>
Kovo Apply now

Soft vs hard credit checks: what each one costs you

One of these is free and invisible to lenders. The other is visible for two years and costs you a few points. Knowing which is which is the difference between comparing offers safely and paying for the privilege of looking.

SC Written by Sarah Chen, CFP® · Updated August 2026 · 8 min read

General guidance, not a product page. Where Kovo products are mentioned, 0% APR and no-credit-check refer to the Credit Builder. Partner loans are priced by the lender.

0points a soft inquiry costs you
<5typical points per hard inquiry
12 mohow long it affects your score
2 yrhow long it stays visible
The difference in one line

A soft pull is someone looking. A hard pull is you asking

Which bucket a check falls into is decided by why it happened — not by who ran it or how the button was labelled.

Checking your own score or reportThrough any app, your bank, or annualcreditreport.com

Soft

A pre-qualification or rate-check toolIncluding the one on this site

Soft

A prescreened offer arriving in the postA lender pulled a list; you never applied

Soft

An existing lender reviewing your accountRoutine periodic account review

Soft

An employer or landlord checkUsually soft, but worth asking

Soft

Formally applying for a credit cardYou submitted an application

Hard

Formally applying for a loanPersonal, auto, mortgage or student

Hard

Asking for a credit limit increaseSome issuers use a soft pull, some a hard one

Depends

A soft inquiry is visible only to you. A hard inquiry is visible to every lender who pulls your report for the next two years.

What it actually costs

A hard inquiry is smaller than almost everyone assumes

Inquiries sit in the “new credit” category, roughly 10% of a FICO score and the smallest of the five factors. The fear attached to them is out of proportion to the arithmetic.

New creditWhere inquiries live — the smallest factor
10%
Credit mixHaving both installment and revolving accounts
10%
Length of historyThe average age of your accounts
15%
UtilisationBalances measured against limits
30%
Payment historyWhether you pay on time — the largest factor by far
35%

One inquiry typically costs fewer than five points and fades within about twelve months. Three or more in six months starts to register as a pattern; five or more is commonly treated as a red flag. The problem is rarely one inquiry — it is several in a short span.

The rule people get wrong

Rate shopping is protected, but not for every product

This is the most misreported fact in the area, and getting it wrong is expensive.

Shopping for a mortgageAll inquiries in a 14–45 day window count as one

Grouped

Shopping for an auto loanSame window, same grouping

Grouped

Shopping for a student loanSame window, same grouping

Grouped

Applying for multiple credit cardsNo grouping at all — every application counts

Not grouped

Applying with multiple personal loan lendersNo grouping — every application counts

Not grouped

Newer FICO models use a 45-day window and older ones 14 days, and you cannot know which a lender will use. Keeping all shopping for one product inside 14 days is the safe assumption. FICO also ignores rate-shopping inquiries less than 30 days old, so a score checked mid-shop will not have moved yet.

Doing this without damage

How to compare offers without collecting inquiries

The practical version, for someone who needs credit and does not want to pay for looking.

Five rules that cover almost every case

  1. Check your own score as often as you like. It is a soft pull and costs nothing, ever.
  2. Use pre-qualification before applying. Those tools use soft pulls and show you roughly where you stand. The rate check on this site works that way.
  3. Compress mortgage and auto shopping into 14 days. That keeps you inside every scoring model’s window.
  4. Do not spread card or personal loan applications around. They are never grouped, so each is a separate hit. Pick the one you most want and apply there.
  5. If your file is thin, be more careful, not less. With few accounts one inquiry is a larger share of what a lender sees. Building history first reduces what an inquiry costs you later.
Common questions

Soft and hard checks — the questions we get asked

No. Checking your own report or score is a soft inquiry and has no effect at all. You can do it as often as you like.
Usually fewer than five points, and less if your file is otherwise healthy. The effect fades over about twelve months even though the inquiry stays visible for two years.
For mortgages, auto loans and student loans, yes: inquiries inside a 14 to 45 day window are grouped into one. Credit cards and personal loans get no such grouping, so every application counts separately.
Only if it was unauthorised. Dispute it with the bureau and the lender, and if you did not apply it must be removed. An inquiry you did authorise stays for its full two years.
Checking here is a soft pull

See your options without a mark on your file

Our rate check uses a soft inquiry, so looking costs you nothing. A hard pull only happens if you choose to proceed with a lender.

See my offers
$0 to apply · No impact on your score · Approval subject to verification