What are the different types of credit scores?

The different types of credit scores are VantageScore credit scores, FICO scores, and as many as 1,000+ others. These different types of credit-scoring models are used to calculate your credit score based on the contents of your credit reports, and lenders use the resulting scores to evaluate your creditworthiness.

When creditors review an application to borrow, they want to assess your qualifications for their particular credit instrument (e.g. credit card, auto loan, or mortgage). As a result, creditors may use a credit-scoring model that’s specific to their industry (such as the FICO Auto Score) or that weighs some predictive factors more heavily than others. Considering the variety of industries and credit accounts that exists, it makes sense that there are hundreds of different types of credit scores to address specific credit needs.

Here are some facts about the different types of credit scores:

• 1,000 scores. According to Experian, there may be 1,000+ different credit scores that creditors can use to evaluate your creditworthiness.
• Most popular. FICO scores and VantageScores are the most popular types of credit scores. Specifically, VantageScore 3.0 and FICO Score 8 are the versions most commonly used among lenders.
• Similarity between scores. There is about a 90% correlation between FICO scores and VantageScores, so you can expect these types of credit scores to be pretty similar.
• Scoring potential. FICO and VantageScore estimate that their latest credit-scoring models can be used to score millions of individuals who would otherwise be considered un-scoreable. While FICO estimates that its UltraFICO scoring model can score 15 million more people, VantageScore estimates that its VantageScore 4.0 model can score an extra 40 million individuals.

The truth is, knowing only one of your credit scores is just as good as knowing any of the others. It doesn't really matter which type of credit score a creditor will consider, since each of them will reflect your creditworthiness more or less equally. WalletHub uses the VantageScore 3.0 credit-score model, which was created jointly by the three major credit bureaus. You can check your free credit score through your WalletHub account and read more in our guide about the factors that influence credit scores.