Credit Score Basics > What it means if your credit score band is "Good"

What it means if your credit score band is "Good"

Wollit Team2 minute read · Updated 2nd July 2024

In the UK, a “Good" credit score can be a bit confusing: it’s the second best one you can get on the Experian and TransUnion scale, but only an average one for Equifax. Here’s what this means.

What does a “Good” credit score mean?

A "Good" credit score in the UK tells lenders that you are a responsible borrower. To get your credit score into this range you need a consistent payment history, low credit balances, and no defaults or very occasional missed payments. These habits are essential for maintaining a healthy credit profile and are likely to be viewed favourably by lenders.

However, it can be confusing to interpret it correctly because of how different credit reference agencies rank it:

For Experian and TransUnion, “Good” is the second best credit score.
For Equifax, “Good” is the third best credit score – the one in the middle.

Specifically, a "Good" credit score in the UK falls within these ranges:

Experian: 881 - 960 (out of 999);
TransUnion: 604–627 (out of 710);
Equifax: 531 to 670 (out of 1,000).

Because of this, you might want to think of the “Very Good” credit score band on the Equifax scale as simply “Good”, and think of their “Good” credit score band as “Fair”, which is what TransUnion and Experian use for the middle-of-the-way band.

So if you’re checking your Experian score or your TransUnion one, a “Good” credit score is the second best one you can get, and still a very strong indication to lenders that you are a responsible borrower.

What are the benefits of a good credit score?

Having a "Good" credit score (based on the Experian or TransUnion scale) comes with several benefits:

With a "Good" credit score, lenders view you as a lower-risk borrower, making it more likely that you'll be approved for loans, credit cards, mortgages, and other forms of credit.
You may be offered lower interest rates compared to those with lower credit scores. This can save you a significant amount of money over the life of a loan, mortgage, or credit card.
Lenders may be willing to extend higher credit limits to you, which can improve your credit utilisation ratio and further boost your credit score.
A "Good" credit score can make you a more attractive tenant to landlords and letting agencies, making it easier to rent a home.
Some insurance providers use credit scores to determine rates. A higher credit score can lead to lower premiums for car, home, or life insurance.

In other words, even if it's not the highest Experian or TransUnion credit score band, a "Good" credit score puts you in a strong financial position and opens up more opportunities when it comes to borrowing money, renting a home, or getting better insurance rates.

However, if you’re looking at your Equifax credit score, “Good” is simply average.

You might get approved for most deals, but you will not get the best terms. Your interest rates will be higher, and this can add to quite a bit, especially for large loans. For example, a small jump of 1% in APR for a fairly average £500,000 mortgage taken for 30 years can add up to almost £90,000 over the entire life of the mortgage. That’s a huge amount to pay simply to compensate the lender for just a bit of additional risk.

Even for the Experian and TransUnion “Good” band the difference can be significant. In the same example, it would add up to almost £50,000, based on a conservative 0.5% difference in APR. That’s still a big amount to pay simply for not having the very best credit score.

This is why it’s so important to continue working on your credit score and to not let labels like “Good” or “Very Good” confuse you.

The good news is that now there are many apps that can help you build and improve credit. One such app is Wollit.

Wollit is available on both iOS and Android, and it reports your monthly subscription as loan repayment to all three main credit reference agencies, helping you maintain and even improve your credit history, which is the main factor that matters for your credit score.

Eventually, you should be able move into the next credit score band and save hundreds of thousands of pounds in interest.