Exchange Rate Markup Calculator

The exchange-rate markup is the cost almost nobody sees: a margin hidden inside the rate you're quoted. Enter the real rate and the one you were offered to find out exactly what it's costing you.

Calculate the Hidden Markup

3.26% off the mid-market rate

Enter the real rate and the rate you were quoted to see what the markup costs you.

Amount converting

Real (mid-market) rate

Rate you were offered

Both rates are “units you receive per 1 unit sent.” Not sure of the real rate? Look it up on our live currency converter →

Exchange-rate markup

3.26%

You lose to the markup

30.00

What the rate costs you

You receive at their rate890.00

You’d receive at the real rate920.00

Hidden cost of the markup

30.00

That 3.26% markup is on top of any upfront fee. It's the cost most people never notice. A service that uses the real mid-market rate (0% markup) would hand the recipient the full amount.

Comparing services? Check their exact fees:

Wise OFX XE Remitly Western Union Skrill

Where the markup hides

The mid-market rate is the real exchange rate: the midpoint between buy and sell prices that banks use with each other, and the number you see on Google or Reuters. When a bank or transfer service quotes you a worse rate and keeps the difference, that gap is the markup. Because it's built into the rate rather than shown as a fee, it's the most overlooked cost in moving money.

It adds up fast: on a $5,000 transfer, a 3% markup is $150 gone, invisibly, and often far more than the advertised “transfer fee.” That's why a “no fee” transfer can still be expensive, and why comparing the total cost matters.

Benchmark against the mid-market rate. Compare how many units the recipient actually gets for your money. A service that gives you the real rate (0% markup) plus one small visible fee almost always beats a “no fee” quote with a marked-up rate.

What a markup costs at different transfer sizes

The markup is a percentage, so the dollar cost scales straight with the amount you send, and it stays invisible the whole way up. Here's what a 1%, 3% and 5% markup quietly takes out of a transfer:

Transfer amount	1% markup	3% markup	5% markup
$500	$5	$15	$25
$1,000	$10	$30	$50
$5,000	$50	$150	$250
$10,000	$100	$300	$500

None of this shows up as a “fee”: it's the difference between what the recipient gets at the real rate and what they actually get. That's why a $300 loss on a $10,000 wire can sit right next to a “$0 transfer fee.”

Markups by provider

Provider	Markup	Notes
Banks	2.9% to 4% (measured)	Chase and Wells Fargo, October 7, 2026; on top of a wire fee of $30 to $75 (nothing at Fidelity)
PayPal	3%–4%	currency-conversion spread, as PayPal’s fee schedule states it
Western Union	1.37% above the mid-market rate	with a $1.99 fee
MoneyGram	1.37% above the mid-market rate	with a $10.00 fee, as listed by moneytransfers.com
Remitly	1.45% above the mid-market rate	with a $1.99 fee
XE	0.93% above the mid-market rate	with no fee
Wise	0.01% better than our mid-market reference	with a $12.07 fee

Banks: the markups measured at Chase and Wells Fargo, as Wise’s public comparison of bank rates showed it; other banks don’t publish theirs. PayPal: its published spread. The transfer services: each one's own quote for $1,000 sent from the US to a bank account in Mexico, paid from a bank account, in quotes collected October 13, 2026. A service that converts at the mid-market rate shows its cost as the fee instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an exchange rate markup?

A markup is the gap between the real mid-market exchange rate and the worse rate a bank or service quotes you. It is not shown as a fee. It is baked into the rate, so most people never notice it. Banks don’t publish theirs: at the banks whose rates we could measure (Chase and Wells Fargo, on October 7, 2026, as Wise’s public comparison of bank rates showed it) the markup ran 2.9% to 4%. PayPal states a conversion spread of 3% to 4% in its fee schedule. Some transfer services, such as Wise, convert at the mid-market rate and charge a visible fee instead.

How do I calculate the exchange rate markup?

Subtract the rate you were offered from the real mid-market rate, then divide by the mid-market rate. For example, if the real rate is 0.92 and you were offered 0.89, the markup is (0.92 − 0.89) ÷ 0.92 = about 3.3%. On a $1,000 transfer, the recipient receives about 30 units less of the destination currency (worth roughly $33), lost in the rate alone.

What is a typical exchange rate markup?

Banks don’t publish their markup; at the banks whose rates we could measure (Chase and Wells Fargo, on October 7, 2026, as Wise’s public comparison of bank rates showed it) the markup ran 2.9% to 4%. PayPal states a conversion spread of 3% to 4% in its fee schedule. On $1,000 sent from the US to a bank account in Mexico, paid from a bank account, Western Union's exchange rate was 1.37% above the mid-market rate with a $1.99 fee, and Wise's was 0.01% better than our mid-market reference with a $12.07 fee, in quotes collected October 13, 2026. Specialist services that convert at the mid-market rate charge a visible fee instead, so compare the fee and the markup together.

Is a “no fee” transfer really free?

Usually not. Services advertising “no fees” often make their money on the exchange-rate markup instead, which can cost more than a transparent fee. Always compare the total cost (the upfront fee plus the markup) using the real mid-market rate as your benchmark.

How do I avoid exchange rate markups?

Use a service that gives you the mid-market rate (such as Wise), check the real rate on a neutral converter before you send, fund transfers from a bank rather than a card, and compare how many units the recipient actually receives, not just the advertised fee.

How much does a 3% markup cost on $10,000?

About $300. A 3% markup means the recipient gets 3% fewer units of the destination currency than the real mid-market rate would give: on a $10,000 transfer that is roughly $300, usually invisible because it is built into the rate rather than charged as a fee. The same 3% is $30 on $1,000 and $150 on $5,000.

Why don’t banks show the markup as a fee?

Because it is legal to build a margin into the exchange rate instead of listing it as a charge. Disclosure rules cover upfront fees, but the rate itself is the bank’s to set, so a “no transfer fee” offer can still carry a markup (2.9% to 4% at Chase and Wells Fargo, measured on October 7, 2026). The only defense is to benchmark every quote against the real mid-market rate and compare what the recipient actually receives.

Typical markups, provider by provider

The markup this tool measures is the gap between the real mid-market rate (the one you see on Google or Reuters) and the rate you were actually quoted. It is the most expensive part of most transfers precisely because it is never shown as a fee.

What we can state: at the banks whose rates we could measure (Chase and Wells Fargo, on October 7, 2026, as Wise’s public comparison of bank rates showed it) the markup ran 2.9% to 4%; on $1,000 sent from the US to a bank account in Mexico, paid from a bank account, the transfer services above quoted markups from 0.93% to 1.45% above the mid-market rate. Card issuers state their foreign transaction fee in the card’s terms. To use the calculator, enter the mid-market rate and the rate you were offered; the difference, expressed as a percentage and a dollar amount, is the markup. Comparing that number across providers, rather than comparing headline fees, is the single most reliable way to find the cheapest way to send.