Revolut vs. Wise (UK): everything you need to know

Sending money abroad, travelling or perhaps even living between two countries? You’re going to need more than just a bank account. You’ll need a more international solution, one where managing multiple currencies at once isn’t an expensive headache.

The good news is that there are plenty to choose from, but which is right for your needs?

Here, we’re pitting two of the most popular - Revolut and Wise- against each other. We’ll compare the two on everything from fees and exchange rates to security and transfer times. This should help you make an informed choice on which service to go for.

So, let’s get started.

Revolut vs. Wise - An overview

Before we dive into accounts, fees and money transfers, it’s useful to know a little about each provider.

Launched as Wise in 2011, Wise is an international money transfer specialist. It launched with a mission to make it faster, cheaper and more convenient to move money between countries.

Based in London, Wise is known for its powerful online multi-currency account and card, and for offering mid-market exchange rates without any hidden fees. Around 16 million people use Wise worldwide, and it processes approximately £9 billion in international transfers a year.¹

Revolut meanwhile is a financial technology (fintech) company offering mobile-based current accounts. It’s billed as an alternative to traditional banks, as well as offering a range of foreign currency, crypto exchange and investments. It was launched in 2015, is based in London and has over 28 million personal users.²

Revolut vs. Wise - Accounts

Wise offers one account, the Wise multi-currency account. There’s also a dedicated account for businesses, Wise Business, boasting lots of useful features for companies of all sizes.

The Wise multi-currency account can be opened online for free, and lets you manage your money in 50 currencies at once. You can send and receive international transfers, convert between currencies, spend on a linked Wise debit card and manage everything on the go in the Wise app.

Revolut offers a choice of account plans, starting with a free Standard plan and increasing in monthly cost up to its Metal plan for £12.99 a month.

Revolut accounts are more like current accounts, offering features such as interest on savings. It also offers access to other financial services, such as investments and crypto exchange, as well as travel perks like insurance or discounted airport lounge access. However, it depends which plan you sign up for, as most of these extras are only available on paid-for plans.

How much does it cost to sign up?

There’s no signup cost for the Wise multi-currency account, or the Revolut Standard plan. You can open both of these accounts online for free. Wise also has no monthly subscription costs.

But if you want more features from your Revolut account, there’s a monthly fee to pay based on which plan you choose. Here’s the full list:

Provider and account	Monthly fee³
Revolut Standard	Free
Revolut Plus	£2.99 a month
Revolut Premium	£6.99
Revolut Metal	£12.99
Wise multi-currency account	Free

Revolut vs. Wise - Money transfer

Both Revolut and Wise offer convenient international money transfer services, usually at much cheaper prices than a traditional bank. Setting up transfers is also very easy, as you can do everything online or via a mobile app.

When you send a money transfer with either provider, there are two key things to pay attention to. There’s the upfront transfer fee, and the exchange rate. These will determine the overall cost of your transfer.

You’ll be able to see this in advance with both Revolut and Wise. Each has a tool (online and via each respective mobile app) where you can enter the amount you want to send, and your currency pair.

So for example, you want to send £500 in GBP to a friend in France (EUR). You’ll see the transfer fee and the current exchange rate at the time, although be aware that rates change all the time.

Transfer fees

Revolut and Wise both charge an upfront fee for most transfers. Both offer competitive fees, especially compared to using a bank.

The fee varies depending on how much you send, the currency and the destination. But here’s a quick overview of fees for each provider:

• Revolut - 0.3% to 2%⁴
• Wise - from 0.41%.

It’s important to note that with Revolut, the fees can change depending on when you make your transfer. It adds a 1% extra fee for converting currency at the weekend,⁵ which can make your transfer more expensive.

Revolut also charges a 1% fee if you send or spend more than your maximum limit in a month. For Standard plans, this is £1,000.⁵ Go above this and an extra fee will be added.

Wise offers the same fees all the time, and you can send up to £5 million in GBP per transfer⁶ (limits vary depending on currency). So, there are no extra fees to worry about there.

Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees.

Exchange rates

As well as checking the transfer fee, you’ll also want to look carefully at the exchange rates you’re offered by each provider.

The great news is that both Revolut and Wise offer the mid-market exchange rate. Also called the interbank rate, this is one of the fairest rates you can get. It means that the provider doing the conversion hasn’t added their own margin or mark-up on top, which is how banks and some transfer services make extra money out of the transaction.

You just need to watch out for those extra fees with Revolut, especially when converting currency at the weekend. The extra 1% fee can make a great exchange rate less competitive when you take everything into account.

A quick cost comparison

To help you get an idea of how fees and exchange rates contribute to the cost of your transfer, let’s do a quick example.

Imagine you want to send £1,500 from the UK to Switzerland, to cover your first month’s rent and deposit on a property. Here’s how much it’ll cost with both Revolut and Wise:

Provider	Transfer fee	Exchange rate	Recipient receives
Revolut⁷	£7.75	1.1055	1,658.21 CHF
Wise⁸	£7.06	1.10707	1.652.79 CHF

An important thing to note here is that Wise takes its fee from the money you send, while Revolut adds it on afterwards. So while your recipient receives ever so slightly more, you’ll still have that £7.75 to pay at the end.

This is also how much Revolut charges for carrying out the transfer between Monday to Friday - an extra charge will apply at weekends. For Wise, this is the fee you’ll pay on any day of the week.

How many currencies are supported?

With Revolut, you can send and convert money in 30+ currencies.⁹

With Wise, you can send, receive and manage your money in 50 currencies.

Transfer times

Both Revolut and Wise offer fast transfers, so there’s not much to choose between them.

Wise offers instant or same-day transfers on many popular routes. While with Revolut, 63% of transfers arrive within an hour, while a further 15% arrive within a day.¹⁰

Revolut vs. Wise - Cards

Debit cards are another feature which make both Revolut and Wise more than just providers of online transfer services.

With Revolut, you’ll get a debit card included in all plans, including the free Standard plan. You can use this to spend your account balance or withdraw cash from ATMs, in 150+ currencies worldwide. Essentially, everywhere that Visa and Mastercard are accepted.

You can manage your card in the Revolut app, including setting spending limits and freezing your card if it’s lost or stolen. The Revolut card also works with Apple Pay and Google Pay.

If you upgrade to a paid plan, you’ll have the option to get a personalised card. For Revolut Metal accounts, there’s the exclusive solid steel Metal card, which also earns up to 1% cashback on spending.

The Wise multi-currency account also has the option to add a linked debit card, for a one-time fee of just £7.

The Wise card can be used for spending and cash withdrawals in 174 countries. It automatically converts your money to the local currency at the mid-market exchange rate whenever you spend. It’s compatible with mobile wallets, and can also be managed in the Wise app.

Both Revolut and Wise offer the option of creating digital/virtual cards in the app.

ATM withdrawal fees and limits

You can use your Wise and Revolut cards to withdraw cash abroad, but how much does it cost and are there any limits? Here’s what you need to know:

Provider	Free ATM withdrawal limit	Fee thereafter
Revolut (Standard)⁵	Up to £200 (max. 5 withdrawals)	2% (min £1)
Wise¹¹	Up to £200 (max. 2 withdrawals)	1.75% + £0.50

Where ATM withdrawals are listed as free, the issuer does not charge, but some additional charges may occur from independent ATM networks.

Revolut vs. Wise - Security

The last thing to consider is security - how safe is your money with both Revolut and Wise?

Wise protects your money with sophisticated security technology, a dedicated fraud team and two-factor authentication for extra secure transactions. You can also set up real-time notifications to keep an eye on spending.

Revolut has award-winning security features, and protects your money by keeping it with regulated banks.

Neither service is a bank, so you won’t get protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). However, both Revolut and Wise are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

---

Sources used:

1. Innovate Finance - Wise unveils new look as it reaches 16 million customers served worldwide and continues global expansion
2. Revolut - About Revolut
3. Revolut - Our Pricing Plans
4. Revolut - International Payments Pricing Sheet
5. Revolut - Standard Fees
6. Wise - Guide to GBP transfers
7. Revolut - Money Transfer
8. Wise - Send Money
9. Revolut - Currency Converter
10. Revolut - About Money Transfer
11. Wise - Pricing

Sources last checked on date: 24-Apr-2023