Credit scores Credit Karma vs FICO
Credit Karma is the most widely used credit monitoring website. It’s a great resource for keeping an eye on your credit.
But…
Did you know that the credit scores you see on Credit Karma aren’t the same ones a lender uses? Lenders use the FICO scores and Credit Karma uses the Vantage score model.
So… what’s the difference?
![FICO vs Vantage Score](/clients/8031/uploads/2020/10/CreditScoresCredit.jpg)
The way they determine your score. Here’s how they stack up against each other.
FICO Score
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Payment History – 35%
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Credit Utilization – 30%
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Length of Credit History – 15%
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New Credit – 10%
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Credit Mix – 10%
Vantage Score
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Payment History – 40%
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Age and Type of Credit – 21%
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Credit Utilization- 20%
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Total Balances/Debt – 11%
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New Credit – 5%
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Available Credit – 3%
While most of the factors that go into determining your score are similar the percentage changes can make for a big difference in your credit score. For example, if you had a maxed out credit card, the Vantage model would be more forgiving than the FICO model.
FICO scores are what 90% of lending institutions use. It’s been around since 1989 and is considered to be a more reliable method.
For more details about FICO scores be sure to check out our blog post on How Credit Works.