FICO® & VantageScore® Ranges, Explained

Credit scoring is less mysterious than it looks. Two scoring models cover roughly 90% of U.S. lending decisions — FICO® and VantageScore® — and both use nearly identical ranges.

The standard credit score ranges

Range	FICO® label	VantageScore® label	Typical access
300–579	Poor	Very Poor	Secured cards, Kovo Credit Builder
580–669	Fair	Fair	Starter cards, $200–$2,500 personal loans at higher APR
670–739	Good	Good	Most mainstream cards & loans at reasonable APR
740–799	Very Good	Very Good	Prime loans, premium cards, best mortgage pricing tier
800–850	Exceptional	Excellent	Best available APRs on everything

What moves you between ranges — in order of leverage

1. Payment history (35% of FICO®). On-time payments compound. A single 30-day late can cost 60–110 points on a prime file.
2. Credit utilization (30%). The percentage of your revolving limit you're using. Below 30% is okay; below 10% is where elite files live.
3. Length of credit history (15%). Older is better. Closing an old card hurts.
4. Credit mix (10%). Having both revolving (cards) and installment (loans, Credit Builder) accounts helps.
5. New credit (10%). Hard inquiries hurt a little for about 12 months.

How to jump one range in 90 days

• Pay every balance before the statement closes to drop reported utilization.
• Dispute any inaccurate negative items on your credit report.
• Add a positive installment tradeline — the Kovo Credit Builder was built for this.
• Avoid applying for anything new that would trigger a hard pull.

Payment history is 35% of your score. Everything else fights for the leftovers. If you fix only one thing, fix that.

Sources

• myFICO: What's in your credit score
• VantageScore — score model information
• CFPB: Credit reports and scores

Kovo Credit guides are reviewed for accuracy by our credit education team. Spot an error? Let us know through our contact page.