Ria is one of the biggest names in sending money home, and its advertised fee looks friendly, around $5 on a $1,000 transfer. But the fee is not where Ria makes its money. The real cost sits in the exchange rate, about 2.99% on a dollar-to-euro send, while Wise takes about $3.44 in total.
On a bank deposit, Wise is the cheaper way to send. Ria's edge is something else: a vast network of shops where your family can collect the money in cash. The figures below use the current mid-market reference; Wise may use an account-holder API estimate, while other providers use stored published fee and markup models rather than live quotes.
- Ria's low fee is a decoy. The headline charge is small, but a markup of about 2.5% in the exchange rate is where the real cost lives.
- Wise is cheaper into a bank account, with a small visible fee at the mid-market rate.
- Ria's strength is cash pickup. Its agent network reaches places a bank deposit cannot, which is what you are paying for.
- On cost alone, Wise wins this route, and the gap grows with the amount.
How Ria charges
Ria is one of the world's largest money-transfer operators, and it is built around cash. You can send online and have your family collect the money at a nearby agent, a corner shop, a pharmacy, a dedicated kiosk, in a huge number of countries. That reach is the product.
The pricing reflects it. The advertised fee is low, roughly $5 on a $1,000 send, but Ria adds a markup to the exchange rate of about 2.5% on a route like this one. The fee and the markup both move with the route and the payout method, and the markup is usually the larger of the two.
So a transfer that advertises a $5 fee can quietly cost several times that once the rate is set. The next chart shows the split on a $10,000 send: the visible fee in gold, the part hidden in the rate in red.
Ria's bar is mostly red. The small fee is real, but it is a sideshow next to the markup.
How Wise charges
Wise takes the opposite approach. It hands you the mid-market rate and adds a visible fee on top, around 0.33–0.5% on popular routes plus a small fixed charge of roughly $0.61. No markup hidden in the rate, no subscription, no weekend surcharge.
The catch is the payout. Wise is built around bank accounts (and a few wallets). If your recipient needs cash in hand, Wise may not be an option at all, and the cost comparison stops mattering.
Head to head, by amount
Where both can deliver, Wise is cheaper, and the lead grows with the amount. Here is the same dollar-to-euro transfer at three sizes.
$1,000
Wise lands near 0.34% all-in. Ria's 2.5% markup puts it well above, despite the modest fee on the checkout screen.
$5,000
A percentage markup scales with the transfer. At $5,000, Ria's 2.5% is worth over a hundred dollars, and Wise's flatter cost is far ahead.
$10,000
On a large send the markup dominates everything. Ria's 2.5% on $10,000 is a few hundred dollars of cost, and Wise keeps most of that in the other account.
The pattern at a glance
The bars at $10,000 tell the story in one glance: Wise low, Ria high, and the distance between them is almost entirely the markup that Ria's small fee distracts from.
The savings in context
Across the displayed estimates, choosing Interactive Brokers over MoneyGram leaves an extra €326.11 (3.93%) in the recipient's account.
Same 10,000 USD and the same market rate before fees. Provider availability, how you pay and the final price can change the result.
Who should pick what
Pick Wise if the money is going into a bank account and you want the lowest all-in cost. On a deposit, Wise is the cheaper of the two by a clear margin, and there is no markup hiding in the rate.
Pick Ria if your recipient needs cash in hand, lives somewhere with thin banking, or wants to collect the money within minutes at a local agent. That is what Ria is built for, and on those sends the higher cost can be money well spent.
Price Interactive Brokers when a large conversion is needed for an investment, trade or hedge inside the brokerage. Its 0.002% Tier I commission with a USD 2 equivalent minimum can rank below both at scale. It does not replace Ria cash pickup or a normal payment to another person.
The bottom line
On a bank-deposit transfer, Wise is the cheaper way to send, and it stays cheaper as the amount grows. Ria's low advertised fee is a distraction from a markup of about 2.5%, which is where most of its cost lives. Judge it on the all-in number, not the sticker.
But cost is only half the decision. If your family needs cash, Ria's agent network reaches them in ways a bank deposit cannot, and that reach is worth paying for. Match the provider to how the money lands, then compare the price. Either option beats a bank, which would take 3% or more on the same transfer. Our guide to cutting FX fees shows how to read a quote so nothing is hidden from you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ria cheaper than Wise?
No, not on a bank-deposit transfer. Ria's advertised fee is low, but it adds a markup of about 2.5% to the exchange rate, which makes its all-in cost higher than Wise's. Wise charges a small, visible fee at the mid-market rate.
When is Ria the better choice?
When your recipient needs cash. Ria pays out through a large network of local agents, so your family can collect the money in person, often within minutes, in places where a bank deposit is not practical. For those sends, the higher cost can be worth it.
Why is Ria's fee so low if the transfer is not cheap?
Because the fee is not where Ria makes most of its money. It keeps the advertised fee small and earns its margin inside the exchange rate, as a markup. Adding the fee and the markup together is the only way to see the true cost.
Are these numbers exact?
The table uses the current mid-market reference and, where available, a Wise account-holder API estimate. Other providers use stored published fee and markup models, not live quotes, so the results are modelled estimates for typical routes. Ria's fee and markup vary by route and by payout method, and the figures shown are representative. Always confirm the final figure on the provider's own site before you send.
Cost figures are worked out from each provider's published fee structure applied to the current mid-market reference rate, modelled estimates for typical major-currency routes. Ria's fee and markup vary by route and payout method; the figures shown are representative. Always confirm the final quote on the provider's own site before you transfer. We may earn a commission from affiliate links at no extra cost to you; this never affects rankings. Nothing here is financial advice.
Sources: Wise pricing (opens in a new tab), Ria help centre (opens in a new tab), Interactive Brokers commissions (opens in a new tab), IBUK and IBLLC Client Agreement (opens in a new tab), Interactive Brokers third-party withdrawals (opens in a new tab). Accessed 22 August 2026.