FICO score vs. credit scores: What are the differences?

Why credit scores matter? 

Credit scores shape some of the most important financial decisions in everyday life. Many lenders use them to determine whether you’ll qualify for credit products like mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, or other installment loans, and the score often dictates the interest rate you’re offered. 

For example, a borrower with a FICO score above 740 might secure a 30-year mortgage at around 6.6%, while someone closer to 620 could face rates near 7.9% — a difference that can add more than $100,000 in interest over the life of the loan. The same pattern extends to insurance: Drivers with poor credit pay nearly double what those with excellent credit pay for auto coverage, and homeowners with low scores can see premiums more than 70% higher than those with good credit.

Beyond borrowing and insurance, credit scores influence whether a landlord approves a rental application, how much of a deposit a utility company requires, and, in some cases, whether an employer extends an offer for a role involving financial responsibility. Because these numbers affect access, cost, and trust across so many areas, maintaining a good credit score is central to long-term financial health. If you’re just starting out, it’s worth understanding what a good credit score looks like and what credit score most people begin with.

What is a credit score? 

A credit score is a three-digit number that reflects how likely you are to repay borrowed money on time. It’s calculated using information in your credit reports, which are maintained by the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Because each bureau collects slightly different data and because multiple credit scoring models are in use, you don’t have just one score. Instead, you may have dozens, depending on the model and bureau involved.

It’s also worth distinguishing between a credit score and a credit rating. A credit score is precise, giving you a number like 715. A credit rating is broader, grouping consumers into categories such as “prime” or “subprime.” Both summarize your credit history, but the score provides a more exact snapshot.

Understanding that one person can have multiple different credit scores explains why the number you get from one source doesn’t always match what a lender sees. To see how these numbers are created in the first place, we need to look at the factors that go into calculating a credit score.

How are credit scores calculated?

Every credit score is built from the same raw material — the information in your credit reports. Scoring models apply different formulas, but they generally focus on the same set of factors:

• Payment history. The record of whether you’ve paid bills on time. Even a single late payment can hurt, while a long record of punctual payments strengthens your score.
• Amounts owed. The total debt you carry across credit cards, loans, and other accounts. Higher balances often signal higher risk.
• Credit utilization ratio. A measure of how much of your available credit you’re using at a given time. Keeping this ratio below 30% — and ideally in the single digits — shows responsible use of credit.
• Length of credit history. How long you’ve had credit accounts, and the average age of those accounts. A longer history usually improves stability in a score.
• New credit. Recently opened accounts and credit inquiries. Applying for many new lines of credit in a short period can suggest financial stress.
• Credit mix. The variety of credit types you manage, such as credit cards, auto loans, student loans, or mortgages. A healthy mix can signal that you handle different obligations well.

Some models also consider additional factors, such as recent activity or how often accounts carry balances. While each scoring system weighs these elements differently, the same categories appear again and again.

To see how these factors interact, imagine two people: One has a decade of spotless payment history but regularly uses 80% of their available credit. The other has a shorter history of only three years but keeps balances below 10%. The second person may end up with the higher score because a low credit utilization ratio can outweigh a shorter record.

Understanding these shared building blocks sets the stage for looking at the most widely recognized model — the FICO score, which assigns specific weightings to each factor.

What is a FICO score? 

The FICO score is one of the most popular credit scoring models. Created by the Fair Isaac Corporation in 1989, it was designed to give banks a consistent, objective way to measure how likely a borrower is to repay debt. Over time, it became the industry standard. Today, FICO scores are used in the vast majority of mortgage, auto, and credit card decisions in the United States.

Like other scores, a FICO score is built from information in your credit report, but the model’s formulas are proprietary and updated periodically. That’s why you may encounter different FICO score versions — for example, FICO 8, FICO 9, or FICO 10 — depending on which lender or bureau is providing the score. In addition, lenders sometimes use industry-specific FICO models, such as FICO Auto Score or FICO Bankcard Score, which place extra weight on the kinds of credit most relevant to that loan. Because the three credit bureaus each maintain their own data, you’ll often have slightly different FICO scores from each one at the same time.

What sets FICO apart from other credit scores is its reach. When a bank, credit card issuer, or auto lender makes a decision, they’re very likely to look at one of these scores. To understand why, it helps to see exactly how FICO calculates its ratings.

How are FICO scores calculated?

FICO scores turn the details of your credit report into a single number between 300 and 850. Unlike other credit scores,  this model’s formula is publicly known in broad strokes, with each factor assigned a specific weight:

• Payment history (35%). Your track record of paying bills on time. Late or missed payments weigh heavily, while consistent on-time payments are the strongest signal you can send.
• Amounts owed (30%). The total balance across your accounts. High debts — especially if you’re close to maxing out credit lines — reduce your score.
• Length of credit history (15%). How long you’ve managed credit. Both the age of your oldest account and the average age of all accounts matter.
• New credit (10%). Recently opened accounts and credit inquiries. Too many in a short span can suggest riskier behavior.
• Credit mix (10%). The variety of your accounts, such as credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, or other installment loans. A balanced mix signals you can handle different obligations.

The result is a score that lenders can quickly interpret based on these ranges:

• 300-579 — Poor
• 580-669 — Fair
• 670-739 — Good
• 740-799 — Very good
• 800-850 — Exceptional

A good FICO score generally begins at 670, though the higher your score, the better your chances of approval and the lower your likely interest rate. Remember that because each of the three credit bureaus holds slightly different data, you may see three different FICO scores at the same time. And depending on the lender, you might encounter a specific FICO score version — for example, FICO 8 or FICO 9 — or an industry-specific score such as the FICO Auto Score.

Understanding how these weightings work makes it easier to see why FICO often differs from other credit scores — and why it remains the benchmark most lenders trust.

Fico score vs. credit scores

Every FICO score is a credit score, but not every credit score is a FICO. That distinction is easy to miss, and it’s the source of much of the confusion people face when they check their numbers. In practice, each credit score is generated by a particular model using data from one of the three credit bureaus.

The FICO score is just one type of credit score, though it is the most widely used in lending decisions. Other credit scoring models, such as VantageScore or proprietary formulas created by Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, can turn the same credit report into different results. This explains why the score you see through one service may not match what a bank or credit card issuer uses.

Understanding the FICO score vs. credit score difference helps set realistic expectations. Multiple models exist, they don’t always agree, and they’re not interchangeable. In the sections that follow, we’ll look at how FICO compares directly with these other credit scoring models, starting with VantageScore.

FICO score vs. VantageScore 

After FICO, the most widely used credit scoring model is VantageScore, developed by the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Like FICO, it produces a number between 300 and 850, based on the information in your credit reports.

What the VantageScore model considers:

• Payment history. Whether you’ve paid your accounts on time or missed payments.
• Credit utilization and balances. How much of your available credit you’re using, and how much debt you carry overall.
• Length and depth of credit history. The age of your oldest account and the overall profile of your credit history.
• New credit. Recently opened accounts and credit inquiries.
• Credit mix. The variety of credit accounts, such as credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, or other installment loans.

The result is a score that lenders can quickly interpret:

• 300-499 — Very poor
• 500-600 — Poor
• 601-660 — Fair
• 661-780 — Good
• 781-850 — Excellent

The similarities between VantageScore and FICO are clear: Both are scoring models built from the same credit reports and use the same 300-850 scale. But they have some important differences. FICO usually requires about six months of activity to generate a score, while VantageScore can produce one with as little as a month of history, making it more accessible to people with limited credit files. The formulas also weigh factors differently, so your VantageScore vs. FICO score results may not align exactly.

FICO score vs. Experian's PLUS score

Experian is one of the three major credit bureaus in the US, responsible for collecting and maintaining credit information on millions of consumers. The bureau compiles credit histories into detailed reports, which are then used by scoring models such as FICO and VantageScore.

Until a few years ago, Experian also marketed a so-called “PLUS Score” to consumers as an educational / marketing tool. However, that score is now obsolete and no longer actively offered by Experian.

Today, Experian’s public offerings focus on real credit scores and business scoring models, rather than a consumer “PLUS Score.” For business credit, Experian now uses Intelliscore Plus V3, which predicts the likelihood of serious delinquency over a 12-month horizon and has a score range of 300–850.

FICO score vs. TransUnion's credit score

TransUnion is another of the three nationwide credit bureaus, and like Experian, it goes beyond maintaining consumer files by offering its own proprietary scoring system. These TransUnion credit scores are widely distributed through partnerships with banks, credit card issuers, and personal finance apps. For many consumers, the first “free credit score” they ever see comes from TransUnion, which gives the impression that this number is the same one lenders rely on.

The overlap with FICO is obvious: Both scores are based on the same raw data in your TransUnion credit report and use a 300-850 scale. But the formulas differ. A TransUnion score is designed to give consumers a convenient way to monitor their credit health, while a FICO score is designed to predict risk in real-world lending. 

FICO score vs. Equifax credit score

Equifax, the third of the major US credit bureaus, also maintains its own scoring models. Like TransUnion, Equifax makes these scores available through its services and partnerships with financial institutions. While they provide consumers with another lens on their credit health, Equifax’s proprietary scores are not the same as the FICO scores lenders rely on.

One source of confusion is that Equifax has not always used the standard 300-850 range. Some versions of its scores have run on scales such as 280-850, which can make a number look stronger or weaker than it really is when compared side by side with FICO. Even when the ranges align, the formulas behind Equifax’s scores are different, so the results may not match.

Are FICO scores the most accurate?

No single credit score can be considered the “most accurate.” Each scoring model uses the same core data — your credit reports — but applies its own formulas and weightings. That means two scores built from the same information can produce slightly different numbers without either being wrong. Instead, each serves a different purpose.

Which credit scores do most lenders consider?

When it comes to actual lending decisions, the FICO score remains the most widely used system in the US. Banks, mortgage lenders, credit card issuers, and auto finance companies have relied on FICO for decades because it provides a standardized way to measure credit risk. VantageScore is the second most common model, appearing more frequently in recent years as some institutions incorporate it alongside FICO.

In practice, a lender may check more than one score before approving an application. For example, a bank might review a FICO score from Experian and a VantageScore from TransUnion to get a broader view of an applicant’s profile. This explains why the number you see in a consumer app may not always match the score a lender uses — the institution may be comparing multiple models.

The takeaway is that among many different credit scores, the ones that carry the most weight in lending decisions are FICO and, to a lesser extent, VantageScore. Knowing which models lenders prefer helps clarify which numbers matter most when you’re preparing to apply for credit.