FX Fee Calculator: Wise vs Bank Wire
The real cost of an international transfer is almost never the fee on the receipt. It's the exchange rate markup you never see. This calculator shows you both: enter an amount, pick your currencies, and see what your recipient actually receives with Wise versus a typical bank wire, using the same mid-market rate for both.
Your transfer
Assumptions (edit anything)
| Wise | Typical bank wire | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee taken from your amount | – | – |
| Rate applied | – | – |
| Recipient receives | – | – |
| Total cost of the transfer | – | – |
How to read this: "total cost" counts both the visible fee and the money lost to a worse exchange rate, against the mid-market benchmark. That's the number banks don't show you. Wise's fee varies by corridor and can be lower or higher than the default above; your live fee is confirmed before you send. This calculator computes in your browser only; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Why the rate matters more than the fee
Send $10,000 to Europe through a bank that advertises a "$45 wire" and the fee looks tolerable, until you price the exchange rate. A 3% markup on $10,000 is $300, quietly taken before your money even leaves. Wise's model is the opposite: the mid-market rate, with a visible percentage fee on top. On most corridors that fee lands well under a bank's hidden markup, which is why the recipient almost always ends up with more.
It's not one-sided. On very large transfers, a bank relationship or a negotiated FX desk can occasionally beat both columns above, and Wise isn't the right tool for every corridor. Airwallex and UQPay deserve a look at volume; we compare all three head to head here.
Pick Wise if: you send money abroad regularly and want the cost stated before you commit. Stick with your bank if: you send rarely, value the branch relationship, and can negotiate the rate rather than accept the screen price.
Frequently asked questions
What is the mid-market rate?
It's the midpoint between buy and sell prices on the global currency market: the rate banks trade at with each other, and the one you see quoted online. Retail providers add a margin on top of it; the size of that margin is the real price of your transfer.
Is Wise's fee really the same for every currency?
No. Wise prices each corridor separately, so the percentage differs by where your money is going. The default in this calculator is a middle-of-the-road estimate. Edit it to the fee Wise quotes for your route, which is always shown before you send.
Do banks really mark up the rate by 3%?
For standard retail international wires, 2–4% is typical, and most banks never state it. Some banks and dedicated FX brokers do better. If yours quotes you a rate, compare it with the mid-market rate at that moment; the gap is your markup, whatever the brochure says.
Sources
- Wise: converts at the mid-market rate with a variable fee shown upfront; fee percentages vary by currency corridor: https://wise.com/us/pricing/
- Founder Setup: Wise vs Airwallex vs UQPay compared on fees, FX rates, and speed: https://foundersetup.com/articles/wise-vs-airwallex-vs-uqpay