoring model. So two apps can show two numbers and both be working correctly. The video on this page also says which bureau some free score services show. Check that on the provider’s own page before you rely on it. Why yours looks different everywhere covers the two bureaus in full.

Every claim on this page was checked against these documents on 25 September 2026.

• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Credit report and score basics · Improving your credit score · How long information stays on your credit report
• Equifax Canada: How are credit scores calculated? · What is a good credit score? · Why do I have different credit scores?
• TransUnion Canada: What affects my credit score? · What is a credit report

Watch · 9:51

How Credit Scores ACTUALLY Work in Canada | Complete Breakdown. Published 22 April 2026. Loads on click. Nothing is requested from YouTube until you ask.

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