A provider makes money on your transfer in two ways, and only one shows up on the screen. The transfer fee is the charge you can see, listed as its own line. The exchange-rate markup is the charge you cannot see: the provider gives you a worse rate than the real mid-market rate and keeps the difference. On most transfers that hidden markup is the bigger cost, which is why a "no fee" offer can still be expensive.
The number to compare is the all-in cost, the fee and the markup added together as one percentage. Every provider on this site is ranked by it.
- The fee is visible, the markup is not. A transfer fee is a line item you can see. A markup is a worse exchange rate the provider keeps instead, and it never appears as a charge.
- The markup is usually the bigger cost. A bank's fee might be $35, but its 3% markup on a $10,000 transfer is about $300. The part you cannot see costs ten times the part you can.
- "No fee" does not mean cheap. A provider can charge nothing up front and still take 3% inside the rate. On $1,000 that is about $30, kept before you ever see a bill.
- Compare the all-in cost. Add the fee and the markup into one percentage and the real price is plain. That is the single number this site ranks every provider by.
Two ways to pay for one transfer
Every provider gets paid through some mix of these two charges, and the mix is what separates a cheap transfer from an expensive one.
A transfer fee is money you can see leaving your account. Wise, for example, shows its fee as a line item before you confirm: about 0.41% of the amount plus a small fixed charge on popular routes like US dollars to euros. On a $1,000 transfer that works out to about $3.44 all-in, near 0.34%, all of it shown up front.
An exchange-rate markup works differently. The provider quotes you a rate that is a little worse than the real one and keeps the gap. No line item appears. You simply end up with fewer euros. Right now $1 buys 0.863185 euros at the mid-market rate. A provider that hands you that rate and adds a small fee is cheap. One that gives you a rate 3% worse is charging you 3%, whether it calls it a fee or not.
Why "no fee" can still be expensive
Here is the trap in plain numbers. Take a $1,000 transfer from US dollars to euros.
Provider A advertises no fee but builds a 3% markup into the rate. You see $0 in charges and feel like you got a deal. In reality the provider kept about $30 inside the exchange rate, and you have no line item to point to.
Provider B charges a $4 fee and gives you the real mid-market rate with no markup. You see the $4, you pay the $4, and that is the whole cost.
The "free" transfer cost you about $30. The one with a visible fee cost you about $4. Fee or no fee, the markup decides the price. This is how "no fee" offers stay profitable: the cost moves out of the line item and into the rate.
Where a bank's money actually goes
Banks are the clearest example of the split, because they charge both. A typical bank adds about 3% inside the exchange rate and a wire fee of roughly $35 on top. The fee looks official and finite. The markup hides in a rate that simply looks like "the rate."
The waterfall splits a $10,000 transfer into its two parts: a thin slice of visible fee and a thick block of hidden markup. On $10,000 that markup is roughly $300, while the fee is about $35. The part you never see costs almost ten times the part you do. On this site's modelled typical bank, a $1,000 transfer runs about 6.39% all-in, and nearly all of it sits in the rate, not the fee.
The only number that matters: all-in cost
Once you fold the fee and the markup into one percentage, comparing providers gets simple. You stop asking "what's the fee?" and start asking "what does this actually cost me, all in?"
The table ranks every provider we track on a $1,000 transfer by that single number. A provider with a small fee and an honest rate sits at the top. One with no fee and a large markup sits near the bottom, its fee column reading zero.
Wise, for instance, charges a visible percentage and lands near 0.34% all-in here. A bank charges no visible percentage at all and still comes in several times higher, because its markup does the charging instead. Our Wise vs Revolut guide tests every Revolut plan head to head.
A simple way to check any quote
You can test any quote in under a minute. The markup catches people who only ever read the fee line, since the fee is the only number on the screen. Look up the mid-market rate, the one a currency converter shows, then compare it with the rate the provider offers you. If their rate is 2% worse, you are paying a 2% markup, whatever the fee says. Add the fee on top and you have the true price.
A few habits make this automatic:
- Always find the mid-market rate first. Any gap between it and your quoted rate is the markup.
- Read the rate, not just the fee. A small fee beside a bad rate is still an expensive transfer.
- Compare like for like. Two quotes only line up once both are expressed as an all-in percentage.
Run your exact amount and currency pair through the comparison tool and the math is done for you, with the fee, the rate, and the all-in cost shown side by side. Our guide to cutting FX fees goes further on picking the right provider for the size of your transfer.
Frequently asked questions
What is an exchange-rate markup?
It is the gap between the real mid-market rate and the rate a provider actually gives you, with the provider keeping the difference. A provider that adds a 3% markup on a $1,000 transfer keeps about $30 inside the rate, and you never see it as a line item. This is why a transfer advertised as having no fee can still be expensive.
Is a transfer fee the same as a markup?
No. A transfer fee is a charge you can see, listed as its own line, either a flat amount or a percentage of what you send. A markup is a worse exchange rate the provider keeps instead, and it never shows up as a charge. The two are added together into one all-in cost so you can compare providers fairly.
Which costs more, the fee or the markup?
Usually the markup. A bank might charge a $35 wire fee and look reasonable, then add 3% inside the rate, which on a $10,000 transfer is about $300. The visible fee is the smaller part. A specialist that charges a small fee and uses the real rate costs a fraction as much. That is why the all-in cost matters more than the fee.
Sources: Wise pricing (opens in a new tab), Revolut exchange fees (opens in a new tab). Accessed 1 August 2026.