Yes, there are many different types of credit scores and each uses a different formula in calculating its value. If you apply for a car loan, you’ll get one type of score. If you apply for a home loan, you’ll receive another type of score. If you get free credit scores with your credit monitoring service, you’ll receive yet another type of score. This explains why you might see one score when you obtain it from an online source, but then see another one when you go to apply for a car loan at a local dealership.
 
Why are there so many different score models? That can be a very long answer. However, the short answer is: each score model caters to a specific industry and, therefore, uses a different formula.
 
What is a FICO score? “FICO” stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, which is the company that created this score model. Even within the FICO brand of scores, there are different models (56 as of March 2015), each catering to a specific industry. FICO scores are heard about the most because they are the most widely used by lenders and banks. When you apply for a home loan, the score you see on the credit report will likely be a FICO score and it will be the version that caters to the mortgage industry. Of all the score models that exist, the mortgage version of the FICO score is, arguably, the most significant.