What Are the Five Factors in a FICO Score?
FICO scores are calculated from five weighted categories: payment history (35%) — whether you pay on time; amounts owed or credit utilization (30%) — how much of your available credit you use; length of credit history (15%) — how long your accounts have been open; credit mix (10%) — the variety of account types; and new credit (10%) — recent applications and hard inquiries. Payment history and utilization together account for 65% of your score.
Which FICO Score Version Do Lenders Use?
There are dozens of FICO score versions tailored to different lending products. Mortgage lenders typically use older versions: FICO Score 2, 4, and 5 from the three bureaus. Auto lenders often use FICO Auto Score 8 or 9. Credit card issuers frequently use FICO Score 8 or 10. The score version matters because each weights factors differently. Most consumer-facing tools show FICO Score 8, the most widely used version overall.
How Is FICO Different From VantageScore?
FICO and VantageScore are separate scoring models with different formulas. Both use 300–850 ranges and similar factors, but they weight them differently. FICO requires at least six months of credit history and at least one account active in the past six months. VantageScore can generate a score with as little as one month of history. Lenders overwhelmingly favor FICO for major credit decisions, though VantageScore is used for some consumer-facing monitoring tools.
Frequently asked questions
Where can you get your FICO score for free?
Many major credit cards and banks provide free FICO scores as an account feature — Discover, Citi, Bank of America, and many credit unions offer this. You can also purchase your score directly from myFICO.com. Some versions of your score may differ from what a lender sees, depending on the bureau and version used.
Why do I have different FICO scores from different bureaus?
Each bureau has its own credit report with potentially different data, since not all lenders report to all three bureaus. The same FICO model applied to different underlying data produces different scores. Lenders may pull scores from one, two, or all three bureaus. For mortgages, lenders typically use the middle of your three scores.