What is VantageScore?

VantageScore is a company that develops the VantageScore credit scores. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the big three consumer credit bureaus that create your credit reports, founded VantageScore in 2006. However, VantageScore has always been an independently managed organization.

Although VantageScore credit scores aren’t as widely used as FICO credit scores, your VantageScore credit score might be a factor when you apply for a new credit card, loan or rental. And starting in 2024, VantageScores could also be important if you’re looking to buy a home. 

VantageScore vs. credit score: is there a difference?

Credit scores are computer models that analyze credit reports and help creditors understand risk. A VantageScore credit score is a type of credit score, similar to how Windows is a type of operating system. 

Other companies also develop and sell credit scores. For example, FICO is a well-known scoring company — plus, the credit bureaus develop credit scoring models, and some creditors even create custom credit scores. 

If you check your credit score through your bank, card issuer or another service, you might receive a VantageScore or a FICO Score. Knowing your credit scores (plural, because there are many) can be helpful for gauging the likelihood that you’ll get approved for a loan or credit card. However, you won’t necessarily know which type of credit score a creditor will use before you apply. 

Just how different is your FICO Score from your VantageScore? Read our explainer on FICO vs. VantageScore.

What is the VantageScore score range?

VantageScore has four versions of its credit scoring model available, VantageScore 1.0 through 4.0. 

VantageScore’s first two models ranged from 501 to 990. However, these models aren’t widely used.  The two latest and more popular versions, VantageScore 3.0 and VantageScore 4.0, both use a 300 to 850 credit score range. 

The 300 to 850 range might sound familiar because it’s the same credit score range that the base FICO credit scores use. With all these credit scores, a higher score is better as it indicates someone is less likely to miss a bill payment. 

VantageScore credit scoring factors

VantageScore breaks its credit scoring factors into five categories and ranks them by how influential they can be on your credit score: 

• Credit usage and balances (extremely influential): Your balances on different types of credit accounts and your credit utilization ratio — a comparison of revolving accounts’ credit limits and balances. 
• Credit mix and experience (highly influential): Having experience with different types of credit, such as revolving and installment accounts, can help your VantageScore. 
• Payment history (moderately influential): Whether you’ve missed payments or had accounts go into collections in the past. Having a long history of on-time payments is best for your score. 
• Age of credit accounts (less influential): More experience is better, and having accounts that you opened a long time ago in your credit reports can help your scores. The average age of your accounts could also be a factor. 
• New accounts opened (less influential): Applying for new accounts can lead to a hard inquiry, which might hurt your score a little. Opening new accounts can also help or hurt your scores in different ways. 

Using this criteria, you can generally say that using a small portion of your available credit, having a mix of credit accounts, paying your bills on time, using credit for a long time and sparingly opening new accounts can lead to a good credit score. It’s no coincidence that these same actions can help your FICO credit scores as well.

Both VantageScore and FICO credit scores are based on the information in one of your credit reports. The scores also try to predict the same thing. There are differences in how each model works, and your credit scores will vary depending on the type of score and which of your three credit reports the scoring model analyzes. However, all your credit scores will tend to move up or down in tandem over time. 

Why is good credit important? These are the benefits of a good credit score.

What is a good VantageScore?

Credit scores are often broken into different groups (or “bands”) that define whether you have a good or bad score. Although lenders set their own groupings and definitions, you can use this as a general guide for VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0:

In creditor speak, someone who has an excellent credit score is a super prime consumer, while someone who has a good score is a prime consumer. Those with fair credit might be called near prime, and those with poor and very poor credit scores are considered to be in the subprime and deep subprime credit bands. 

If you hear someone mention subprime loans or credit cards, they’re referring to accounts that are created for or given to people with low credit scores. These tend to have high interest rates and fees. 

Want to know your scores? Learn how to check your credit score.

How do people use VantageScore credit scores?

VantageScore is the underdog in the credit scoring world, and many lenders use FICO scores when reviewing new credit applications. However, VantageScores are becoming increasingly popular, and over 3,000 organizations used over 14.5 billion VantageScores from March 2021 to February 2022. 

People and companies can use VantageScore credit scores in different ways, such as: 

• Creditors, such as credit card issuers, online lenders and auto lenders might use VantageScores to help determine which applications to approve or deny and the terms for new accounts.
• Creditors can monitor their customers’ VantageScores to help them manage accounts and risk. For example, your credit card issuer might lower your credit card’s credit limit if your VantageScore drops. 
• To send offers of credit, such as mail with an invitation to apply for a credit card, to consumers who meet their minimum VantageScore credit score requirements. 
• Landlords and property managers might use your VantageScore when evaluating your application for a rental. 
• Telecom and utility companies also might use VantageScore to determine whether you qualify for financing or a postpaid mobile phone plan, or if you need to pay a security deposit to open a new account. 
• Personal finance websites buy and give members their VantageScores, sometimes for free, as a benefit. 

Starting in 2024, mortgage lenders will also be required to deliver both VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T credit scores to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the lenders also might use these scores to evaluate mortgage applications. It’s a big shift from the current arrangement, which requires mortgage lenders to use much older versions of FICO scores.