What Are the Different Credit Score Ranges?

Credit Score Range Chart

Source: ^4,5

While FICO and VantageScore are commonly used, Equifax^® also has its own proprietary scoring model:

• Excellent: 760-850
• Very good: 725-759
• Good: 660-724
• Fair: 560-659
• Poor: 280-559

It’s worth noting that your Equifax credit score should be considered only for educational purposes. Lenders won’t use it when evaluating your creditworthiness.⁶

As you evaluate your credit score and find your credit score range in the various models, it’s important to understand what that means in terms of your financial decisions, both short- and long-term.

Achieving a FICO score of 800 is the ultimate goal for many, and there’s good reason for that. People in the Excellent credit score range are the most likely to be approved for a credit card or loan, and they’re also likely to qualify for the best available terms and/or interest rates.⁷

That’s because lenders have a high degree of confidence that people with scores in this range will repay their debts. However, it’s worth recognizing that experts call any FICO score of 800 or above “excellent,” meaning that striving for an even higher score may not get you better terms.⁸

If your credit score falls into the next-to-highest range, experts say the odds of approval for loans or credit are good, and if you are approved, you’ll likely be offered better-than-average interest or terms.¹⁰

You may be able to borrow money if you fall into the middle credit score ranges, but it may be more challenging. Experts say that it begins to be less likely that you’ll be approved for loans, and you may be offered less competitive terms.¹¹

People with poor credit scores are less likely to be approved for loans and will likely be offered higher-than-average interest rates and/or be asked to make a deposit.¹² For example, applicants for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) who have scores lower than 580 may still qualify, but only if they meet other requirements and make a 10% deposit as opposed to a minimum of 3.5% for higher-scoring applications.¹³

For more information, check out “What’s the Minimum Credit Score Needed to Get an FHA Loan?”

If you have a bad credit score that falls in the bottom “Very Poor” credit score range, it may be difficult to be approved for mainstream credit. To borrow, you may have to make a deposit in exchange for a secured line of credit.¹⁴ Other options may be costly “small-dollar” loans (such as auto title or payday loans) with high interest rates.¹⁵

Keep in mind that lenders may consider different sets of data when determining your credit score, which could help you or hurt you. And, of course, credit scores are not frozen in time, you can take steps to improve your score. To learn more about how your credit score is determined, read “What is a Credit Score and How is it Defined?”

You can check your credit scores in a number of different ways. One way is through the American Express^® MyCredit Guide, a free service that allows you to view your FICO^® Score and Experian^® credit report. Enroll in MyCredit Guide to access your FICO^® Score any time. (FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.)