Compare what an international transfer actually costs through Wise vs a typical U.S. bank wire — including the hidden FX-margin cost banks don’t show you.
Enter your transfer amount and frequency. See the all-in cost both ways, plus your annual savings if you switch.
Amount you’re sending per transfer, before any fees.
Wise’s pricing varies by corridor. Major corridors are cheapest; exotic currencies cost more.
Bank wires include a $25–$50 flat fee + 2–4% exchange-rate markup. Bank-app international transfers are typically slightly cheaper but still have an FX markup. Wise charges a transparent fee at the mid-market rate.
Most U.S. banks advertise their international wire fee as $30–$50 (e.g., Chase: $50, Bank of America: $45, Wells Fargo: $45). What they don’t advertise is the exchange-rate margin — the gap between the real mid-market rate and the rate they actually convert your dollars at. That margin is typically 2–4% all-in, which on a $5,000 transfer is $100–$200 — far more than the visible fee.
The result: a $5,000 bank wire that looks like “just a $45 fee” actually costs you ~$175 once you add the hidden FX spread. Annualized at one transfer per month, that’s over $2,000 a year that disappears into the bank’s margin.
Wise (formerly TransferWise) publishes its fees transparently and converts at the actual mid-market rate. The fee structure is:
On a $5,000 transfer to EUR, Wise typically charges around $22–$30 all-in. Compared to the bank wire’s ~$175, that’s $150 in savings per transfer.
Wise gives you a non-USD balance you can hold in 40+ currencies. If your aggregate foreign account balance (Wise + any other foreign accounts) exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file FBAR. Use our FBAR Checker to confirm.