You are now leaving the SoFi website and entering a third-party website. SoFi has no control over the content, products or services offered nor the security or privacy of information transmitted to others via their website. We recommend that you review the privacy policy of the site you are entering. SoFi does not guarantee or endorse the products, information or recommendations provided in any third party website.
Having a strong credit score can help you get favorable rates on loans and lines of credit. That can be vital to achieving your goals (like buying a car or a house) and saving you money in the long term. If you’re working hard to build your credit but aren’t sure how long it will take to get to your desired digits, a “How Much Will My Credit Score Go Up?” calculator can offer an estimate.
Key Points
• The “How Much Will My Credit Score Go Up?” calculator estimates changes over six months.
• On-time payments and limited credit card use build credit effectively.
• Avoid closing old credit accounts to maintain a longer history.
• Requesting a credit limit increase may positively impact your score.
• Free credit score monitoring and resources on budgeting, spending, and credit management are available.
*Actual credit score may vary from the estimated credit score noted in the calculator.
Calculator Definitions
• Credit score: This is the amount you would borrow, also known as the principal.
• Credit report: A credit report is a detailed statement, assembled by a credit bureau, that indicates your credit history. This includes information about current and past loan accounts, and how you handled them. Your credit score is based on the information on these reports.
• On-time payments: On-time payments mean you pay your bills by their due date. Payment history is the single most important factor that both FICO and VantageScore use to calculate your credit score.
• Credit utilization:Credit utilization measures how much of your available credit you’re using. For instance, if your credit cards collectively have a $5,000 limit, and you currently have $3,000 unpaid on those cards, your credit utilization is 60% ($3,000 / $5,000 = 0.60). Aim to keep this number below 30% or ideally 10%.
• Credit score monitoring: Credit score monitoring is a service you can sign up for to get real-time alerts about changes in your credit score, as well as any hard inquiries, new accounts opened in your name, and other updates. Credit score monitoring can be a great resource for tracking your score and protecting yourself against identity theft.
How to Use the Credit Score Improvement Calculator
Using our credit score calculator is simple. Here’s how to calculate how much you might positively impact your credit score:
1. Enter Your Current Credit Score
To start, enter your current score into the first field (or use the slider). Our credit score uses your FICO score, which ranges from 300 to 850.
• Use a free or paid credit monitoring service to stay updated on your score.
2. Estimate Your On-Time Payments
Think about all the payments you make each month that get reported to the credit bureaus: credit card payments, student loan payments, mortgage and car loan payments, personal loan payments, etc. Considering your income and monthly budget, realistically forecast the percentage of payments that will be on time over the next six months.
Ideally, this should be 100%. If you’re really serious about building your credit score, making on-time payments is vital, since it’s the single biggest contributor to your score. That said, be honest when estimating your future on-time payments, and enter a value from 0% to 100% (or use the slider).
If you foresee paying less than 100% on time, you might need to take control of your budget. See if a spending app can help.
3. Estimate Your Credit Utilization
Similarly, try to estimate the percentage by which you can reduce your credit usage over the next six months for any revolving lines of credit (credit cards, personal lines of credit, and HELOCs, or home equity lines of credit).
Enter the estimated value — the percentage you can reduce your credit usage — in the field (or use the slider).
Borrowing less and paying back as much as possible can lower your credit utilization. Another technique for building your credit score is to get a credit limit increase.
4. Adjust Numbers to See How Your Estimated Score Changes
Once you’ve input all the numbers, the “How Much Will My Credit Score Go Up?” calculator will estimate a credit score change.
This is only an estimate: Several factors can impact your credit score. That said, it should give you a good idea of what is achievable. If you’d like to improve your score by more in that timeframe, use the sliders to make some adjustments to see how much more you could improve your score by.
Benefits of Using a Credit Score Change Calculator
There are several benefits to using this kind of credit score calculator, including:
• Addressing your payment and spending issues: Sitting down with the “How Much Will My Credit Score Go Up?” calculator can force you to consider all your bills and spending habits. This is a good opportunity to rethink your purchasing and adjust your budget as needed.
• Setting a realistic goal: It would be wonderful to build a credit score overnight, but that’s likely not realistic. Our credit score calculator gives you a more actionable timeframe (six months) and goal.
• Getting free credit score monitoring: To help you on your journey, you can sign up for free credit score monitoring to chart your progress.
How to Use the Credit Score Improvement Calculator to Compare Scenarios
The sliders on our “how much will my credit score go up” calculator lets you see different scenarios play out over six months. For instance:
• Adjusting the on-time payments percentage lets you see how much more you can expect your score to increase if you make all on-time payments, compared to a less-than-perfect payment history.
• Adjusting the credit utilizations percentage lets you see how much more you can expect your score to increase if you start paying off more of your credit card debt (or using less of your available credit) each month.
What Is a Credit Score?
A credit score is a number that represents your credit history and gives lenders an idea of how you’ll manage credit in the future. Lenders use this number, which is calculated by a third party like FICO, to make lending decisions. The higher the score, the more likely you are to be approved for loans and at lower rates and with more favorable terms.
Your credit score is calculated based on information on your credit reports, including payment history, credit utilization, and credit mix.
How to Build Credit
Building credit takes time and effort. There are a number of valuable strategies for building credit over time, including:
• Aim to always make on-time payments, and make sure those get reported to the credit bureaus.
• Limit your use of credit cards, and pay back what you owe every month. If that’s not possible, keep your credit utilization under 30% or ideally 10%.
• Don’t close old credit accounts if possible; that will reduce the length of your credit history and could lower your score.
• Open new credit accounts over time, say once every six months. Otherwise, too many requests for credit in a short period of time can lower your score.
• Manage different types of accounts (such as lines of credit and installment loans) well to help build your score.
• Review your credit report regularly, and dispute errors with the bureaus.
There are two main types of credit that impact your credit score: revolving credit and installment loans. Having a nice mix of both in your credit profile — and responsibly managing them — can help build your credit score.
Revolving Credit
Revolving credit means you have a line of credit with a limit, or a maximum amount that you can borrow. But as you pay back what you owe, you can borrow more money again up to that cap. Interest rates on these accounts are often variable.
If you have an installment loan, you borrow a lump sum of money upfront and then make monthly payments over a set number of months or years to repay what you borrowed. The interest rate is typically (but not always) fixed.
FICO is the most widely used credit score, with the following ranges:
• Exceptional: 800 – 850
• Very good: 740–799
• Good: 670–739
• Fair: 580–669
• Poor: 300 – 579
It’s worth noting that your starting credit score is not 300. Rather, your score will usually be invisible for a few months. Then, if you have good credit habits from the get-go, you are likely to start your credit journey in the good range.
Building your credit score is an important but challenging task. Key factors are on-time payments, reducing how much available credit you use, and the age and diversity of your credit accounts. Using an online credit score building calculator can help you see how your habits can positively impact your score over time. Doing so can be an important facet of keeping tabs on your financial life.
Take control of your finances with SoFi. With our financial insights and credit score monitoring tools, you can view all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see your various balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score. Plus you can easily set up budgets and discover valuable financial insights — all at no cost.
See exactly how your money comes and goes at a glance.
How much you can expect to positively impact your credit score depends on your current credit score and your financial situation. Some people could see a small improvement after months of “good behavior,” while others might see a major change. To build your score, make payments on time going forward, keep your credit utilization low, and resist the temptation to open a new line of credit more often than once every six months. You can also review your credit report and dispute any errors with the credit bureaus.
How to build a credit score by 50 points in 30 days?
While on-time payments can positively impact your credit score, it typically takes months of paying bills on time to make significant improvements. Other tactics to help build credit include paying down outstanding credit card debt to reduce your credit utilization, requesting a credit limit increase to lower your utilization, and using services that can report rent and utility payments to the credit bureaus.
Can I build my credit score 100 points in a month?
Building your credit score by 100 points in a month is challenging, especially if you have a history of late payments. On-time payments are a key part of positively impacting your score, but you typically need to make those payments over a series of months — even years — to demonstrate responsible bill management.
What debt should I pay off first to build my credit score?
To build your credit score, prioritize paying past-due accounts to get them back in good standing. This will also help you avoid late fees that could make it harder for you to keep up with payments. You should also focus on paying down your credit card debt (and not accruing new debt with your credit cards). Reducing the balance on your credit cards lowers your credit utilization, which can positively impact your score.
How long does it take to go from 700 to 750 credit score?
Growing from a 700 to 750 credit score quickly can be challenging. Why? At 700, you likely already have healthy credit habits, so it’s more challenging to make major improvements that lead to dramatic score increases. You might diversify your credit mix, reduce your credit utilization by paying off your credit cards entirely every week or month, and dispute any errors on your credit report with the credit bureaus.
How rare is a 700 credit score?
Having a 700 credit score or better isn’t as rare as you might think. According to an Experian survey, the average credit score in 2024 was 715. Roughly 21% of consumers have a good credit score (670 to 739), and another 50.3% have a very good (740 to 799) or exceptional (800 to 850) credit score.
SoFi Relay offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. When you use the service to connect an account, you authorize SoFi to obtain account information from any external accounts as set forth in SoFi’s Terms of Use. Based on your consent SoFi will also automatically provide some financial data received from the credit bureau for your visibility, without the need of you connecting additional accounts. SoFi assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, deletion, non-delivery or failure to store any user data, loss of user data, communications, or personalization settings. You shall confirm the accuracy of Plaid data through sources independent of SoFi. The credit score is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.
*Terms and conditions apply. This offer is only available to new SoFi users without existing SoFi accounts. It is non-transferable. One offer per person. To receive the rewards points offer, you must successfully complete setting up Credit Score Monitoring. Rewards points may only be redeemed towards active SoFi accounts, such as your SoFi Checking or Savings account, subject to program terms that may be found here: SoFi Member Rewards Terms and Conditions. SoFi reserves the right to modify or discontinue this offer at any time without notice.
SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.
*SoFi requires Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) for conforming home loans with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio greater than 80%. As little as 3% down payments are for qualifying first-time homebuyers only. 5% minimum applies to other borrowers. Other loan types may require different fees or insurance (e.g., VA funding fee, FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums, etc.). Loan requirements may vary depending on your down payment amount, and minimum down payment varies by loan type.
SoFi Mortgages
Terms, conditions, and state restrictions apply. Not all products are available in all states. See SoFi.com/eligibility-criteria for more information.
²SoFi Bank, N.A. NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC), offers loans directly or we may assist you in obtaining a loan from SpringEQ, a state licensed lender, NMLS #1464945. All loan terms, fees, and rates may vary based upon your individual financial and personal circumstances and state.You should consider and discuss with your loan officer whether a Cash Out Refinance, Home Equity Loan or a Home Equity Line of Credit is appropriate. Please note that the SoFi member discount does not apply to Home Equity Loans or Lines of Credit not originated by SoFi Bank. Terms and conditions will apply. Before you apply, please note that not all products are offered in all states, and all loans are subject to eligibility restrictions and limitations, including requirements related to loan applicant’s credit, income, property, and a minimum loan amount. Lowest rates are reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Products, rates, benefits, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligibility-criteria. Information current as of 06/27/24.In the event SoFi serves as broker to Spring EQ for your loan, SoFi will be paid a fee.
Disclaimer: Many factors affect your credit scores and the interest rates you may receive. SoFi is not a Credit Repair Organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. SoFi does not provide “credit repair” services or advice or assistance regarding “rebuilding” or “improving” your credit record, credit history, or credit rating. For details, see the FTC’s website .
*Awards or rankings from NerdWallet are not indicative of future success or results. This award and its ratings are independently determined and awarded by their respective publications.
Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
External Websites: The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third-party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.
