Editor’s note: This story was updated on April 7, 2026, to include additional clarification from a FICO spokesperson regarding its pricing structure, wholesale royalties, and the role of credit bureaus in tri-merge credit report costs.
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) is criticizing FICO for significant price increases on credit scores, which have risen by more than 10 times over the last four years. The average fee for pulling a FICO score now stands at $540, according to a recent survey of CHLA members. This represents a substantial increase from the $50 to $100 range observed in 2022.
FICO's foundational price for a tri-merge score escalated from $1.80 in late 2022 to $30 today, marking a 1,567% increase. The fee has tripled within the last three years. "The scale of these price hikes is unusual in American industry, and can only occur when a producer has monopoly or near-monopoly status," CHLA stated in an update to its 2024 white paper on credit score markets and pricing in the mortgage business.
"Street-level" prices charged to mortgage loan originators and, ultimately, their customers have also increased from other credit bureaus and resellers, the white paper noted. These increases, however, have occurred at a slower percentage rate than FICO's fundamental price jumps.
FICO Pushes Back On Pricing Narrative
In a follow-up statement, a FICO spokesperson said the company does not sell tri-merge credit reports or directly set the price lenders ultimately pay, pushing back on industry criticism that has tied recent cost increases to FICO itself.
“FICO does not sell a tri-merge report or sell the FICO Score directly to lenders or consumers,” the spokesperson said. “FICO sells the score to credit bureaus and resellers, who then apply their own markups when bundling it into credit report products.”
According to FICO, its wholesale royalty remains $4.95 per score under its FICO Mortgage Direct License Program, introduced in 2025, while the traditional wholesale channel still averages about $10 per score to lenders. The company said those figures have not increased year over year, despite broader concerns about rising credit report costs.
Where The Money Actually Goes
FICO emphasized that the credit report itself, which represents the bulk of a tri-merge cost, is produced and priced by the credit bureaus, not FICO, and that it has no control over how those bundled products are ultimately priced.
“If total tri-merge costs have increased to $540, greater transparency is needed across the industry regarding where the remaining charges, meaning $510 in this example, are being allocated among the three nationwide credit bureaus, and not FICO,” the spokesperson said.
The company also pointed to its newer pricing structure as a way to introduce competition and reduce markup pressure, allowing lenders to license scores more directly and potentially lower per-score costs, though that model includes a $33 per-loan fee per borrower per score when a loan closes.
Why Costs Add Up
The cost to pull a credit file can increase rapidly. Credit is typically pulled three times for a single mortgage applicant and six times for joint applicants in the current tri-merge models. If the lending process exceeds 120 days, requiring a new credit pull, additional costs are incurred. The report warns that first-time homebuyers often experience longer processes than repeat buyers, leading to more credit pulls and increased expenses for young families.
CHLA Pushes For More Competition
CHLA, which had predicted a FICO price increase in fall 2023, now anticipates another one this coming fall. The group argues these increases are unjustified because the current FICO scoring algorithms, such as FICO 10T, are not yet in full production within conventional mortgage lending.
FICO has asserted that the price of a mortgage credit score is "less than the value we offer." However, CHLA challenges this claim, stating that value can only be established in a competitive market. "In a monopoly marketplace such as this one, there can be no fair price precisely because the monopolist has absolute pricing power and can set any price it deems, without limit."
The group is advocating for swift federal approval to make FICO rival VantageScore available to all homebuyers. CHLA has heard "industry chatter" that VantageScore's approval might be delayed until FICO's updated 10T is vetted and ready. However, the organization emphasizes that consumers now require more modern scoring algorithms.
CHLA acknowledges that other credit bureaus and resellers have also raised their rates. The group believes these increases occurred because FICO initiated them. "It is CHLA’s belief that if FICO did not raise prices each Fall, neither would the others."
To foster greater competition, CHLA suggests that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac leverage their extensive data and analytics to create their own subsidiaries for evaluating borrower creditworthiness. Once established and proven, these subsidiaries could be sold in the open market, providing additional competition. "This," CHLA said, "would enable the GSEs to make markets work better for consumers — and also get an additional return on the GSE assets."
For originators, the clarification sharpens a key takeaway: the fight over rising credit costs may be less about FICO’s base pricing and more about how scores are packaged and resold, putting increased scrutiny on credit bureau pricing and the structure of tri-merge bundles.
