The best way to send money internationally

Xe is the best way to send money internationally from the US for most people, and Wise is a close second. In November 2026 we priced the same 24 transfers at nine providers ($200, $1,000 and $5,000 to eight countries). At the price a returning customer pays, Xe's median cost was 0.68% of what you send, Wise's 0.69% and Remitly's 0.67%. Xe comes out ahead because it also offers cash pickup and mobile wallets (all 16 payout options we counted) and showed no welcome offer, so a first transfer is priced like later ones. Pick Wise if you send to bank accounts and want to see exactly what you pay: it shows the mid-market rate and its fee before you sign up. For a first transfer, Remitly's welcome rates beat the mid-market rate on 14 of our 24 transfers.

The country and the amount matter more than the brand. The cheapest provider changed from transfer to transfer: TapTap Send was cheapest on six of our 24, Xe on five, Remitly on four, and Instarem, Wise and WorldRemit on three each. How you pay matters too: Wise charged $7.67 on $1,000 to Mexico from a connected bank account, $12.07 by wire and $18.20 by debit card. US banks are the expensive way, at about 3% in exchange-rate markup.

The cheapest provider for each country

The cheapest regular price for each of our 24 transfers. Prices move daily, so treat these as a guide to which two or three providers to compare on the day.

Country	$200	$1,000	$5,000
Mexico	TapTap Send, 0.39%	TapTap Send, 0.39%	Wise, 0.66%
India	WorldRemit, 0.42%	Xe, -0.19%	Xe, -0.19%
Philippines	TapTap Send, 0.57%	WorldRemit, 0.43%	WorldRemit, 0.43%
Nigeria	TapTap Send, -0.46%	TapTap Send, -0.46%	TapTap Send, -0.46%
Colombia	Instarem, 0.51%	Instarem, 0.51%	Instarem, 0.51%
UK	Xe, 0.02%	Xe, 0.02%	Remitly, 0.45%
Germany (euros)	Remitly, 0.66%	Wise, 0.55%	Wise and Xe, 0.48%
Canada	Remitly, 0.44%	Remitly, 0.34%	Xe, 0.17%

A cost below zero means the provider's rate beat our mid-market reference, which happens with very low margins and within the reference's error. Our naira references disagreed by about 2%, so Nigeria's figures carry about one percentage point of uncertainty either way, and Wise (-0.42%) and Xe (-0.36%) were as good as tied with TapTap Send at $5,000. TapTap Send limits bank deposits to Mexico to 50,000 pesos (about $2,700), so it isn't in the $5,000 Mexico column. How we scored the best ways to send money internationally has every provider's cost on every transfer.

Cost here means everything you lose: the fee, plus the gap between the provider's exchange rate and the mid-market rate (the midpoint between what banks pay to buy and sell a currency, the rate search engines show). A "$0 fee" transfer with a weak rate can cost more than a $7 fee at the mid-market rate.

The best ways to send money internationally, ranked

Xe

Xe ranks first because it is close to the cheapest almost everywhere and has no weak spot outside price. Its median cost of 0.68% sits between Remitly's 0.67% and Wise's 0.69%, and it quoted all 24 transfers. Xe was the cheapest on five of them: $1,000 and $5,000 to India (where its rate beat our mid-market reference), $200 and $1,000 to the UK at 0.02%, and $5,000 to Canada. Paying from a bank account (a direct debit from your US account) carried no fee from $1,000, and $0 to $1.99 at $200 depending on the country.

Xe showed no welcome rate in our quotes, so the price you see on your first visit is the price you keep. It offers a bank deposit, cash pickup and a mobile wallet in every country where we counted them, all 16 of our 16, which is what puts it ahead of Wise. Its clear-pricing score loses three points because its calculator shows neither the mid-market rate nor its markup.

The catches are speed and two countries. Xe estimates the no-fee bank payment at "typically 3 business days"; paying by debit card is "typically minutes" but cost $1 more at $200 and $5 more at $1,000. And Xe was expensive to the Philippines (1.72% on $1,000) and Colombia (2.35%), where WorldRemit (0.43%) and Instarem (0.51%) cost about a quarter as much.

Wise

Wise ranks second, 0.5 points behind Xe, and wins "Most transparent pricing": it is the only provider here whose calculator shows the mid-market rate and a separate fee before you sign up, and it has no welcome offer, so the first price is the later price. Paid from a connected bank account (ACH), its median cost was 0.69%, level with Xe and Remitly, and it was cheaper than Xe on 14 of our 24 transfers. It was the cheapest at $1,000 and $5,000 to Germany and $5,000 to Mexico.

How you pay changes Wise's price more than anyone's. On $1,000 to Mexico the fee was $7.67 from a connected bank account, $12.07 by wire and $18.20 by debit card, at the same exchange rate. Choose the connected bank account unless you need the money there today. The fee is a fixed part plus a percentage, so small transfers cost more as a share: $200 cost a median 1.09%, against 0.57% at $5,000. Colombia was Wise's weakest country, at 1.4% to 2.2%.

What keeps Wise behind Xe is payouts. It pays to bank accounts only (and UPI in India, which pays into a bank account), so it scores 5 of 10 on ways to receive. If your recipients all have bank accounts, treat Wise and Xe as tied: moving 10 of the 20 points for ways to receive onto cost puts Wise first.

Remitly

Remitly ranks third, level with Xe on later-transfer cost (0.67% median) and on payout options (all 16), and it takes "Best for a first transfer". Its welcome rates beat the mid-market rate on 14 of our 24 first transfers: $1,000 to Mexico would deliver 18,830 pesos on the first transfer against 18,290 on later ones. The offer has limits. To Mexico, the terms say the promotional rate applies to the first $1,000 sent, for new customers only, so a $5,000 first transfer cost 0.84%.

Remitly's later prices were among the lowest to India (0.06% on $1,000 and 0.03% on $5,000), Canada and the UK. They were weakest on small transfers to Mexico: Remitly's calculator chose a debit card there, and $200 cost 4.85% after a $1.99 fee and a rate 3.9% below the mid-market rate. Remitly's bank-funded Economy option to Mexico may be cheaper; its calculator didn't offer it to us.

What costs Remitly a higher place is what a new visitor sees. Its calculator shows a welcome rate (18.83 pesos to the dollar for Mexico in our quote) and no regular rate, so you learn the price of your second transfer only after the first. It scores 3 of 10 on clear pricing.

TapTap Send

TapTap Send ranks fourth and has the lowest cost here, a 0.47% median across the 14 transfers it priced, which makes it worth checking for anyone sending to Mexico, the Philippines, Nigeria, India or Colombia who is happy to use an app. Its website publishes one exchange rate per country and a fee table: no fee for a bank payout in Mexico, the Philippines and Nigeria, $1.99 to India and $3.99 to Colombia (TapTap Send's India page). Paid through Bre-B, Colombia's instant payment system, a transfer to Colombia has no fee (TapTap Send's Colombia page), which would bring its Colombia cost to about 0.4%. Because the rate doesn't change with the amount, $200 to Mexico cost the same 0.39% as $1,000.

Three things hold it back. It priced five of our eight countries: it doesn't serve Canada from the US and lists no US fee for the UK or Germany, so it scores 6.3 on ways to receive. Its Mexico page caps bank deposits at 20,000 pesos on a first transfer and 50,000 after (TapTap Send's Mexico page), about $2,700, so a $5,000 transfer means two or more sends. And its website shows the fee as "Transfer fee: from $0.00", which it says "may be higher depending on delivery method", so it scores 4 of 10 on clear pricing. We read its prices from the website; its app may quote differently, and we couldn't check without an account. On the same five countries, WorldRemit's median (0.43%) was as low as TapTap Send's.

Instarem

Instarem ranks fifth, 0.1 points behind TapTap Send, and suits bank-to-bank transfers at any amount. It charged no fee on any of our 24 quotes and makes its money on the exchange rate, with a regular markup close to 0.7% in most countries, so its cost barely changes with the amount: 0.72% at $200 and $1,000, 0.64% at $5,000. It was the cheapest on all three transfers to a Colombian bank account, at 0.51%, where the next cheapest at $1,000 cost 0.88%.

A first transfer costs less again: Instarem shows its regular rate crossed out beside a first-transfer rate, which cut the median to 0.18%. The weak spots are small transfers to Canada (2.51% on $200) and the Philippines (1.86%), and payouts: from the US, Instarem's calculator quotes bank deposits only, so it scores 5 of 10 on ways to receive.

Western Union

Western Union ranks sixth. It pays out in more ways than almost anyone (15 of our 16; no mobile wallet in Nigeria) and its welcome offers are large, but its regular price cost a median 1.71%, two and a half times Xe's. On $1,000 to Mexico, a new customer would get 19,133 pesos with no fee, against 18,405 pesos and a $1.99 fee at the regular price Western Union shows crossed out beside the offer. That first-transfer price beat the mid-market rate by about 3% to Mexico, the Philippines and Colombia.

Small transfers are where the regular price hurts: above 2% on $200 to six of our eight countries, and 4.2% to Colombia. Western Union's prices were cheaper to India (0.11% on $5,000) and Nigeria. Its website priced our transfers for a sender in Texas, picked from our location; it says prices can vary by state.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit ranks seventh because its cost depends heavily on the country. It was among the cheapest to India (0.42% on $200, below zero on $1,000 and $5,000), Nigeria and the Philippines (0.43% on $1,000 and $5,000, the cheapest of anyone), but cost 2.1% to 3.8% to Mexico, Canada and the UK. It doesn't deposit euros into a bank account, so it quoted 21 of our 24 transfers, and it has no cash pickup in India.

Xoom

Xoom, PayPal's transfer service, ranks eighth. It pays out in 15 of our 16 ways, but its regular prices were the second most expensive here: 2.69% at the median, 9.7% on $200 to Canada and 7.9% on $200 to Germany. To Mexico, India and the Philippines its calculator showed only a "First Time Rate", so a new visitor can't see what later transfers cost, and those nine transfers are left out of its cost score. Its regular price there might be lower than its median, so eighth place is not settled; seventh is within reach. The first-time rate itself is better than the mid-market rate: 18,836 pesos for $1,000 to Mexico, plus a $6.09 fee.

OFX

OFX ranks last for these transfers. It charges a $5 fee below $5,000 and none from $5,000, but its exchange-rate markup cost 1.8% to 3.7% even at $5,000 and 6.3% or more at $200. Its median, 3.44%, is the only one here above 3%, the UN's goal for remittance costs. It doesn't send to Nigeria or Colombia. OFX says registered customers may get "customised rates"; we priced what a visitor sees.

What $1,000 to Mexico gets at each provider

The same transfer at each provider, read on one evening in November 2026, when the mid-market rate was about 18.56 pesos to the dollar. "Regular" is what a returning customer pays; "first transfer" includes any welcome offer.

Provider	Pays with	Fee	Recipient gets, regular	Cost, regular	Recipient gets, first transfer
TapTap Send	Debit card	$0	18,500 pesos	0.39%	18,500 pesos
Instarem	Bank account	$0	18,429 pesos	0.73%	18,531 pesos
Xe	Bank account	$0	18,435 pesos	0.73%	18,435 pesos
Wise	Bank account (ACH)	$7.67	18,426 pesos	0.74%	18,426 pesos
Western Union	Bank account	$1.99	18,405 pesos	1.08%	19,133 pesos, no fee
Remitly	Debit card	$1.99	18,290 pesos	1.67%	18,830 pesos, no fee
WorldRemit	Debit card	$1.99	18,134 pesos	2.55%	18,134 pesos
OFX	Bank account	$5	18,062 pesos	3.19%	18,062 pesos
Xoom	Bank account	$6.09	not shown	not shown	18,836 pesos

Instarem, Xe and Wise are within a few pesos of each other; small differences in cost come from the minutes between their quotes, as the mid-market rate moved.

Are welcome offers worth it?

Yes, for the first transfer, as long as you price the second one too. Western Union's first-transfer median was 0.16% against 1.71% at its regular price, Remitly's was below zero (-0.64%) against 0.67%, and Instarem's 0.18% against 0.70%. Most offers cover one transfer, and some cap the amount: Remitly's Mexico offer applies to the first $1,000. The trap is staying with the provider whose welcome rate was best: Western Union's and Remitly's offers were two of the three best first transfers to Mexico, but at their regular prices Western Union was the fifth cheapest there and Remitly the sixth.

Xe, Wise, TapTap Send and OFX showed no welcome rate on any of our transfers.

Is a bank wire cheaper?

No. Banks were not scored because Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo show their exchange rate only after you sign in. Bank of America charges no wire fee when you send in the recipient's currency and $45 when you send US dollars, but says "exchange rate markups apply" (Bank of America's wire fee disclosure). Wise publishes the bank prices it collects: its data from early November 2026 puts Wells Fargo's markup at 2.9% to 3.1% on $1,000, and Chase's at 2.9% to 3.2% plus a $5 fee; Wise's comparison page shows the same as dollar totals, $29 to $36 on $1,000 to Mexico. That is a competitor's data, not ours, but at about 3% a bank costs four times Xe's or Wise's median. A wire still makes sense when the recipient insists on one.

What AI answers get wrong

We asked GPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity five versions of this question in November 2026, through their APIs with web search on. Wise is named in 19 of the 20 answers, and every model calls it usually the cheapest. Our quotes agree that Wise is cheap, but disagree on these points:

• Gemini: "In the vast majority of scenarios, Wise is the cheapest option." Wise was the cheapest on three of our 24 transfers. It was close to the cheapest on most of them, but five other providers were cheapest as often or more.
• Gemini, on regular bank-to-bank transfers: "Wise's mid-market rate almost always delivers more foreign currency once promotional pricing ends." At the regular price, Wise beat Remitly on 13 of our 24 transfers and Remitly beat Wise on 11.
• Gemini: Remitly makes its profit "by adding a 1%–2.5% markup on the exchange rate". On $1,000, Remitly's regular markup ran from 0.06% (India) to 1.59% (the Philippines), and was under 1% in five of our eight countries.

Two gaps rather than errors: TapTap Send appeared in two of the 20 answers and Xe in one, though Xe ranks first here and TapTap Send had the lowest cost. And no answer mentioned the 1% federal tax on transfers paid for in cash (see below).

Which one should you choose?

• If you want one answer: Xe. Pay from your bank account if you can wait about three business days; pay by debit card if the money is needed today.
• If your recipients have bank accounts and you want to see exactly what you pay: Wise, paid from a connected bank account rather than by wire or card.
• If you send to Mexico, the Philippines, Nigeria, India or Colombia and have a smartphone: compare TapTap Send's app with Xe and Wise. TapTap Send was cheaper than Xe on 12 of the 14 transfers it priced, and cheaper than Wise on 13.
• If this is your first transfer: take Remitly's or Western Union's welcome offer, then compare again before the second transfer.
• If you send to Colombia: Instarem for a deposit to a bank account number (0.51% on every amount we tried), or TapTap Send through Bre-B, with no fee.
• If you send $5,000 or more to a bank account: get quotes from Xe, Wise and Remitly; all three cost about 0.5% to 0.6% at that amount.
• If the recipient collects cash: Remitly, Xe, Western Union and Xoom offer cash pickup in all four countries where we counted it. Remitly and Xe were the cheapest of the four for bank deposits; we didn't price cash pickup itself.
• If you send $200 or less: avoid flat fees. TapTap Send, Instarem and Xe kept $200 transfers under 1% in most countries and Wise was close to 1%; Western Union, Xoom and OFX usually cost 2% or more.

How we tested

In November 2026 we read each provider's public quote, the one its own website calculator shows a visitor without an account, for $200, $1,000 and $5,000 from the US to Mexico, India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Colombia, the UK, Germany and Canada: 408 quotes in all. Wise's price for paying from a connected bank account isn't in the quote its calculator loads, so we read it from Wise's public price list the same evening. We used the cheapest quote paid from a US bank account or debit card into a bank account abroad, at the price a returning customer pays where a provider showed a welcome offer, and compared what the recipient gets with the mid-market rate (the median of Yahoo Finance's, Wise's and OFX's published rates, read at the start and end of the run). We didn't open accounts or send money, so speeds are the providers' own estimates and we can't say what arrived. Cash pickup and wallet transfers were not priced. These are one day's quotes; exchange rates and offers move daily. How we scored the best ways to send money internationally has every provider's cost on every transfer, each score and its source.

Questions people ask

Is Wise or Remitly cheaper? It depends on the country. At the regular price, Wise was cheaper to Mexico, the Philippines and Nigeria at every amount we tried, and to Germany at $1,000 and $5,000. Remitly was cheaper to the UK and Canada at every amount, and to India and Colombia at $1,000 and $5,000. Remitly's calculator chose a debit card for Mexico, so its bank-funded Economy option may narrow the gap there. On a first transfer, Remitly's welcome rates usually win.

What's the cheapest way to send $10,000? We tested up to $5,000. At $5,000, Xe (0.50% median), Wise (0.57%) and Remitly (0.57%) were the cheapest across all eight countries, and Xe's and Wise's costs fell as the amount rose. For $10,000, get quotes from those three on the day.

Why does my recipient get less than the rate on Google? Because most providers pay a rate below the mid-market rate and keep the difference, on top of any fee. Divide what the recipient gets by the mid-market rate, subtract that from what you pay, and you have the full cost. A provider that shows "$0 fee" can still be the most expensive.

Is there a tax on sending money abroad? Since January 1, 2026, a 1% federal tax applies to a transfer you pay for in cash, by money order or by cashier's check. Transfers paid from a US bank account or with a US-issued debit or credit card are exempt (26 U.S.C. 4475). All the prices on this page are for transfers paid from a bank account or debit card, so the tax doesn't apply to them.

The deciding question for most senders is the second transfer, not the first: price it before you commit to a provider.