FICO vs VantageScore: versions, ranges and which one lenders use (2026)
Edited by Moe Ameen · Published
FICO and VantageScore both turn your credit report into a number from 300 to 850, but they weigh it differently and need different amounts of history. FICO needs an account at least six months old; VantageScore 4.0 can score you after one month. FICO Score 8 is the most widely used FICO version. For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages, lenders can use Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0, but not FICO 10T yet.
Key takeaways
- Both base models run from 300 to 850. FICO's industry versions run from 250 to 900.
- Payment history leads both: 35% of a FICO Score, 41% of VantageScore 4.0.
- VantageScore can score a thinner file, with one month of history against FICO's six.
- Since September 9, 2026, lenders no longer need written sign-off to use VantageScore 4.0 on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.
- Free apps often show a different model or bureau from the one your lender pulls.
Which credit score do lenders actually use?
It depends on the loan. myFICO lists FICO Score 8 for personal and card lending and FICO 2, 4 or 5 for mortgages. Mortgages can now use VantageScore 4.0 too.
| You're applying for | FICO Score myFICO lists |
|---|---|
| A credit card | FICO Bankcard Scores, or FICO Score 8 or 9 |
| An auto loan | FICO Auto Scores |
| A mortgage | FICO Score 2 (Experian), 5 (Equifax) or 4 (TransUnion), often the middle of the three |
| A personal, student or retail loan | FICO Score 8 |
Those are FICO's own lists, and myFICO adds that the lender decides which score it pulls [1]. Mortgages now have a second option: FHFA lets lenders deliver Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans scored with either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0 [9].
What's the difference between FICO Score 8, 9, 10 and 10T?
FICO 8 is the most widely used. FICO 9 ignores paid collections and counts reported rent. FICO 10 and 10T are newest, and 10T adds trended data.
- FICO Score 8 is the most widely used base version [1].
- FICO Score 9 stops counting paid third-party collections, medical ones included, gives unpaid medical collections less weight than other debt, and counts rent when it's reported [1].
- FICO Score 10 is built around newer borrowing patterns, such as personal loans taken out to consolidate debt [1].
- FICO Score 10T adds trended data: at least 24 months of balances and limits, to see whether your balances are rising, falling or flat [1].
Mortgage lending runs on older versions, FICO Score 2, 4 and 5 [1]. FHFA validated FICO 10T in 2022, but says it still isn't eligible for delivery to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac [9].
What's the difference between VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0?
Both run from 300 to 850. VantageScore 4.0 adds trended data, looking at your utilization up to two years back, where 3.0 looks at one month.
The two-years-versus-one-month comparison is VantageScore's own [4]. Its 4.0 page calls it the first tri-bureau model to use trended data and says it scores 33 million more U.S. adults than its earlier models could [6]. According to Equifax, 4.0 also ignores unpaid medical collections and can use rent, utility and telecom payments [7].
VantageScore 3.0 is still around. It's the score Credit Karma shows, from TransUnion and Equifax [8].
How do FICO and VantageScore weigh your credit?
Payment history comes first in both: 35% of a FICO Score and 41% of VantageScore 4.0. After that, the two models split things differently.
| Rank | FICO Score | VantageScore 4.0 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Payment history, 35% | Payment history, 41% |
| 2 | Amounts owed, 30% | Depth of credit, 20% |
| 3 | Length of credit history, 15% | Credit utilization, 20% |
| 4 | New credit, 10% | Recent credit, 11% |
| 5 | Credit mix, 10% | Balances, 6% |
| 6 | None | Available credit, 2% |
myFICO notes the weights can vary from person to person [3]. VantageScore's consumer pages describe its factors by influence rather than percentage, with payment history extremely influential and balances and available credit less influential [5]. Credit Karma lists VantageScore 3.0 a little differently again: payment history 40%, age and type of credit 21%, utilization 20% [8]. The utilization math is in credit utilization.
How much credit history do you need to get a score?
FICO needs an account open six months or more and one reported in the last six months. VantageScore can score you with one month of history.
myFICO also requires no deceased indicator on the report, and says a single account can meet both rules [2]. Equifax says VantageScore 4.0 can produce a score from as little as one month of history [7]. For VantageScore 3.0, Credit Karma says one month on an account reported in the last 24 months can be enough [8].
If you have no score at all, how credit scores work has the CFPB's figures on how many adults are in the same spot.
Can mortgage lenders use VantageScore?
Yes. Since September 9, 2026, lenders can use VantageScore 4.0 instead of Classic FICO on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans without written sign-off.
- July 8, 2025 FHFA's interim policy let lenders use VantageScore 4.0 or Classic FICO [9].
- April 22, 2026 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac started a limited VantageScore 4.0 rollout [9].
- September 9, 2026 The written sign-off requirement went away, opening VantageScore 4.0 to every lender selling to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac [9].
- September 30, 2026 Upfront fees were aligned across Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0 [9].
Lenders choose the model loan by loan, but every borrower on one loan has to be scored with the same model [9]. The tri-merge credit report requirement stays in place for now. Classic FICO has no retirement date and FICO 10T has no delivery date, according to FHFA's page as last updated October 2, 2026 [9].
Why is my credit score different on every app?
Apps can show different models, built from different bureaus' data, calculated on different days. Any one of those can move the number.
The CFPB says your score depends on the model, the source of the data and even the day it was calculated [10]. Credit Karma, for example, shows VantageScore 3.0 from TransUnion and Equifax, and notes that not every lender reports to every bureau [8]. A mortgage lender may then pull FICO 2, 4 and 5 and use the middle one [1].
So a gap between two apps can just mean you're looking at two different scores. A gap between two bureaus' reports deserves a closer look. If one shows an account the others don't, dispute the error with that bureau.
Glisten check
Every common FICO and VantageScore version, side by side
| Model | Range | To get a score | Trended data | Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FICO Score 8 | 300 to 850 [1] | Account 6+ months old, reported in the last 6 months [2] | No; trended data arrives in 10T [1] | Not on FHFA's list [9] |
| FICO Score 9 | 300 to 850 [1] | Same as above [2] | No; trended data arrives in 10T [1] | Not on FHFA's list [9] |
| FICO Score 10T | 300 to 850 [1] | Same as above [2] | Yes, 24+ months of balances and limits [1] | Validated in 2022, not yet eligible [9] |
| Classic FICO | Not stated on FHFA's page | Six months of history with an active account, per Equifax [7] | No; Equifax calls it a snapshot [7] | Eligible [9] |
| VantageScore 3.0 | 300 to 850 [8] | One month on an account reported in the last 24 months [8] | No; utilization looks at one month [4] | Not on FHFA's list [9] |
| VantageScore 4.0 | 300 to 850 [4] | As little as one month of history [7] | Yes, utilization up to two years back [4] | Eligible, no sign-off needed since Sept. 9, 2026 [9] |
myFICO's minimum-history rule covers FICO Scores in general and isn't broken out by version [2], so we've applied it to each numbered FICO version. FHFA's page doesn't say which FICO versions count as Classic FICO, so that row uses Equifax's description. Neither company publishes its full formula, which is one more reason one report can come out as two numbers.
Is this right for you?
Best for
- Anyone whose app shows a different score from the one a lender quoted.
- Mortgage shoppers trying to work out which score will count.
Not ideal for
- Knowing your exact score at a particular lender. Ask the lender which model and bureau it uses.
Frequently asked questions
Is VantageScore lower than FICO?
Not by design. Both run from 300 to 850 but weigh your report differently [3][4], so the same file can produce two different numbers.
Do lenders use VantageScore?
Some do. Since September 9, 2026, any lender selling loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can use VantageScore 4.0 without written sign-off [9].
Is my Credit Karma score a FICO Score?
No. Credit Karma shows VantageScore 3.0 scores from TransUnion and Equifax [8].
Which FICO Score do mortgage lenders use?
FICO Score 2 from Experian, 5 from Equifax and 4 from TransUnion, and lenders often take the middle of the three [1].
How we know this
On November 2, 2026 we read myFICO's pages on score versions, minimum requirements and score factors, three VantageScore pages (its 4.0 guide, its consumer factors page and its 4.0 product page), Equifax's comparison of VantageScore 4.0 and Classic FICO, Credit Karma's VantageScore 3.0 guide, FHFA's credit score page and the CFPB's page on credit scores. Equifax sells both models, so we left out its claims about how well VantageScore performs.
- FICO Score versions, myFICO. Checked November 2, 2026.
- FICO Score requirements, myFICO. Checked November 2, 2026.
- What's in my FICO Scores?, myFICO. Checked November 2, 2026.
- The complete guide to your VantageScore 4.0 credit score, VantageScore. Checked November 2, 2026.
- How credit scores work, VantageScore. Checked November 2, 2026.
- VantageScore 4.0, VantageScore. Checked November 2, 2026.
- What is the difference between VantageScore 4.0 and Classic FICO scores?, Equifax. Checked November 2, 2026.
- What you should know about the VantageScore 3.0 credit scoring model, Credit Karma. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Credit scores, FHFA. Checked November 2, 2026.
- What is a credit score?, CFPB. Checked November 2, 2026.