Currensea vs. Revolut in the UK: Full comparison

If you travel a lot, you’ll need to find a cost-effective way to spend in different countries. A good solution could be a multi-currency account or card, but which is the best one to choose?

In this helpful guide, we’ll be comparing two popular options in the UK - Currensea and Revolut. We’ll run through what each offers in terms of accounts, cards and features, along with fees, exchange rates and everything else you need to know.

Plus, a look at an alternative - the Wise card. This clever debit card automatically converts your pounds to the local currency in 150+ countries at the mid-market exchange rate (close to what you can see on Google), with only a tiny, transparent conversion fee*.

Join over 14.8 million people worldwide using Wise with their foreign currency transactions.

💳 Learn more about the Wise card

Currensea vs. Revolut - An overview

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

Currensea is a travel debit card specialist, founded in the UK in 2017 with a mission to make spending abroad cheaper. Its debit cards link directly to your bank, without the need to top up your balance.

Revolut, meanwhile, is a UK-based financial technology (fintech) company which launched in 2015 and offers mobile-based current accounts. It’s billed as an alternative to high-street banks, as well as offering a range of foreign currency, crypto exchange and investment services.

Here are the two providers at a glance:

	Currensea	Revolut
No of users	Over 100,000¹	60 million+ worldwide (11 million in the UK)⁶
Trustpilot score	4.9/5 - ‘Excellent’²	4.6/5 - ‘Excellent’⁷
Subscription fees	£0 to £150 a year³	£0 to £45 a month⁸
Money transfer fees	Service unavailable	Varies - free for Ultra plan⁸
Exchange rates	- 0.5% FX fee for free plan⁴ - 0% for paid plans⁴	- Fee-free FX exchange Mon-Fri (within plan limits)⁸ - 0.5% to 1% for FX exchange at weekends⁸ (and above plan limits⁹)
Supported currencies	Spend in 180 currencies³	- Spend in 150+ currencies¹⁰ - Hold and exchange 36 currencies ¹⁰ - Send in 70+ currencies¹¹
ATM withdrawals	- 0.5% FX rate on withdrawals (free plan) up to £200/month - 2% FX rate above this³	- Free up to £200 per month (Standard plan) - 2% fee after that⁹

Currensea vs. Revolut - Accounts and plans

Currensea doesn’t offer an account, as it works by connecting its travel debit card to your bank account. This means you can spend using the Currensea card just like with your bank-issued debit card, but without the bank fees.

There’s also a Currensea app so you can track transactions and manage your card.

While Currensea doesn’t have accounts, it does have a choice of plans. This includes:³

• Essential - a plan with no subscription fees but you will need to pay £4.95 in delivery fees to get your Currensea card
• Pro - an upgraded plan costing £39.95 a year, with mid-market exchange rates, increased limits and free card delivery. It also offers perks including free global data and car hire discounts.
• Elite - a premium plan costing £150 a year, with mid-market exchange rates, increased limits and free card delivery. It also offers luxury perks including boosted global data and a full range of travel discounts.

Revolut is quite different, as it offers full-featured current accounts which come with a debit card, local and international transfers and 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.

Revolut offers a choice of account plans including:⁸

• Standard - free
• Plus - £3.99 a month
• Premium - £7.99 a month
• Metal - £14.99 a month
• Ultra - £55 a month

The more you pay, the more perks, features and increased limits you get.

📚 Read more: Currensea vs. Wise (UK): everything you need to know

How much does it cost to sign up?

There’s no signup cost for either the Currensea card or the Revolut account - you can sign up online for free.

Both options have subscription fees, but both also offer a free plan with basic features and limits if you don’t want to commit to a monthly or annual cost.

Currensea vs. Revolut - Money transfer

Currensea doesn’t offer money transfer services - it specialises in travel debit cards only.

Revolut, on the other hand, does offer both domestic (within the UK) and international money transfer services. Setting up transfers is also very easy, as you can do everything online or via the Revolut mobile app.

It charges international transfer fees which vary depending on the amount, currency and destination. You can check these before you send, using the tool on Revolut’s money transfer page (or within the app).

If you’re on a Premium or Metal plan, you’ll get discounts on international transfer fees - and there are zero fees for this service for Ultra plan holders.⁸

As well as the upfront fee, it’s also important to check the exchange rate before sending or spending money abroad. We’ll look at this next.

📚 Read more: Revolut vs. Wise (UK): everything you need to know in 2025

Currensea vs. Revolut - Exchange rates

Currensea offers mid-market exchange rates for paid plans, which means no extra markup or fee added to the rate. If you’re on a free plan though, the FX markup will be 0.5%.⁴

There are also plan limits to bear in mind. For the free Currensea Essential plan, you can spend up to £500 a month before an additional fee of 1% will apply.³ Paid plans offer unlimited spending. There are separate fees and limits for cash withdrawals, which we’ll look at shortly.

Revolut offers fee-free currency exchange up to plan limits, which start at £1,000 per month for its free Standard plan.⁸

Crucially though, this is only for transactions taking place between Monday and Friday. If you spend or send another currency on a weekend, an extra fee of 0.5% to 1% will apply. These fees don’t apply to Premium, Metal and Ultra plans.⁸

If you exceed your plan limits, you’ll pay an additional 0.5% to 1% (no fees for Premium, Metal and Ultra plans).⁹

How many currencies are supported?

With Currensea, you can use your debit card to spend in 180 currencies.³

With Revolut, you can:

• Spend in 150+ currencies¹⁰
• Hold and exchange money in 36 currencies¹⁰
• Send money in 70+ currencies.¹¹

📚 Read more: Best UK debit cards with no foreign transaction fee

Currensea vs. Revolut - Cards and ATM withdrawals

While they may offer different services, Currensea and Revolut have one thing in common - debit cards which work internationally.

Both providers offer debit cards which work worldwide, wherever Visa and Mastercard are accepted (although there are some exceptions).

With Currensea, you’ll get free delivery for paid plans - it’s a one-off cost of £4.95 to get a card with the free plan.³

With Revolut, you’ll get a debit card included in all plans, including the free Standard plan. You’ll also earn RevPoints when you spend (earning more points with paid plans). These can be redeemed for travel perks such as air miles and hotel discounts.

Both providers let you manage your card in a dedicated app, and use the card with popular mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

ATM withdrawal fees and limits

You can use your Currensea 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
Currensea - Essential plan³	Up to £200 per month at ‘Realtime rate’ (mid-market rate + 0.5%)	2%
Revolut - Standard plan⁹	Up to £200 per month (max. 5 withdrawals)	2% (min £1)

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

An alternative way to spend worldwide - the Wise card

If you’re looking for a convenient, low-cost way to spend abroad, it’s important to compare all the available options.

You might want to check out the Wise card, which lets you spend in 40+ currencies worldwide for low fees* and mid-market exchange rates. These rates apply all the time, not just on weekends - and there are no fair usage limits on spending.

Open a Wise account and you can order your Wise card for a one-time fee of just £7 and use it to spend in the UK and 150+ countries worldwide.

Here’s an overview of the main benefits of using Wise:

Fast and easy setup with no physical paperwork Low, transparent fees* and no-markup mid-market exchange rates 24/7 Dedicated support and volume discounts for large transfers No monthly/annual account fees Sophisticated security and anti-fraud measures, with your money safeguarded Trackable and fast transfers to 140+ countries Low-cost spending in 150+ countries with the Wise card Earn a variable return on your GBP, USD and EUR with Wise Interest (Capital at risk, growth not guaranteed)**

✅ Sign up with Wise for free

**Investments in funds are never guaranteed and your capital can be at risk. In the UK, Interest and Stocks are provided by Wise Assets — this is the trading name of Wise Assets UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Wise. Wise Assets UK Ltd is authorised as an investment firm and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA number is 839689. We do not give investment advice, and you may be subject to pay tax. If you're not sure, seek qualified advice. You can find more information about the funds on our website.

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Sources used:

1. Fintech Intel - Travel debit card Currensea hits 100k cardholders
2. Trustpilot - Currensea
3. Currensea - Pricing plans
4. Currensea - Help - What Is The Currensea Realtime Rate?
5. Currensea - Help - What Is The Currensea Pro Rate?
6. Revolut - Home
7. Trustpilot - Revolut
8. Revolut - Our pricing plans
9. Revolut - Personal Fees (Standard)
10. Revolut - Travel Money Card
11. Revolut - International Transfers

Sources last checked on date: 06-Oct-2025