How to Compare FICO Score to Experian VantageScore

FICO scores are a method of judging the creditworthiness of potential borrowers that was developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation. Experian VantageScore is a relatively new method of measuring creditworthiness that was created in 2006 in an attempt to better represent the creditworthiness of people without lengthy credit histories. Both methods use similar criteria from your credit report to create a credit score, but differ in the categories used, weighting of the categories and scoring scale.

Instructions

1

Compare the factors that the FICO score and VantageScore use to calculate your credit score. FICO scores use five factors while VantageScore uses six. Both scores use the categories of your payment history and applications for recent credit.
VantageScore combines two categories that are separate on the FICO score--length of credit history and types of credit used--into one credit category called depth of credit. The FICO score combines three categories that VantageScore uses--your percentage of credit utilization, balances and available credit--into one category, with the total amounts owed.

2

Compare the percentages of the scores that are based on each category. FICO scores are based 35 percent on your payment history, 30 percent on the amount of money you owe, 15 percent on how long your credit history is, 10 percent on your applications for new credit and 10 percent on the types of credit you use. VantageScore is based 32 percent on your payment history, 23 percent on how you use credit, 15 percent on your credit balances, 13 percent on how deep your credit is, 10 percent on your recent credit and 7 percent on how much credit you have available.

3

Compare the maximum scores. The maximum FICO score is 850 while the maximum VantageScore is 990. Multiplying your FICO score by 1.165 can give you an approximation of your VantageScore.

4

Compare your score to the score of other individuals. Only the top 11 percent have a VantageScore above 900, while 60 percent have a score above 700. For FICO, 85 percent have a score above 600.