Is 30% utilization good or bad?

It's better than higher utilization, but it isn't a magic line. myFICO has said the data doesn't show scores dropping specifically when you cross 30%, and lower ratios generally score better.

Is 1% utilization better than 10%?

Generally lower is better, and many people report higher scores at very low ratios. FICO doesn't publish how many points separate 1% from 10%, so the honest answer is probably, by an amount nobody outside FICO can state.

Should I keep 0% utilization?

Paying in full is great for your wallet. For the reported ratio, myFICO says 0% won't hurt much but can cost you the maximum points in amounts owed, so letting a small balance report on one card is a common approach.

Best Credit Utilization Percentage: 30%, 10% or 1%?

The 30% rule shows up on bank websites, in score apps and in a long list of credit articles. Then you read what FICO’s consumer division wrote in a 2022 release: “the data doesn’t support the implication that your credit score will dip once your utilization ratio crosses the 30% threshold.”

So which number is right? None of them, exactly. Each popular target comes from a real place, but they answer different questions, and the scoring companies have never published the curve that would settle it.

Where each popular number comes from

Target	Who says it	What it actually is
Under 30%	VantageScore suggests not exceeding 30% of your limits; many financial writers repeat it	A ceiling to stay under. myFICO says scores don’t specifically dip at 30%
Under 10%	myFICO’s 2022 release: keeping it “below 10% (and consistently paying bills on time) can help you build and maintain a good FICO Score”	The closest thing to an official FICO target, worded as a general guideline
One small balance, often in the single digits	Consumer credit forums, through the AZEO method	A practitioner technique for squeezing out the last few points before an application
0%	Nobody recommends it as a target	myFICO says it “won’t cause your FICO Scores to drop significantly” but can keep you from the maximum points in amounts owed

Read the table top to bottom and lower keeps winning, all the way down, until you hit zero. myFICO’s page on amounts owed agrees that in some cases, “a low credit utilization ratio will have a more positive impact on your FICO Scores than not using any of your available credit at all.”

Why nobody can hand you the exact number

FICO and VantageScore don’t publish point tables, and their models are proprietary. Anyone who says “go from 22% to 8% and you’ll gain 30 points” is guessing or generalizing from their own file.

There are good reasons the answer varies from person to person:

Models read two ratios. They look at each card and at all cards combined. A 9% overall ratio with one card at 90% isn’t the same file as 9% spread evenly.
The number of cards with balances counts. FICO says more accounts with balances can signal over-extension.
Score versions differ. FICO 8 looks at your latest balances. FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 also look at balance trends over time.
The rest of your file changes the weight. FICO’s 30% weight for amounts owed describes the general population, and FICO says the importance of each category can differ from one person to the next. A thin file and a 20-year file won’t react to the same balance the same way.

Forum members often talk about utilization thresholds, specific percentages where scores seem to jump. Those observations come from people comparing their own score pulls. They may be real for some versions and some files, but FICO hasn’t confirmed any of them, so treat them as rumors with some evidence behind them.

Pick a target based on what’s coming next

The “best” percentage depends on whether anyone is about to look.

You’re applying for credit in the next month or two

This is when low reported balances pay off. Aim for a small balance on one card and zero on the rest, or as close as your cash allows. The AZEO method walks through the sequencing, and paying down balances before a loan application covers how far ahead to start.

Nothing is coming up

Keep reported utilization comfortably low, under 10% overall if that’s easy for you, and don’t stress about the exact figure from month to month. Most scores only read your latest balances, so a high month you aren’t applying in doesn’t follow you, at least under FICO 8.

You’re carrying balances that charge interest

The target is less important than the payoff plan. Every dollar you pay toward a card with interest lowers your utilization and saves money. Pay the highest-rate card first, or the smallest balance first if momentum matters more to you, and the ratio takes care of itself along the way.

How much do you need to pay to hit a target?

Say your cards have $12,000 in total limits and $4,200 in reported balances.

Current overall ratio: $4,200 divided by $12,000 = 35%.
To get to 30%: the balance must be $12,000 × 0.30 = $3,600, so you’d pay $600 before the statements close.
To get to 10%: the balance must be $12,000 × 0.10 = $1,200, so you’d pay $3,000.

Then check each card. If one of those cards has a $2,000 limit and a $1,800 balance (90%), getting the total to 30% while leaving that card near its limit misses the point. Put the first dollars there. Our guide to per-card vs. overall utilization shows why.

The payment only counts if it posts before each card’s statement closing date. Paying on the due date lowers what you owe but not the balance that already reported.

Don’t chase the ratio with account moves

Two shortcuts tend to backfire.

Closing cards to “clean up.” Closing a card removes its limit from your total. VantageScore’s own example shows a consumer at 16% overall who would jump to 45% by closing two unused cards, without adding any debt.

Opening a card just to add a limit. A new account adds a limit, but it also adds a hard inquiry and a new account, both counted under “new credit.” Right before a mortgage, that’s usually the wrong trade. If you want more room, a limit increase on a card you already have can do it, though some issuers check your credit to grant one.

What to do this month

Pull your reports and calculate your overall ratio and each card’s ratio from the reported numbers.
Decide which situation above is yours.
Fix the worst single card first, then work on the overall ratio.
Time payments to post before each closing date.
Plug your real limits and balances into the utilization planner to see what each payment does to both ratios.

Is there a best credit utilization percentage?

What to know