Unweighted GPA
Every course uses the same scale, topping out at 4.0. It is simple, easy to compare and the number many colleges start from. If none of your courses are Honors, AP or dual enrollment, your weighted and unweighted GPA are the same.
Weighted GPA
Harder courses earn a bonus on passing grades. Common conventions are +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP, IB and dual enrollment, so an A in an AP course counts as 5.0 and a B in an Honors course as 3.5. There is no single standard: schools differ, and you can set your own bonuses in TranscriptKit. Failing grades get no bonus.
A quick example
Take four one-credit courses: an A in Honors English (4.0, weighted 4.5), a B in AP U.S. History (3.0, weighted 4.0), a B in Algebra 2 and a C in Chemistry (3.0 and 2.0 either way). The unweighted GPA is 12.0 ÷ 4 = 3.00. The weighted GPA is 13.5 ÷ 4 = 3.38 (3.375, rounded up). Same grades, two honest numbers, and the transcript says which is which.
Should a homeschool transcript show both?
Showing both is the transparent choice: the unweighted GPA for comparison, the weighted GPA to reflect course rigor, and a line explaining your weighting. Many colleges recalculate GPAs using their own method, and some ignore weighting entirely, so the course list and levels matter more than the extra decimal points.
Labeling Honors and AP courses honestly
Mark a course Honors only when the work goes clearly beyond a standard course (more reading, more writing, more depth) and describe how in your course descriptions. "AP" is a College Board program: the College Board asks that only courses authorized through its AP Course Audit be labeled AP on a transcript. If your course was not audited, you can label it Honors and report the AP exam score separately.
Dual enrollment
College courses taken in high school are often weighted like AP (+1.0). The college issues its own transcript for them too. See dual enrollment on a homeschool transcript.