Wise or Revolut: Account, fees, exchange rate and more

Heard about Wise or Revolut or both, and wondering what exactly they are? Look no further, we’re here to break it down!

As a pair of international money specialists, Wise and Revolut offer accounts and services that are great for people looking to manage their money at home and abroad.

We’re going to take a look at the two and see how they compare in areas like fees, exchange rate and services, so you can make a more informed decision on which might be right for you.

Read about Wise in Ireland💡

What is Wise?

Wise is an online Payment Service Provider launched in 2011, that nowadays offers services to 12.8m customers around the globe. Wise Europe is a Belgian Payment Institution authorised to operate across the EU by the National Bank of Belgium.

Wise focuses on international money transfers, its multi-currency account and card (both for private and business clients) and also the Wise platform, a global payments infrastructure for banks, financial institutions and enterprises around the world.

What is Revolut?

Revolut offers banking services with a globalised point of view. It also serves millions of customers worldwide, with features for spending, saving, investing and borrowing money.¹

In Ireland, Revolut Bank UAB is authorised by the Bank of Lithuania and the Central European Bank, and their conduct of business is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

At this point are you asking yourself if Wise is the same as Revolut? The answer to that is not quite.

While both companies offer international money transfers, multi-currency accounts and serve millions of customers, they have different pricing models and features that may make one a better option for you over the other.

Another difference is that Wise is a payment institution and Revolut is a bank.

Wise vs Revolut: main fees 💰

When it comes to the fee schedule Wise and Revolut handle things a little differently.

While Wise has one Wise Account with one set of pricing for personal customers, Revolut has a tiered system with different fees for different levels of plan.¹

Each level has a monthly account fee except Revolut Standard, which like the Wise Account is free of monthly account maintenance fees. Here’s a complete list of Revolut’s plans and the associated monthly fees:

• Revolut Standard - Free
• Revolut Plus - €3.99 per month
• Revolut Premium - €8.99 per month
• Revolut Metal - €15.99 per month
• Revolut Ultra - €45.00 per month (Introductory offer)

The fees you pay to use Revolut also change depending on the plan you’re on. To give you an idea of how they compare, here’s some of the main fees that apply to the basic Revolut Standard plan and how they compare to the Wise Account, both for private customers.

* ATM provider networks can charge fees when withdrawing money.

Information of fees and rates for both providers collected on 23th December of 2024.

Wise or Revolut for international transfers: Which one to choose?

You can send money with Revolut to +160 counties¹, however you must use the app - unfortunately it’s not possible to complete the process on a computer at this time.⁷

When sending money to a bank account there’s no fees for local transfers sent in Euros to an account within Ireland.⁹

For international payments there’s no charge for the bank transfer itself if it’s within the SEPA region, but outside of that there’s a fee. This fee is subject to a discount if you’re on the Premium, Metal or Ultra plan.

These are the steps you’ll need to follow to complete an international transfer with Revolut:

1. Login to the mobile app
2. Select “Payments” from the bottom menu
3. Press on the plus symbol in the top right
4. Select “Bank recipient” for someone new, or scroll down to find them in your list of previous recipients
5. Follow the prompts to enter the complete information then submit the transfer.

With Wise you can transfer money using the website or the Wise mobile app to +160 countries.

The fees that apply depend on how much you’re sending, how you pay for the transfer and the exchange rate at the moment.

To complete the process using either method you simply need to login to your account, then from the home screen go to send, and follow these steps.

1. Find the recipient in your existing recipients list or add a new one by inputting their currency and either searching for their @Wisetag, email, or phone if they have Wise, or adding their bank details
2. Enter the amount you’d like to transfer, either by inputting what you want to send or what you want the recipient to receive
3. Choose your payment method
4. Review the transfer then press “Continue” and “Send”

You’ll see the transfer times estimation and current status of your transfer, as well all the necessary information before committing, such as fees and exchange rate.

Wise vs Revolut exchange rate: What are the differences?

Knowing how your financial services provider determines their exchange rate is important, especially if you’re someone who likes to travel or has connections to people abroad. It can make a huge difference in how much a transfer ultimately costs, especially if there’s a foreign exchange margin applied.

Starting with Revolut, they set their own exchange rates for foreign currency exchanges.² It’s a variable rate that is updated frequently based on data from a number of independent sources, and the rate is the same across in-app exchanges, transfer exchanges and payment exchanges.

Meanwhile Wise uses the mid-market rate, which is the midway point between the buy and sell prices on the currency exchange market, and the same you normally find on Google.

Wise exchange rate is updated every minute, and is a fair way to determine what you get. The same rate also applies to in-app transfer and payment exchanges.

Receiving money with Wise vs Revolut

With Revolut you can receive money in 36 currencies, mostly via SWIFT payments. Revolut gives access to local account details in GBP and EUR - also offering a IE IBAN.³ ⁸

Wise offers local account details in 9 currencies, including EUR, GBP, USD and European Economic Area non-euro currencies, such as HUF and CAD.

With Wise you'll also be able to receive payments via SWIFT in 21 currencies.

⚠️ Pay attention: SWIFTS payments are an option to send money, but they most likely will cost more, since intermediary bank charges can be applied.

Wise card vs Revolut card 💳

Both Wise and Revolut offer debit cards and virtual cards that can be used for everyday spending.

Wise allows for one physical card per account and up to 3 digital cards at any one time. These cards can be used in 150 countries and integrated into digital wallets like GooglePay and ApplePay.

Revolut users can have up to 6 active physical cards per account and 20 Revolut virtual cards.⁴ You can also have 1 active visual single-use card at a time, which automatically replaces itself after each use.

💡 Keep in mind: With Revolut you can only create 4 new virtual cards per month, so once you’ve met this limit you need to wait 30 days to create a new virtual card.

Revolut business vs Wise business

As well as offering services to personal customers, Wise and Revolut both have business accounts available to those that meet the eligibility criteria.

Here are some of the key advantages you'll find in Wise Business and Revolut business accounts in Ireland:

• Simplified international money transfers
• Access to multiple currencies in one account
• Access to local IBAN and SWIFT/BIC account details
• Connects to accounting software
• Access to virtual and physical cards for you and the team, with spending controls available.

Freelancer accounts

In the past, Revolut used to have Freelancer account plans, but this has been discontinued, and now Revolut does not accept freelancer or sole traders to open an account.¹⁰

So if you are a freelancer, Wise Business might be a better option for your, since there you can register as a freelancer or sole trader.

Both providers have their particularities and other differences, so you should check out what you need for your business and who can offer that.

Open your Wise business account

Revolut vs Wise comparison (private clients)

Summing it all up, here’s a snapshot of how the Wise and Revolut accounts compare in various areas.

Customer support: What Wise and Revolut do?

If you run into a problem while using Wise or Revolut don’t worry, both companies have resources to help.

Revolut has a Help Centre on their website filled with solutions and it’s possible to speak to customer services directly through the in-app chat or by emailing their customer support team.⁶

By comparison, when you’re logged into your Wise account you can email, and organise a call with Wise representatives. If you are sending large transfers, Wise also offers dedicated support to help you with that.

There’s also a robust help section on the Wise Help Center, as well as a Wise YouTube channel with helpful tutorials and informative videos.

Join Wise today

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Sources used:

1. Revolut - Discover our company
2. Revolut - Personal Fees (Standard)
3. Revolut - What currency account details are available for me?
4. Revolut - Maximum active cards
5. Revolut - Business
6. Revolut - Contact us
7. Revolut - How to transfer fund from Revolut
8. Revolut - What account details should I use?
9. Revolut - Bank transfer fees
10. Revolut - Supported business entities

Sources last checked on date: 22 December 2024