I only want to see my credit score. Can’t I just pay a one time fee for this?

Yes, it is possible to purchase your credit score one time for a fee. There is no single way to calculate a credit score, but the FICO score is the one most commonly used by lenders, and is the best score to purchase if you want to know how lenders view your credit file. The company that creates the FICO scores for all three credit bureaus, myFICO, also sells them directly to consumers. You can buy all three of your scores for $47.85, with FICO Credit Complete, or you can pick a just one of the three bureaus and buy a single score for $15.95 with FICO Standard. Both of these packages also include the corresponding credit report or reports, an explanation of your credit score or scores, and the FICO Simulator, which estimates what your score would be if you took various actions, such as paying down credit card debt.

However, you should take into account the fact that your credit file is constantly changing. This means that your credit score is always changing as well. As such, we recommend that consumers check their credit report and credit scores at least once per quarter and more frequently if you are actively shopping for a loan. We also recommend that you receive your credit reports at the same time as your scores because the information on your credit report is what is used to determine your credit score in the first place, and is generally far more important than the score itself.

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