Wise Fee Calculator — Real Cost of Sending Money Abroad
Calculate what Wise actually charges on your transfer — the fixed fee, the variable percentage, and what arrives on the other side.
Last reviewed 2026-10-18. Rates change — verify against the official sources linked below before relying on these figures.
What this is based on
- Approximate 2025–26 Wise pricing: mid-market exchange rate (no markup) plus a corridor-specific fee — typically 0.4–1.5% + a small fixed amount.
- Card funding adds ~1.15% (debit) or ~4.4% (credit) — bank/ACH funding is cheapest.
- Exact fees are shown by Wise before you send and vary by route and payment method.
Why Wise is usually the cheapest way to move money across borders
Banks hide the cost of international transfers in the exchange rate: a 'free' wire typically uses a rate 2–4% worse than mid-market — on $1,000 that's $20–40 of invisible fees, on top of the $25–45 wire charge. Wise's model is the opposite: real mid-market rate, fee shown upfront — typically 0.4–1.5% depending on the corridor.
That structural difference is why Wise almost always beats banks on cost, and why comparing 'fees' between banks and Wise is misleading — the bank's real fee lives inside the rate.
How you fund the transfer changes the price dramatically
Bank transfer or ACH is the baseline — the percentages above assume it. Paying by debit card adds roughly 1.15%, by credit card roughly 4.4% (plus your card's own cash-advance or foreign-transaction fees, which can double it). On a $1,000 transfer, funding by credit card instead of bank adds ~$45 — more than the entire Wise fee.
Where Wise isn't the answer
For very large transfers ($10k+), dedicated FX brokers (OFX, Currencies Direct) sometimes beat Wise's percentage with negotiated flat rates. For receiving regular freelance/client payments, compare against Payoneer (often cheaper for marketplace payouts) and direct EUR/USD multi-currency accounts — Wise's strength is mid-size occasional transfers, not high-volume payroll.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Wise charge to send $1,000?
- Roughly $6–7 on major routes (USD→EUR/GBP) funded by bank transfer — about 0.65%. Exotic corridors run 1–1.5%, and card funding adds 1–4.4% on top.
- Does Wise use the real exchange rate?
- Yes — Wise converts at the mid-market rate and charges a transparent fee on top, unlike banks which embed 2–4% in a marked-up rate.
- Is Wise cheaper than a bank wire?
- Almost always for amounts under ~$10k. A bank wire's true cost is the $25–45 fee plus a 2–4% FX markup — often 3–5% total vs Wise's ~0.6%.
- How long does a Wise transfer take?
- Minutes to 2 business days depending on the corridor and funding method — card-funded transfers are fastest, bank-funded cheapest.
Related calculators
Calculate Payoneer's real cost: receiving payments from clients and marketplaces, currency conversion markup, and withdrawing to your bank.
Calculate PayPal seller fees on any transaction — domestic, international and micropayment rates — and see what you actually keep.
Calculate the exact Stripe fee on any transaction — domestic cards, international cards, currency conversion and ACH — plus your monthly totals.