These simple headlines are at the core of where the two companies differ.
Quick Q&A to help you decide
Question 1: Do you want to easily understand the costs of transferring money abroad?
For cost simplicity, Wise is the clear winner.
They use the mid-market exchange rate, and quote a transparent fee without even needing an account.
Revolut, on the other hand, apply multiple percentage fees and exchange rate markups that are difficult to understand. Revolut charges fees for weekend transfers. On top of all this, the fees and limits change across 5 different subscription tiers, from Free to £45/month. Complex!
Overall, Wise makes it far easier to understand your costs, keeping things simple and helping avoid confusion.
Question 2: Would you pay for a subscription to save more money overall?
While Revolut's pricing is a pain to calculate, I can tell you that the hassle could be worth it in some cases.
For example, if you pay £14.99 for a Metal account (the second highest tier), you'll get unlimited currency exchange with no fees, and also a 40% discount on transfer fees.
When you start sending multiple thousands of pounds to Euro, for example, this option starts to win vs. Wise.
Annoyingly Revolut doesn't provide an easy cost calculator for each plan on their website. So you might need to play around with this in your specific scenario.
Question 3: Do you need an account for travel, or for sending money to others overseas?
Revolut is a more comprehensive package for travellers.
Wise caters to travel too, but is more about making your money travel to other people's bank accounts.
Cash withdrawals abroad are more cost effective with Revolut.
Revolut, being a more generalised modern money service, has a deeper set of features than Wise. These benefits tend to kick in with Revolut's more expensive subscriptions. For example, You can get global medical insurance, car hire excess insurance, winter sports insurance, plus delayed flight and lost baggage insurance. It's covered in the E14.99/month fee.
So if you're a frequent traveller and would benefit from travel-related insurance add-ons, Revolut's Metal plan is tempting.
Question 4: Would you be interested in other services beyond just sending/converting money?
Wise mostly stays in its lane, focusing on international money transfers, while Revolut gets involved in many more aspects of money.
This includes the ability to invest in stocks and commodities, eSIM data plans, supports cryptocurrency on/off ramps and crypto purchases, and boasts a RevPoints loyalty programme.
You might find these a distraction, or a welcome bundling of loads of features into one app. For simplicity pick Wise, and for breadth of service, Revolut wins.
More comparisons involving Wise
Feature comparison table
Wise | Revolut | |
|---|---|---|
Exchange rate | Mid-market rate with 0% markup | Variable markup of around 0.25%Extra 1% on weekends 1% additional fee |
Fees | From 0.33% depending on the currency; can be as low as 0.1% for large transfers | 0.15% variable fee |
Monthly cost | £0 | From £0 to £45/month |
Currencies (hold) | 45 | 37 |
Currencies (spend) | 48 | 152 |
Currencies (send abroad) | 30 | 41 |
Local accounts | 10 | 1 (in the country where you opened your account) |
Physical card | Yes - £7 | Yes - £4.99 |
Peer to peer transfers | Yes, between Wise users | Yes, between Revolut users |
Earn interest | Yes | Yes |
Transfer speed | Instant to one week | Instant to one week |
If you want to make occasional, medium to large international transfers, Wise is a better fit.
If you'd consider a monthly fee and fancy adopting a new finance app, Revolut is more suitable.
