Mercury vs Wise Business

Mercury charges nothing for US payments and USD wires but 1% to pay in another currency; Wise Business charges a small fee on US payments and from 0.23% on the mid-market rate abroad. Enter a month of your banking to see which costs less.

Mercury vs Wise Business

Mercury: US payments and wires free, 1% to pay in another currency, 3% on card spend abroad · Wise: from 0.23% on the mid-market rate, a small fee on US payments

Payments to US bank accounts

Dollars sent to suppliers or staff in the US

How many a month

The currency you pay abroad in

Each currency has its own Wise fee

Currency

Payments in euros

Converted from your dollars and sent to a bank abroad

How many a month

Usual amount ($)

Card spending in euros

On the company card, from your dollar balance

Total a month ($)

Mercury, a month

$40.00

free plan, fees only

Wise Business, a month

$23.92

no monthly fee, fees only

Fees, not exchange rates

Mercury charges its 1% (and 3% on cards) on its own exchange rate, which it does not publish against the mid-market rate. Wise says it converts at the mid-market rate. So Mercury's real cost on a currency payment is its fee plus any margin in its rate.

Both accounts, cheapest first

Wise Business$1.13 a US payment · $0.53 + 0.29% in EUR · 0.29% card abroadFees: US payments $11.30, payments in EUR $12.62$23.92

MercuryUS payments and wires free · 1% in another currency · 3% card abroadFees: payments in EUR $40.00$40.00

Lowest: Wise Business

$23.92

Wise costs less each month by

$16.08

Open Wise Business Open Mercury

Both paid from money already in the account; Mercury on its free plan, since its paid plans change no payment fee. Not included: USD wires sent abroad (Wise does not publish its Swift fee for them), Wise's one-time $31 for account details, its volume discount above $25,000 a month and its minimum fee on small payments, and ATM withdrawals.

Mercury and Wise Business fees, side by side

Fee

Mercury

Wise Business

Monthly fee

Account details to receive money

$31 once

Payment to a US bank account

$1.13

USD wire to a bank abroad

Not listed

Payment in another currency

From 0.23% + a flat fee

Card spend in another currency

From 0.23%

Receiving ACH

Receiving a USD wire

$6.11

ATM withdrawal in dollars

No Mercury fee

Free to $250 a month

Exchange rate

Mercury’s own

Mid-market

Each wins on different payments. Mercury costs nothing to move dollars, at home or abroad, and nothing to receive a wire. Wise costs less as soon as money changes currency, on a transfer or the card, and converts at the mid-market rate. After $250 a month, a Wise ATM withdrawal costs $1.95 + 1.95%; Mercury adds no fee of its own to cash in dollars, though the ATM's operator may.

Wise's fee by currency

Paying in

Wise fee

Wise’s fee is lower from

Euros (EUR)

$0.53 + 0.29%

$74.55

British pounds (GBP)

$0.59 + 0.33%

$87.92

Canadian dollars (CAD)

$0.86 + 0.28%

$119.31

Australian dollars (AUD)

$0.52 + 0.28%

$72.14

Mexican pesos (MXN)

$0.65 + 0.51%

$131.93

Indian rupees (INR)

$0.58 + 0.42%

$99.69

Philippine pesos (PHP)

$0.56 + 0.49%

$109.29

Japanese yen (JPY)

$1.39 + 0.36%

$216.71

Wise's fee for a payment from your dollar balance to a bank account in that currency: a flat amount plus a percentage of the dollars sent. Wise shows the percentage rounded; the figures on this page use the exact rate behind it, so they match Wise's own quotes to the cent. Converting inside the account, or spending that currency on the card, is the percentage alone. The last column is the payment size from which Wise's fee is lower than Mercury's 1%; it ignores any margin in Mercury's rate, which would only lower it.

Three businesses, priced

A month of banking

Mercury

Wise Business

US-only business: 20 US payments, 2 USD wires received

$0.00

$34.82

Importer: 4 payments in euros of $10,000

$400.00

$117.76

Team abroad: $3,000 of card spend in euros, 10 US payments

$90.00

$19.97

Fees only. Mercury costs less for a US-only business, by $34.82; Wise costs less for the importer, by $282.24; Wise costs less for the team abroad, by $70.03.

What the fees leave out

Exchange rates

Wise says it converts at the mid-market rate. Mercury's 1% and 3% are charged on its own rate, which it does not publish against the mid-market rate.

USD wires abroad

Mercury's free USD wire lets banks along the way take their fees from the amount; for $15 Mercury covers those. Wise sends USD abroad by Swift and says only that it may cost more than a transfer inside the US; its pricing pages do not list the fee.

Getting started

Mercury costs nothing to open. Wise Business is free to sign up for, and $31 once for account details in 22 currencies.

Between accounts

Wise sends the same currency to another Wise account free.

Volume

Wise discounts its fees once a month's transfers pass $25,000, and charges a minimum fee on small payments. Mercury invites businesses exchanging over $200,000 to discuss its fee.

Not in the figures: exchange-rate margins, Wise's one-time fee, its volume discount and minimum fee, ATM withdrawals, fees banks along a wire's route may take, and interest.

Each account on its own

The Mercury fee calculator prices a single payment on any of Mercury's rails, and the Wise fee calculator prices a transfer with Wise's live rates. To set Mercury against other US business accounts, see Mercury vs Bluevine and Mercury vs Relay. More business platforms are on the fintech calculators page.

Mercury vs Wise: common questions

Is Mercury or Wise cheaper?

It depends on what you pay. Mercury charges nothing for US payments, USD wires or receiving wires, where Wise charges $1.13 per US payment and $6.11 per USD wire received. Paying in another currency goes the other way: Mercury charges 1%, Wise $0.53 + 0.29% for euros, so on $10,000 that is $100.00 against $29.44.

What does Wise Business cost in the US?

No monthly fee. Signing up is free, and getting account details to receive money in 22 currencies is a one-time $31. After that you pay per use: from 0.23% to send or convert, depending on the currency, $1.13 to send dollars to a US bank account, and $6.11 to receive a USD wire.

Does Wise charge for payments within the US?

Yes, a flat $1.13 to send dollars to a US bank account, and nothing to send dollars to another Wise account. Mercury charges nothing for ACH or domestic wires.

Which is cheaper for international payments?

In another currency, usually Wise. Mercury charges 1% of the amount; Wise charges a small flat fee plus 0.28% to 0.51% on the currencies here, so for euros Wise costs less on any payment above about $74.55. In US dollars it is the reverse: Mercury sends USD wires abroad free, while Wise sends them by Swift and does not list that fee on its pricing pages.

What do Mercury and Wise charge to receive money?

Mercury says wires in USD are free, and ACH is free. Wise receives ACH and other domestic payments free, and charges $6.11 for each USD wire or Swift payment.

Which card is cheaper to spend abroad?

On the currencies here, Wise's. Mercury lists 3% on card transactions in another currency (up to 3% in its disclosure). Wise charges its conversion fee for that currency, 0.29% for euros, so $1,000 of spending in euros costs $2.89 on Wise and $30.00 on Mercury; spending a currency you already hold on Wise is free.

Do Mercury and Wise use the mid-market rate?

Wise says it always converts at the mid-market rate and never marks it up. Mercury charges its 1% on its own exchange rate and does not publish how that rate compares with the mid-market rate, so its real cost on a currency payment is its fee plus any margin in its rate.

Do Mercury’s paid plans or Wise volume change this?

Mercury Plus ($35 a month) and Pro ($350) change none of these fees. Wise has no plans, but discounts its fees automatically once a month's transfers pass $25,000.

Mercury vs Wise Business