What Is a Good Credit Score in Canada? (2026): Equifax's Number
Equifax Canada publishes bands. TransUnion Canada publishes none and says the lender decides. Every tidy five-colour chart you've seen is one company's cutoffs, reprinted without saying so.
CreditCardGuru Editorial Team
Rewards & Cards Research · July 9, 2026 · 8 min read
There is no "Canadian credit score range." There is Equifax's, and almost everyone prints it without saying whose it is.
Equifax Canada publishes bands. TransUnion Canada publishes none and says so explicitly. The federal regulator publishes only the outer limits. So the tidy five-colour chart you have seen on a dozen bank and comparison sites is one private company's cutoffs, reprinted.
That matters, because the number you are looking at came from one of those companies and the band you are being judged against may have come from the other.
What counts as a good credit score in Canada?
By Equifax Canada's published bands, 660 and up. That is Equifax's number, not a national standard.
Equifax states that scores from 660 to 724 are considered good, 725 to 759 very good, and 760 and up excellent. It describes those at 660 and above as "acceptable or lower-risk borrowers," and puts the poor range generally below 560. Checked September 2026.
Equifax also says something the reprinted charts leave out: there is "no 'magic number' to reach when it comes to receiving better loan rates and terms." The company that publishes the bands is telling you not to treat them as thresholds.
The ranges, and who actually publishes them
Three authoritative Canadian sources. Only one gives you numbers.
| Source | Publishes a range? | What it actually says |
|---|---|---|
| Equifax Canada | Yes | 300–900 overall. Good 660–724, very good 725–759, excellent 760+, poor generally below 560 |
| TransUnion Canada | No | "Each lender decides what credit score range it considers to be a good credit risk or a poor credit risk" |
| FCAC (federal) | Outer limits only | Scores usually range from 300 to 900; a higher score is better. No bands |
Two of those three decline to draw a line, and they are the two with the least commercial interest in you having a number to chase.
So when a bank page or a comparison site shows you a five-band chart, ask one question: whose bands are these? If the page does not say, it is almost certainly Equifax's, unattributed. And if a page credits its bands to TransUnion, treat that carefully — TransUnion's own consumer FAQ declines to publish any.
Why TransUnion Canada refuses to publish a range
It is a position, not an oversight, and it is arguably the more honest one.
Asked "what is a good score to get?", TransUnion Canada's answer is that several types of credit score exist, that higher is generally better, and that "the lender is the best source to explain what your credit score means in relation to the final credit decision. After all, they determine the criteria used to extend credit."
It goes further in the same FAQ: "there are some lenders that do use the TransUnion score but most credit lenders use their own scoring tools to make a credit decision."
Read that twice. The bureau is telling you that the score you can see is frequently not the score you are judged on.
Why two free scores disagree
A gap between two free score apps is normal, not an error.
Three things differ at once. The two bureaus hold different files under different retention rules. They use different scoring models. And they refresh on different dates.
FCAC is direct about the opacity: credit bureaus and lenders "use different formulas to calculate your score, but they don't share the exact details." It also notes the score you see may differ from the score a lender sees, because a lender may weight information its own way.
So comparing two apps' numbers tells you very little. Comparing the two files tells you a lot — see how to get both reports free.
About the "average Canadian credit score"
Several different averages circulate and they disagree by a wide margin. We are not going to repeat a figure we cannot source.
The disagreement is not a mistake so much as a category error. Some quoted averages describe a lender-side model that consumers cannot see. Others describe a consumer-visible score from one bureau's app, across that app's users rather than the country. Different models, different populations, different years — and the figures are rarely dated.
One thing worth clearing up: the higher figures are not evidence of a different scale. Scores sold in Canada run to 900, not 850. The gap is about which model and which people, not about arithmetic.
Practically, the average is not a useful target anyway. Neither bureau publishes one, and no lender decides anything by comparing you to a national mean.
The only threshold that matters is your lender's
No Canadian issuer publishes a minimum credit score, and we are not going to invent one.
This is the part the band charts obscure. A band is a label a bureau applies to a number. An approval is a decision a lender makes using its own model, its own risk appetite, and information that is not on your credit file at all — income, existing relationship, what you applied for.
TransUnion says as much: most lenders use their own scoring tools. Equifax says your score "is only one of several pieces of information an organization will typically use."
Which means a page telling you that you need a specific number for a specific card is telling you something nobody has published. If you want to know what a lender requires, the only reliable route is to ask that lender.
What actually moves the number
Payment history and how much of your limit you use are the two that matter most and move fastest.
Equifax's own list is short: pay on time every time, keep your balance well below the limit, apply for credit sparingly, and check your reports.
The detail lives elsewhere: how to improve your score, and when each action shows up, and why the balance that gets reported is not the one you think.
If you have no credit file at all
A missing score and a low score are different problems. If nothing has ever been reported about you, there is nothing to band — see building credit from scratch.
Equifax Canada's bands are quoted from its "What is a Good Credit Score in Canada?" education page. TransUnion Canada's wording is from its customer support FAQ. The 300–900 range and the statement about undisclosed formulas are from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada at canada.ca. All checked September 2026. This page carries no affiliate or referral links, and we have no relationship with any credit bureau or credit-monitoring service.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good credit score in Canada?
By Equifax Canada's published bands, 660 and above — good from 660 to 724, very good from 725 to 759, excellent at 760 and up, checked September 2026. That is Equifax's scale. TransUnion Canada publishes no bands at all, and the federal regulator publishes only the 300–900 range.
Is 700 a good credit score in Canada?
On Equifax Canada's scale, 700 sits in the "good" band of 660 to 724. Whether it gets you a particular product is a separate question, because lenders set their own criteria and most use their own scoring models rather than the score you can see.
Is 650 a bad credit score in Canada?
It falls just below Equifax Canada's "good" floor of 660, and well above the poor range it puts generally below 560. Being near a boundary matters more than the number itself, since it is at boundaries that lender criteria start to diverge.
Does TransUnion Canada publish a credit score range?
No. Its consumer FAQ says each lender decides what range it considers a good or poor credit risk, and that the lender is the best source for what your score means. If you see a band table credited to TransUnion, check it — TransUnion's own pages do not publish one.
What is the highest credit score in Canada?
Scores generally run to 900, per both Equifax Canada and FCAC. Reaching the top is not a useful goal — Equifax itself says there is no "magic number" for better loan rates and terms, and the gains flatten well below the ceiling.
Why is my score different in two apps?
Because they usually draw on different bureaus, which hold different files, and apply different scoring models that refresh on different dates. FCAC notes bureaus and lenders do not disclose their formulas. A gap between two free scores is expected rather than a sign of an error.
What credit score do I need for a credit card in Canada?
No Canadian issuer publishes a minimum, so any specific number you read is someone's guess. TransUnion notes most lenders use their own scoring tools, and Equifax says your score is only one of several things assessed. Ask the issuer directly.
Do banks use the same score I see?
Often not. TransUnion Canada states that while some lenders use its score, most use their own scoring tools. FCAC adds that the score you see may differ from the one a lender sees, because lenders weight information their own way.
How often does my credit score change?
It is recalculated from your file, and your file changes when lenders report — FCAC says bureaus update credit reports at least once a month. So monthly is the practical rhythm, though the exact day depends on each lender's own cycle.
Does checking my own score lower it?
No. Equifax Canada states plainly that checking your own credit report or credit score won't affect your scores, and FCAC classes your own request as a soft inquiry. Check as often as you like.