Credit Score Ranges Explained: FICO, VantageScore, and What Each Tier Means

FICO and VantageScore both run from 300 to 850, with anything above 670 considered “good” and below 580 considered “poor.” Most lenders use FICO, but the score you see depends on which bureau a creditor pulls (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion), which scoring model they use, and which version of that model. A single borrower can have 20 or more active credit scores at any moment — all calculated from genuinely different underlying data.

What Are the FICO Credit Score Ranges?

FICO is the score model used in roughly 90% of U.S. lending decisions. FICO Score 8 is the most widely deployed version, though mortgage lenders typically use older FICO 2, 4, and 5, and newer FICO 10T has been rolling out since 2024.


800–850	Exceptional	~21%	Top-tier rates across all loan products; rarely declined for credit-quality reasons
740–799	Very Good	~25%	Above-average rates; most lenders compete for your business
670–739	Good	~21%	Approval at most banks and online lenders at average market rates
580–669	Fair	~17%	Approval at subprime and online lenders; APRs noticeably higher
300–579	Poor	~16%	Limited to specialty subprime lenders, secured products, and high-APR options

The percentages above reflect Experian’s published U.S. consumer distribution. Your placement within these tiers determines which lenders will work with you and at what rates. To see exactly which lenders work with each tier, check your current FICO score for free from each bureau before applying — knowing where you stand prevents wasted hard inquiries.

What Are the VantageScore Credit Score Ranges?

VantageScore is the joint scoring model developed by the three major credit bureaus. Current versions (VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0) also run from 300 to 850, but the tier definitions differ slightly from FICO:


781–850	Excellent / Superprime	~23%
661–780	Prime / Good	~38%
601–660	Near Prime	~13%
500–600	Subprime	~21%
300–499	Deep Subprime	~5%

VantageScore versions before 3.0 used a 501–990 scale; this is no longer in use. Any modern VantageScore you encounter (on Credit Karma, free bureau portals, or bank apps) is the 300–850 version. VantageScore 4.0 also incorporates trended data — 24 months of payment behavior — similar to FICO 10T.

What Is the Experian Credit Score Range?

Experian itself does not assign scores — it maintains a credit report, and scoring models (FICO and VantageScore) calculate a score from that report. When people search for “Experian credit score range,” they usually mean one of:

Experian FICO Score 8: 300–850 (this is what Experian shows in its free consumer account)
Experian VantageScore 3.0: 300–850 (what Credit Karma showed historically when partnered with Experian; current Credit Karma uses TransUnion and Equifax)
Experian National Equivalency Score: 360–840 (a proprietary Experian model, used less frequently by lenders)

The Experian-pulled FICO Score 8 is the most likely number a personal loan or credit card lender will use when reviewing your Experian file. Experian also offers Experian Boost, a free opt-in that adds utility, rent, and streaming payments to the file and frequently raises the Experian FICO score by 5–15 points on its own.

What Is the TransUnion Credit Score Range?

TransUnion likewise hosts data, not scores. Common TransUnion-based scores:

TransUnion FICO Score 8: 300–850 (used by Discover Credit Scorecard, Bank of America, and many lenders)
TransUnion VantageScore 3.0: 300–850 (what Credit Karma displays for the TransUnion side)
TransRisk Score: 300–850, TransUnion’s proprietary model, used less in mainstream lending

TransUnion is the bureau most often pulled by online subprime lenders and auto lenders. If you are shopping for a $5,000 personal loan with an online subprime lender, the score they pull is most likely TransUnion FICO Score 8 or VantageScore 3.0.

What Is the Equifax Credit Score Range?

Equifax scoring options:

Equifax FICO Score 8: 300–850 (used by Citi, many credit unions, and as one of three mortgage scores)
Equifax VantageScore 3.0: 300–850 (free in the myEquifax portal)
Equifax Credit Score: 280–850 — a proprietary Equifax score sold direct to consumers, not used by lenders

The 280–850 “Equifax Credit Score” causes confusion because the floor differs from FICO’s 300. This is a consumer-facing educational score sold inside Equifax monitoring packages; lenders do not use it for approval decisions. The Equifax-based score a lender uses for a personal loan application will be FICO Score 8 or VantageScore.

Why Is Your Credit Score Different on Each Bureau?

Three causes of score variation across bureaus:

Not every lender reports to all three bureaus. A credit card with two years of perfect payment history might appear on your TransUnion file but be missing from your Experian file entirely. The bureau missing that account shows a different — usually lower — score.
Different scoring models on the same data. A FICO Score 8 and a VantageScore 3.0 calculated from the identical Experian file can differ by 20–50 points because they weight factors differently.
Different report dates. If your TransUnion file was last updated on the 5th of the month and your Equifax file on the 22nd, a payment made on the 15th has been reported on one but not the other.

Score differences of 10–50 points between bureaus are normal. Differences over 80–100 points usually indicate a serious data discrepancy worth investigating — an account missing from one bureau, a fraudulent account on another, or a dispute that resolved on one bureau but not the others.

Which Credit Score Is Most Important?

The score that matters is the one the lender you are applying to pulls — and that depends on the loan type:


Mortgage (Fannie/Freddie conforming)	FICO Score 2, 4, and 5	All three; lenders take the middle score
FHA mortgage	FICO Score 2, 4, and 5	All three; middle score
Auto loan	FICO Auto Score 8 or 9	Often Experian or TransUnion
Credit card	FICO Score 8 or Bankcard Score 8	Varies by issuer; often Experian
Personal loan (online lender)	FICO Score 8, VantageScore 3.0/4.0, or FICO 10T	Most commonly Experian or TransUnion
Personal loan (bank)	FICO Score 8 or 9	Bank's bureau of record
Student loan refinance	FICO Score 8 or 9	Varies by lender

For most personal loan shoppers, FICO Score 8 is the score most lenders weight most heavily. For homebuyers, the median FICO 2/4/5 across the three bureaus is what determines mortgage rate qualification — which can differ meaningfully from the FICO 8 you check on Discover Credit Scorecard or your bank app.

Why Is It Better to Have a High Credit Score Than a Low One?

The financial impact of a higher credit score compounds across every credit product you ever use. On a single $5,000 personal loan over 36 months, the rate difference between credit tiers translates directly into dollars:


800 (Exceptional)	~8%	$157	$639
740 (Very Good)	~11%	$164	$895
680 (Good)	~16%	$176	$1,335
620 (Fair)	~24%	$196	$2,069
560 (Poor)	~32%	$215	$2,738

Moving from a 560 to a 740 FICO score saves $2,099 in interest on a single $5,000 loan. Over a lifetime of borrowing — mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, student loan refinancing — the cumulative cost difference between an Exceptional and a Poor credit profile reaches into the six figures. Beyond interest cost, higher scores affect:

Insurance premiums. Most states allow auto and homeowners insurers to use credit-based insurance scores in pricing; lower scores can mean 30–60% higher premiums.
Rental applications. Landlords routinely pull credit reports; scores below 620 frequently result in denied applications or required co-signers.
Utility and cell phone deposits. Lower scores may require security deposits that prime borrowers skip entirely.
Employment screening. In states where allowed, some employers pull credit reports for positions involving financial responsibility.
Credit card rewards. The best cashback and travel rewards cards require scores in the 700+ range.

If your current score puts you in the Fair or Poor tier, specific strategies can move a score 30 to 100 points within 60 to 90 days — primarily through utilization changes and dispute work.

What Is Considered a Bad Credit Score?

The conventional definition: FICO scores below 580 are “bad credit” under FICO’s own labeling. VantageScore uses a similar threshold at 600. In practice, the labels mean less than the lending consequences:


Under 500	Recent bankruptcy, foreclosure, or extensive delinquency	Secured cards, credit-builder loans, payday/title lenders only
500–579	Multiple collections or recent late payments	Specialty subprime online lenders, secured cards, some credit union products
580–619	Past delinquencies but recent improvement, or thin file	Subprime lenders, some prime online lenders, federal credit union PAL program
620–669	Fair credit; recovering or building file	Most online lenders, some traditional banks, near-prime APRs

Lenders working in the subprime tier typically evaluate income stability, employment history, and debt-to-income ratio as heavily as the score itself. Subprime lenders that approve $5,000 applications for scores between 500 and 649 often weight a stable two-year employment record above an extra 40 points of credit score.

What Is a Good Credit Score?

FICO defines “Good” as 670–739 and “Very Good” as 740–799. A practical definition: a credit score is “good enough” when it qualifies you for the best rates a given lender offers. For most loan products, that threshold sits between 720 and 760:

720+: Best rates from most online personal loan lenders
740+: Best rates from most credit unions and banks
760+: Best mortgage rates from conforming-loan lenders
780+: Best rates on premium rewards credit cards and unsecured high-limit products

Pushing your score from 720 to 780 yields diminishing returns on most personal loan rates but still meaningfully improves mortgage pricing and credit card rewards access. For borrowers focused on a $5,000 personal loan specifically, 720 is the practical “good enough” threshold.

What Is the Best Credit Score You Can Have?

The maximum FICO and VantageScore is 850. Reaching 850 requires:

15+ years of credit history
Perfect payment record across all accounts
Credit utilization below 5%
A mix of revolving and installment accounts
No recent hard inquiries

According to FICO, roughly 1.5% of U.S. consumers carry a perfect 850. The practical difference between 820 and 850 in loan approval and pricing is zero — both qualify for top-tier rates on every product. Score optimization beyond about 800 is largely cosmetic.

What Percentile Is My Credit Score?

Approximate U.S. credit score percentiles based on FICO Score 8 distribution data published by Experian:


850	Top 1.5%
800	Top 22%
780	Top 33%
740	Top 47%
700	Top 60%
670	Top 68%
620	Top 79%
580	Top 85%
500	Top 94%

The U.S. national average FICO Score 8 sits around 715–718 as of recent FICO publications. A score of 740 already places you above roughly half of U.S. adults. The pursuit of “above-average” credit ends near 740; the pursuit of “top-tier pricing” continues to about 780.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the highest FICO score?: 850. FICO Score 8, FICO Score 9, FICO Score 10, and VantageScore 3.0/4.0 all cap at 850. Older FICO industry-specific scores (FICO Auto Score, FICO Bankcard Score) cap at 900.
What is the lowest possible FICO score?: 300. Reaching 300 requires extensive recent severe delinquency. Most “bad credit” files sit in the 500–580 range, not the 300s.
Is a 700 credit score good?: 700 falls in FICO’s “Good” tier (670–739) and qualifies you for approval at most lenders, though not always at their best rates. The 700–720 range is functional credit; 740+ is where the lowest APR offers typically open up.
Why is my Equifax score higher than my Experian score?: Different lenders report to different bureaus, so each bureau has a slightly different view of your accounts. The bureau with the most positive history reported to it tends to show a higher score. A 30-point difference between bureaus is normal; an 80+ point difference suggests a data discrepancy worth investigating.
Which credit score do mortgage lenders use?: Conforming mortgage lenders use FICO Score 2 (Experian), FICO Score 4 (TransUnion), and FICO Score 5 (Equifax) — older versions than the FICO Score 8 you see on consumer apps. They pull all three, then use the median (middle) score to qualify you. These mortgage-specific scores can differ from your FICO 8 by 20–40 points in either direction.
Does Credit Karma show real credit scores?: Yes, but not the score most lenders use. Credit Karma shows VantageScore 3.0 from TransUnion and Equifax. It is a legitimate score using real data, but the FICO score a lender pulls will likely differ by 10–50 points.
What credit score do I need for a $5,000 personal loan?: The realistic minimum is around 580 for subprime online lenders, and 660–680 for the best rates from prime online lenders. Below 580, options narrow to specialty subprime products, credit unions, and secured loans. Compare $5,000 personal loan rates available across credit tiers using a soft pull that does not affect your score.
How do I know which scoring model a lender will use?: Most lenders disclose their bureau and scoring model in their pricing disclosures or terms. If you cannot find it, the most common combination for online personal loans is FICO Score 8 from Experian or TransUnion. For mortgages it is always FICO 2/4/5. For auto loans, FICO Auto Score 8.