FICO vs. VantageScore: The Real Difference (and Why It Matters)
- There are two main types of consumer credit scores: FICO and VantageScore.
- Monitoring both credit scores gives you the clearest view of your credit health.
- Lenders more commonly gauge creditworthiness using FICO Scores, which require more extensive credit history.
- VantageScore is particularly helpful for scoring those new to credit since it pulls a wider range of data for consideration.
Ever check your credit score and wonder why you have multiple ratings instead of just one? You’re not alone. Most people actually have both a FICO credit score and a VantageScore — and the numbers don’t always match.
The difference between FICO and VantageScore matters most when you’re applying for a credit card or a loan, because lenders may use just one score to judge your creditworthiness. Understanding what each score means, and what goes into it, can help you better predict your chances of qualifying for financial products and make wiser financial moves.
What is a FICO Score?
FICO Scores have been a fixture in the credit industry since the early 1980s. The modern FICO Score, issued as a standardized, three-digit number, helps lenders quickly assess the likelihood that a customer will repay borrowed money. FICO Scores range from 300 to 850, with “good” credit scores starting at 670.
Your score is calculated based on the information in your credit report, which reflects financial activity compiled by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. There are several versions of FICO Scores, but FICO Score 8 is the most widely used one.
FICO evaluates five primary categories of financial activity, which affect your credit score:
- Your debt payment history (35%)
- The amount of debt you owe (30%)
- The length of your credit history (15%)
- The number of recent credit inquiries (10%)
- The different types of credit you hold (e.g., student loans, a mortgage or a car note) (10%)
Your debt payment history carries the most weight, so even a single late payment can have a noticeable impact on your score.
What is a VantageScore?
VantageScore is a credit scoring model introduced in 2006 as a joint initiative by the three major credit reporting agencies. Designed as an alternative to the FICO Score, VantageScore offers a consistent scoring approach across all three credit bureaus.
VantageScore differs from FICO by using additional forms of financial data to evaluate a borrower’s credit behavior for risk, like on-time rent and utility bill payments (as long as those payments are reported to credit bureaus). Some VantageScore models can calculate your credit score using as little as one month of financial history, making this tool more inclusive for consumers who have less experience with credit. In comparison, FICO requires at least six months of credit history to generate a credit score.
VantageScore initially used a scoring range of 501 to 999, but the more recent VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 models use a 300-to-850 scale. This makes them easier to compare with FICO Scores.
Key differences between FICO and VantageScore
Credit data requirements: FICO usually requires at least six months of credit history to issue a score. VantageScore needs just one month of credit history and will pull alternate financial data.
What they evaluate: VantageScore treats payment history more heavily, and may use utility or rent payments (especially in newer versions); FICO evaluates more traditional credit data, like loan and credit card payment activity.
Credit score range: Both FICO and VantageScore now score credit on a scale from 300 to 850, but earlier versions of VantageScore used a different system.
Scoring differences: VantageScore 4.0 tends to give slightly higher scores — about 14 points higher on average — to applicants seeking a mortgage, especially those applying for refinances or second-home mortgages, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute. (VantageScore has disputed the findings in this study.)
Which score do lenders use more often?
Many lenders still rely on FICO Scores, potentially due to the fact that FICO Scores have a longer history in the financial system. For example, for many years, government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which represent around 70% of the U.S. home mortgage market, required FICO Scores from borrowers seeking credit.
But as of July 2025, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) now allows lenders to use either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring models to evaluate potential mortgage candidates.
That means VantageScore may gain more popularity among lenders, starting with the mortgage market. VantageScore is also helpful for lenders who are trying to assess borrowers with limited credit history.
Why your FICO Score and VantageScore might differ
While the FICO and VantageScore models assess credit according to the same numerical range, they pull data from different sources and at varying times. Even if you check both scores on the same day, they can still vary based on how each entity weighs the information evaluated.
For example, FICO may interpret credit utilization differently from VantageScore and use different scoring formulas altogether. That’s why a 700 FICO Score might not mean the same thing as a 700 VantageScore.
Which credit score should you monitor?
When you’re applying for a mortgage or auto loan, your FICO Score should remain your main focus, since that’s what many lenders still use. But don’t ignore your VantageScore, especially if your credit history is thin — it might show you’re in better shape than FICO does.
Further, since VantageScore now includes rent and utility repayment data (as long as it’s reported by those companies) and is utilized by more and more lenders, monitoring both scores gives you the best chance to spot opportunities to improve your credit.
When establishing and building credit, maintaining consistent financial habits — making all loan and credit card payments on time and limiting the amount of debt you take on, for example — is more important than parsing the differences between FICO and VantageScore credit scores. If you’re making the right decisions with your money, both scores will positively reflect your financial responsibility.
LendingTree Spring is a simple way to stay on top of your financial health. This tool makes it easy to monitor your VantageScore for free, right from your phone. You’ll get regular score updates, personalized tips and insights into what’s helping or hurting your credit. By understanding your score, you can take smarter steps toward getting loans or credit cards.
Get debt consolidation loan offers from up to 5 lenders in minutes