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There’s a whole raft of companies offering money transfer services with competitive exchange rates and low fees – and both Wise and Revolut are popular choices in this market.
However, which one is right for you will depend on how you plan to use it. Here’s how the two competitors stack up.
Wise and Revolut at a glance
When deciding between Wise and Revolut for money transfer it’s important to note that both are valid options that rank well in our independent analysis of their service.
Wise was rebranded from Transferwise, a company that has operated in the currency transfer market for around a decade. Wise offers app-based and online accounts (including a debit card) for personal and business customers.
Revolut launched in 2015 starting out by offering a prepaid card and app-only payments service. It has expanded rapidly and now offers a range of payment and banking services which suit ‘global lifestyles’.
Revolut and Wise are both authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under electronic money regulations. It’s important to note that although Revolut has a UK banking licence and Wise does not, both providers currently protect customer money under a safeguarding scheme rather than the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
How do Wise and Revolut compare on price?
- Wise customers always get the exact mid-market rate on currency exchange transactions, so Wise makes its money back through its fees.
The fee charged will depend on the specific currency transaction, but it ranges from 0.15% to 2%. Wise offers an online calculator so customers can see how much they’ll be charged for their currency transfer before they go ahead.
- Revolut also uses the mid-market exchange rate and has different charges for business and personal customers, depending on the size of your transaction and method of money transfer, for example.
Revolut publishes a list of its fees online and on the app. For example, currency exchange is fee-free on weekdays, subject to maximum limits.
Transfers with Revolut at the weekend or on UK bank holidays are charged at 1%. Plus if you make total payments of more than £1,000 per month there will be a 0.5% ‘fair usage fee’. This is if you are on the free Revolut account. Revolut offers premium accounts with a monthly fee that offer higher limits for fee-free transactions.
- Currencies
While Wise can facilitate foreign exchange transactions in 40 currencies and operates in 160 countries, Revolut can send money in 70 currencies to 160 countries, according to their respective websites.
Wise vs Revolut: Summary of services and pricing
| WISE | REVOLUT | |
|---|---|---|
| No. of currencies | 47 | 70 |
| Account | Free to use account with debit card | Five accounts on offer from the free Standard account to premium accounts with monthly fee, starting at £3.99 a month up to £45 p/m |
| Fees | 0.15% to 2% | Fee-free Mon-Fri (up to £1,000 p/m) |
| Exchange rates | Mid-market rate | Mid-market rate |
| Customer support | Email, live chat, phone | In-app live chat and email |
| Business account | yes | yes |
Which is faster for money transfer, Wise or Revolut?
Wise: the speed of your currency transfer will depend on a range of factors including how you pay (debit and credit card is fastest) and the type of transfer you choose, where you’re sending the cash and the currency. Wise has three transfer speed options at different prices with the ‘fast and easy transfer’ costing the most:
- Advanced transfer – funds arrive within one to three working days
- Low cost transfer – funds arrive within three to 24 hours
- Fast and easy transfer – funds arrive within 3 to 5 hours
As an example, to send £1,000 worth of euros to a recipient in France, paying with your debit card, with the cash to arrive the next day would cost £7,56
Revolut: the standard time for international currency transfers is one to two working days, depending on the nature of the transaction and the receiving bank. Some transfers can take up to five days, for example. Faster transfer times are available to customers with ‘premium’ or monthly-fee accounts with Revolut, such as the Premium account.
Other services
While Wise has stuck with currency exchange as its core focus, Revolut can offer customers a wide range of extra services, particularly those who opt for one of its paid-for accounts, such as the Premium or Metal accounts, for example.
Even with Revolut’s Standard account customers can access budgeting tools to help with saving and spending and splitting bills. Transferring cash between Revolut accounts in the UK is free.
Some accounts offer cashback on certain types of spending as well as retail discounts and the premium accounts come with free winter sports insurance, cover for lost, stolen or delayed baggage when you travel and personal liability cover.
Revolut also offers a savings account paying a competitive rate of interest and cryptocurrency exchange and commodities investments.
Customer ratings
Both money transfer companies are regarded highly by their users. As of November 2024, both providers have Trustpilot rating of 4.3 out of 5. For Wise, this is from more than 240,000 reviews and from Revolut it’s from more than 169,000 reviews.
Conclusion: Wise vs Revolut – which is best for you?
Which currency transfer service is best for you will depend on what you want from the account and how you plan to use it.
For fast, low cost currency exchange the Wise account is straightforward with a transparent fee structure and mid-market exchange rates.
But for added services Revolut could offer customers more, particularly for regular travellers who want fee-free spending overseas, insurance for baggage when on holiday and discounts on airport lounge access (some add-on benefits are only available with Revolut’s premium accounts).
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper for international money transfers, Wise or Revolut?
Whether Wise or Revolut is cheaper for overseas money transfers depends on the specific transfer, the currency, the amount, and the transfer method.
This is because the fees vary widely between Wise and Revolut depending on these factors.
For example, if you wanted to send £500 in euros to a bank in Spain, with Wise, the recipient would receive €595.69 (correct as of 19 November 2024), taking into account the exchange rate and Wise’s fee. The same transaction through Revolut’s app would yield slightly more for the recipient at €597.28.
In contrast, sending £2,500 to the US by bank transfer, the recipient would get $3,153.91 with Wise, but the same transaction with Revolut would leave the US recipient with $3,137.43.
This is largely on account of Revolut’s £18.75 bank transfer fee for this transaction.
Overall however, Wise tends to work out cheaper for larger money transfers, especially at weekends when Revolut charges a mark-up.
Use the real-time calculators provided on each provider’s websites to compare costs for your own money transfer.
Does Wise or Revolut offer better exchange rates?
Both Wise and Revolut use the mid-market exchange rate (sometimes called the interbank rate) for currency exchange, which tends to be the most competitive in the money transfer market for consumers.
The only exception to this for Revolut is for currency exchange at weekends and for transactions over and above its fair usage limit, when it then charges a mark-up.
However, it is important to look at the total costs of a money transfer, including any transfer fees, and not just the exchange rate.
For smaller transfers of under £1,000, Revolut may be cheaper than Wise on weekdays when it charges low or no fees.
But the same transaction at the weekend could be cheaper with Wise.
Which app is better for travelling abroad: Wise or Revolut?
The app that is better for overseas travel will depend on how you want to use it.
Both Wise and Revolut offer a debit card with no fees on spending abroad or for cash withdrawals.
But Revolut has a fair usage policy on currency exchange at weekends and over and above £1,000 a month (on its free Standard plan), so you may be hit with a 1% charge on card transactions depending on when, and how much, currency is exchanged while abroad.
Wise charges an exchange fee if you spend in a currency you don’t hold in your account.
Both Wise and Revolut also impose maximum limits on cash machine withdrawals at home and abroad.
On Revolut’s Standard plan the maximum is £200 per month or five withdrawals (whichever comes first). For Wise, the limit is also £200 per month but only up to two withdrawals per month.
Revolut may suit frequent travellers who are looking for add-on travel benefits with their currency account.
For the best travel perks you’ll need to pay for one of Revolut’s premium accounts.
The benefits include airport lounge access and winter sports cover, for example.
What are the main differences between Wise and Revolut?
The key difference between Wise and Revolut for personal use is Revolut’s broader range of account plans and services.
While Wise offers one multi-currency account with no monthly fee, Revolut one free ‘Standard’ account, but also offers four premium accounts with additional benefits.
Among the benefits on its premium accounts are discounted rate airport lounge access, delayed flights and lost luggage insurance, medical and dental emergency cover, free gym passes, and higher interest rates on cash savings, among many other perks, but for a monthly fee.
Revolut was granted a banking licence by the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) in July 2024.
It means that while Revolut’s customers don’t yet have protection for their funds with the provider under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), this valuable cover is now in the pipeline.
Revolut is also likely to start offering more banking products in future.
In contrast, Wise is not a bank and is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as an electronic-money provider. This means customers do not have FSCS protection.
Is Wise or Revolut safer for holding and managing my money?
Both Wise and Revolut take significant steps to protect customers’ money from hackers and fraudsters.
Wise uses two-factor authentication for secure transactions and its customers can set up real-time notifications to keep an eye on spending and account activity.
Wise also has a dedicated fraud team which keeps an eye on usual transactions.
Revolut also uses two-factor authentication, and for some in-app transactions, such as purchases or money transfers, customers may be asked to make additional steps to confirm and verify the payment.
In terms of the safety of customers’ money in the event Wise or Revolut goes bust, currently neither provider offers FSCS protection to its account holders (see above).
But since Revolut was granted a banking licence in 2024 its customers should get FSCS protection in the future, although this is not yet in place and no date has been set.
