FICO vs. VantageScore: why your app score doesn't match

Your app says 680. The lender says 641. Nobody's lying. You just don't have one credit score. You have dozens, and they're built differently.

Two companies make most credit scores: FICO and VantageScore. Each has several versions, and some versions are made for specific loans. Your score can differ for three reasons:

• Different formula. FICO and VantageScore weigh things differently, and each version updates its rules. For example, some newer versions ignore paid collections and older ones don't.
• Different bureau. A score built from your Experian report can differ from one built from your TransUnion report, because the reports themselves can differ.
• Different day. Scores are calculated on the spot. If your card balance changed since last month, your score may have too.

Who uses what: many free apps show a VantageScore. Many lenders use a FICO score, and auto and card lenders may use industry versions made for their kind of loan. For mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, lenders can now use either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0, and they still pull reports from all three bureaus.

• FICO Score: the scores made by FICO. FICO Score 8 is a common general-purpose version.
• VantageScore: scores created by the three bureaus' joint company. Versions 3.0 and 4.0 are common.
• Industry score: a version built for one kind of lending, like auto loans or credit cards.
• Tri-merge: when a mortgage lender pulls reports and scores from all three bureaus at once.

Keisha checks her app on the 1st and sees 702. She applies for a car loan on the 20th. The dealer's lender pulls an auto-industry FICO score from a different bureau, after her card balance went up for the holidays. Her score there comes back at 668. Same person, same month, different score. (Made-up example.)

• Don't chase one app's number. Use it as a rough trend, not the final word.
• Every score comes from the same place: your reports. Fix and strengthen the report data, and every score benefits.
• Before a big application, ask the lender which score and which bureau they use.

Open your credit app or card account and find the fine print next to your score. Write down which model it is (FICO or VantageScore, and which version) and which bureau it comes from. Now you know what that number actually represents.

Educational information only. Not legal, financial, investment or tax advice. Results vary, and no one can guarantee credit outcomes.