Direct Answer
Credit Karma uses VantageScore 3.0, which weighs factors differently than FICO. VantageScore is more lenient on collections, weighs utilization slightly less, and reacts faster to recent activity. Lenders use FICO models, which are stricter. The two scores can legitimately differ by 20–80 points. Here at Credisure Fix, we work on the bureau data, which improves both scores in parallel.