International Money Transfer Cost Calculator
See the real cost of your international transfer. The fee your bank quotes is usually the smaller half — the exchange-rate markup is where the money actually goes. Plug in your numbers to see how much your recipient loses, and how much a mid-market provider would save.
What each option really costs
Full breakdown
| Bank | Mid-market | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount sent | £0 | £0 |
| Exchange-rate markup | £0 | £0 |
| Fixed fee | £0 | £0 |
| Total cost | £0 | £0 |
| Effective cost | 0% | 0% |
Enter your numbers to see the comparison.
Where the money actually goes
International bank transfers have two costs stacked on top of each other:
- The fixed fee — the £15–£30 you see on your statement. This is the small, obvious cost. Banks advertise it because it looks reasonable.
- The exchange-rate markup — the invisible one. The bank quotes you an exchange rate that's 2–5% worse than the true mid-market rate, and pockets the spread. On a £5,000 transfer at 3.5% markup, that's £175 — nearly ten times the fixed fee, and it never appears as a line item.
Mid-market providers (Wise, Revolut, some brokers) flip the model: they use the real rate you'd see on Google and charge a small transparent fee on top. The total is almost always dramatically less for consumer-sized transfers.
When banks might still make sense
- Very large transfers — £50k+ where a currency broker can negotiate a custom spread.
- Exotic currency corridors — obscure pairs where mid-market providers don't operate. Rare.
- Same-day guaranteed settlement — some banks still edge out on speed for wires above a threshold. Wise and Revolut are usually faster too, but mission-critical property completions are the one place a bank wire is still standard.
For anything else — salary from abroad, freelance invoices, family remittances, holiday spending, buying property below high six figures — the calculator above will show the honest number.
Related calculators
- Currency converter — live mid-market rates for 160+ currencies.
- Freelance hourly rate — set the right price when clients pay in another currency.
- VAT calculator — for cross-border invoicing.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a bank transfer so much more expensive than the fee they quote?
The upfront fee (£15–£30 typically) is only half the story. The bigger cost is the exchange-rate markup: banks apply their own rate, usually 2–5% worse than the real mid-market rate. On a £5,000 transfer at a 3.5% markup, that's £175 quietly gone before any fee is even mentioned. This calculator makes both costs visible side-by-side.
What is the 'mid-market' rate?
The mid-market (or interbank) rate is the true exchange rate you see on Google, XE, or Reuters — the rate banks use to trade with each other. It's the fairest reference point. Any rate a bank quotes you will be worse than mid-market; the difference is the markup they earn on the FX.
How do I find out my bank's actual markup?
Take the rate the bank quotes you and compare it to Google's rate for the same pair. If Google shows GBP→EUR at 1.1700 and your bank offers 1.1290, the markup is (1.1700 − 1.1290) / 1.1700 = 3.5%. Most UK high-street banks sit in the 2.5–4.5% range; some pre-paid travel cards hit 5–8% on weekends.
Is Wise or Revolut always cheaper?
For one-off consumer transfers up to five figures, almost always yes — Wise typically charges the mid-market rate plus a 0.4–0.7% fee. Revolut's standard plan is fee-free on FX up to a monthly limit (usually £1,000), then applies a 0.5–1% markup. For very large corporate transfers, a currency broker can occasionally beat both.
What about the tiny £2 transfer fee — is that real too?
Yes — the transparent providers do charge a small fixed fee (usually £1–£5 for SEPA/FPS transfers, more for wire) which is included in the calculator. Even after that, the total cost is normally an order of magnitude below a bank on any transfer of £500+.