The four pricing models
1. Per funded loan
You pay for each loan that closes, at a rate quoted to your organization. Blend is the best-known example of this success-based structure. It feels aligned, because you pay when you win. It is also the only model where your technology bill is indexed to your growth: fund twice as many loans and the bill doubles, automatically, at the moment your warehouse lines and staffing costs are also peaking.
2. Per user, per month
The standard SaaS structure. Floify publishes tiers starting under $100 per user per month, and Maxwell's reported range runs roughly $99 to $199. Costs scale with headcount rather than volume, which is gentler, and the meter still never stops. Twenty-five seats at $150 is $45,000 per year, every year, before add-ons.
3. Enterprise contract
Multi-year agreements with negotiated pricing, minimums, and implementation programs, typical of suites like nCino and of Encompass itself. Predictable inside the term, then repriced at renewal, when switching costs are highest and your leverage is lowest.
4. One-time license
You buy the software once, at a quoted fixed price, and own it. Common in core banking history, rare in modern mortgage tech. SpyGlass uses this model: a source-code license scoped to your organization, a fixed-scope implementation, and an optional annual support agreement you can decline without losing the platform. Year one costs more than any subscription. Then the meter stops.
The math at three volumes
Per-loan fees look small because each one is small. Annualized, they are a staffing decision. The table uses two illustrative rates; substitute your own quote.
| Funded loans per month | At $50 per loan | At $85 per loan |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $15,000 per year | $25,500 per year |
| 100 | $60,000 per year | $102,000 per year |
| 400 | $240,000 per year | $408,000 per year |
For scale: the Mortgage Bankers Association puts the fully loaded cost to originate at $12,209 per loan for independent mortgage banks in 2025, and $16,320 for depositories, per MBA research. Technology will never be the biggest line, sales expense is. It is the line that compounds silently as you grow, unless you change its structure.
The line items that hide in the quote
- Implementation and onboarding fees, often quoted after you are emotionally committed
- Platform minimums that apply when volume dips below the tier you signed
- Add-on modules: e-sign, verifications, disclosures, each with its own meter
- Pass-through costs for credit, VOA, and VOE services routed through the platform
- Renewal escalators, the quiet 3 to 8 percent annual increase written into the term
- Exit costs: data export assistance billed hourly, on the way out the door
Six questions that surface the real price
- What is the all-in first-year cost at our current volume, including implementation, in writing?
- What is the same number if our volume doubles?
- Which features in the demo are add-ons with separate pricing?
- What are the minimums, and what triggers them?
- What does renewal pricing look like in year three?
- What do we keep, and what does export cost, if we leave?
Then run the totals through our TCO calculator. It takes your volume and your quotes, and shows the 1, 3, and 5 year picture next to a one-time license.