Credit Score Ranges: FICO and VantageScore Bands Explained
What each band is called, what it generally means to a lender, and how much each scoring factor counts, using the figures FICO and VantageScore publish themselves.
You do not have one credit score. Lenders use many versions from several companies, and the same person can have a different number from each. The two families you will meet most are FICO Scores and VantageScore. This page lists the bands each company publishes, what the company says about how lenders read them, and how each model weights what is on your credit report. Every figure below is from the scoring company's own pages, checked on October 8, 2026, and sourced at the bottom.
FICO Score ranges
FICO says all base FICO Scores, including FICO Score 8, run from 300 to 850. FICO publishes these bands:
| Band | Range | What FICO says it tells lenders |
|---|---|---|
| Exceptional | 800–850 | Clearly shows an exceptional borrower |
| Very Good | 740–799 | Shows a very dependable borrower |
| Good | 670–739 | Most lenders consider this a good score |
| Fair | 580–669 | Below average, but many lenders will approve loans at this score |
| Poor | 300–579 | Shows lenders a risky borrower |
Source: myFICO, “What is a FICO Score?” (see Sources), checked October 8, 2026. FICO shows the top band as 800+ on the page; the model maximum is 850.
VantageScore 4.0 ranges
VantageScore 4.0 uses the same 300 to 850 scale but a different set of tiers:
| Tier | Range | What VantageScore says about it |
|---|---|---|
| Superprime | 781–850 | Financially responsible borrowers with strong approval prospects |
| Prime | 661–780 | Should not have much trouble being approved |
| Near Prime | 601–660 | May face approval difficulty and higher interest rates |
| Subprime | 300–600 | May be denied outright, or approved at substantially higher rates |
Source: VantageScore, “The Complete Guide to Your VantageScore 4.0 Credit Score,” published June 26, 2025; checked October 8, 2026. The descriptions are paraphrased.
The bands do not line up. A 660 is “Fair” at FICO (580–669) and “Near Prime” at VantageScore (601–660), but a 665 is “Fair” at FICO and “Prime” at VantageScore. Compare a score to the bands of the model that produced it, never to the other family's.
What a band means for approvals
Neither company sets approval rules. FICO says lenders use scores to decide whether you meet their minimum credit requirements, what rate you qualify for and what limit they will offer, and that your lender may use a different FICO Score than the versions you can see yourself. VantageScore says it is up to each lender to decide the minimum score an applicant needs for a loan or card. In practice:
- The band is a guide, not a rule. Two lenders can treat the same score differently, and many also look at income, existing debt and the rest of your report.
- Higher bands generally get more approvals and lower rates; both companies describe the lowest bands as the riskiest to lenders. Neither publishes a score at which approval is guaranteed.
- Card issuers name a target level, not a cutoff. See the cards whose issuers name fair credit, bad credit or no credit. Issuers still decide who is approved.
How the factors are weighted
Both companies publish rough weights. They are averages across many consumers, not a formula for your own score, and the two models group things differently.
| FICO factor | Weight | VantageScore 4.0 factor | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment history | 35% | Payment history | 41% |
| Amounts owed (debt) | 30% | Credit utilization | 20% |
| Length of credit history | 15% | Depth of credit (age and mix) | 20% |
| New credit | 10% | Recent credit | 11% |
| Credit mix | 10% | Balances | 6% |
| — | — | Available credit | 2% |
FICO: myFICO “What is a FICO Score?”, checked October 8, 2026. VantageScore: VantageScore 4.0 User Guide (Rev. September 2022, Figure 13, 2014–2016 holdout sample) and the VantageScore 4.0 guide published June 26, 2025. Weights are not directly comparable: VantageScore's “depth of credit” combines age and mix, and it splits FICO's “amounts owed” into utilization, balances and available credit.
The one point both agree on: paying on time is the single biggest factor. VantageScore also says its 4.0 model reads trended data (how balances and payments move over time) and looks at utilization over up to two years rather than a single month. See the credit utilization guide for how that works in practice.
Which score does a lender use?
- Many FICO versions exist. FICO says its newer versions count reported rent (see rent and utility reporting), and that authorized-user accounts weigh less in recent versions than older ones (see the authorized-user guide).
- Free scores are often a different model than the one a lender pulls. A card app or bureau site may show VantageScore or a FICO version your lender will not use.
- Each bureau has its own file, so even the same model returns different scores from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Not sure where you stand? The free credit roadmap turns a starting score into a month-by-month plan, and how long rebuilding takes shows realistic timelines.
FAQ
What are the FICO Score ranges?
FICO publishes five bands on a 300 to 850 scale: Poor (below 580), Fair (580 to 669), Good (670 to 739), Very Good (740 to 799) and Exceptional (800 and above). The source is myFICO, checked October 8, 2026.
What are the VantageScore 4.0 ranges?
VantageScore 4.0 uses four tiers on a 300 to 850 scale: Superprime (781 to 850), Prime (661 to 780), Near Prime (601 to 660) and Subprime (300 to 600), per VantageScore's guide published June 26, 2025.
Is a 670 a good credit score?
On FICO's scale, 670 is the bottom of the Good band (670 to 739), which FICO says most lenders consider good. On VantageScore 4.0, 670 falls in Prime (661 to 780). Each lender sets its own minimum, so a band is a guide and not a promise of approval.
What counts most in a credit score?
Payment history. FICO weights it at 35 percent and VantageScore 4.0 at 41 percent. At FICO the next largest factor is amounts owed (30 percent); at VantageScore 4.0 it is a tie between credit utilization and depth of credit (20 percent each).
Why are my FICO and VantageScore numbers different?
They are different models with different bands and weights, and each runs on a specific bureau's file. A lender may also use a version you cannot see. A gap between two scores is normal and does not mean either one is wrong.
Sources
Only primary sources. Every figure above comes from one of these pages, checked October 8, 2026.
- myFICO (Fair Isaac), “What is a FICO Score?” — myfico.com/credit-education/what-is-a-fico-score. Ranges, band descriptions, factor weights, lender-variation note. No publication date shown on the page.
- VantageScore, “The Complete Guide to Your VantageScore 4.0 Credit Score,” June 26, 2025 — vantagescore.com/consumers/blog/the-complete-guide-to-your-vantagescore. Tiers, factor weights, lender-discretion statement.
- VantageScore Solutions, “VantageScore 4.0 User Guide,” Rev. September 2022 — cdn.vantagescore.com (PDF). Factor contribution chart (Figure 13) and trended-data description.
Educational information, not financial advice. Scoring companies revise their models and pages; if a figure here no longer matches the company's page, tell us. · Advertiser disclosure