How credit scores work: FICO vs VantageScore (2026)
Edited by Moe Ameen · Published
A FICO Score is a number built only from your credit report. FICO Scores run from 300 to 850 and weigh payment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length of credit history 15%, new credit 10% and credit mix 10%. VantageScore uses the same 300 to 850 range with its own weighting. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now accept either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0.
Key takeaways
- FICO and VantageScore both run from 300 to 850.
- Payment history is the biggest factor in both.
- Your income, age and where you live aren't part of a FICO Score.
- To get a FICO Score you need an account at least six months old that was reported in the last six months.
What goes into a FICO Score?
Five categories: payment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length of credit history 15%, new credit 10% and credit mix 10%.
Those weights come from myFICO [1]. Base FICO Scores run from 300 to 850; industry versions for auto lenders and card issuers run from 250 to 900 [3]. Amounts owed is where credit utilization comes in.
What doesn't affect my credit score?
Income, job, age and where you live aren't in a FICO Score. It only uses what's on your credit report.
myFICO lists salary, occupation, employer, age, where you live and the interest rates on your accounts as things a FICO Score doesn't use [1]. Checking and savings data only feeds a separate product, UltraFICO. Rent counts in FICO Score 9, 10 and 10T, but only if it's reported, and myFICO notes that landlords aren't required to report it [8].
How is VantageScore different from FICO?
Same 300 to 850 range, but VantageScore ranks its factors by influence and says it scores millions more people than conventional models.
VantageScore calls payment history extremely influential, total credit usage and credit mix highly influential, new accounts moderately influential, and balances and available credit less influential [4]. It says VantageScore 4.0 uses trended credit data, looking at your utilization for up to two years back [5].
Why don't I have a credit score?
FICO needs at least one account open six months or more and one reported in the past six months. Many adults don't meet that.
Those are FICO's minimum requirements, along with no deceased indicator on the report [2]. The CFPB estimated that 2.7% of US adults, about 7 million people, had no credit record at all in December 2020, and another 9.8% had a record but no score [7]. A credit builder is one way to start a file.
Which credit score do mortgage lenders use?
For loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, lenders can use Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0. FICO 10T isn't accepted yet.
On September 9, 2026, FHFA dropped the requirement for lenders to get written sign-off before using VantageScore 4.0, and on September 30, 2026 the two companies aligned their upfront fees across both models [6]. FHFA says FICO 10T isn't eligible for delivery yet [6].
Glisten check
FICO vs VantageScore 4.0, from each company's own pages
| FICO Score | VantageScore 4.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Range | 300 to 850; industry versions 250 to 900 [3] | 300 to 850 [4] |
| How factors are shown | Percentages: 35, 30, 15, 10, 10 [1] | Influence levels, from extremely to less influential [4] |
| Minimum to be scored | An account 6+ months old, reported in the last 6 months [2] | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Trended data | In FICO 10T [8] | Yes, utilization up to two years back [5] |
| Rent payments | Counted in FICO 9, 10 and 10T if reported [8] | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac | Classic FICO accepted; 10T not yet [6] | Accepted; no prior sign-off needed since Sept. 9, 2026 [6] |
VantageScore's own pages give two different numbers for how many more people it can score: 33 million more on its VantageScore 4.0 page, and about 40 million more on a knowledge-center page [5]. We report both rather than picking one.
Is this right for you?
Best for
- Anyone trying to understand what their score is made of.
- People with no score yet, working out why.
Not ideal for
- Predicting your exact score after a change. FICO and VantageScore don't publish their formulas.
Frequently asked questions
What's a good credit score?
FICO calls 670 to 739 good and 800 or more exceptional. The full ranges are in what to do after a loan denial.
Does my income affect my credit score?
Not your FICO Score. myFICO says salary, occupation and employer aren't used [1].
Does being an authorized user help my credit?
It can if the account is well managed, but myFICO says recent versions count authorized user accounts less than your own, and the primary holder's late payments can hurt you [9].
Does paying rent build credit?
Only if it's reported to the bureaus, and only in FICO 9, 10 and 10T. Landlords don't have to report it [8].
Is VantageScore used for mortgages?
Yes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accept VantageScore 4.0, and since September 9, 2026 lenders no longer need prior sign-off to use it [6].
How we know this
On October 28, 2026 we read myFICO's pages on score factors, minimum requirements, versions, rent and authorized users, VantageScore's consumer and 4.0 pages, FHFA's credit score page, and the CFPB's 2025 update to its credit invisibles estimate.
- What's in my FICO Scores?, myFICO. Checked October 28, 2026.
- FICO Score requirements, myFICO. Checked October 28, 2026.
- FICO Score versions, myFICO. Checked October 28, 2026.
- How credit scores work, VantageScore. Checked October 28, 2026.
- VantageScore 4.0, VantageScore. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Credit scores, FHFA. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Technical correction and update to the CFPB's credit invisibles estimate (PDF), CFPB. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Add rent to credit reports, myFICO. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Authorized user, myFICO. Checked October 28, 2026.