Revolut vs Wise: which multi-currency app is cheaper for travel?

Write down whether you need a personal travel card, family transfer, salary receipt or business-client payment. Confirm the account and card are available for your actual residence and use. Business income may require a suitable business or professional product rather than an ordinary personal account.

For receiving, check the currency, local or international transfer rail, account-holder details, payer/platform rules and fees. Wise distinguishes currencies you can hold from currencies and routes you can receive. Do not choose by a count of supported currencies alone.

Wise describes conversion at the mid-market rate, with the applicable fee shown for the transaction. Revolut’s UK Standard fee page specifies its own variable Revolut exchange rate, plus fees where applicable and plan-related allowances. These are not interchangeable promises of free interbank conversion.

Compare the same funded amount, currency pair, recipient method and timing. Record the rate, explicit fees, allowance remaining and any recipient/intermediary charges. For a card purchase with automatic conversion, check the settled breakdown afterwards.

Illustration only: one route delivers €985 from the same starting amount and another €990. The second delivers €5 more for that transaction, but a new €10 monthly subscription bought solely for it would outweigh that saving. If you already pay for the plan for other reasons, distinguish the marginal transaction decision from the decision to renew it.

Wise’s help says fees depend on where the latest card was issued; check the account’s ATM-fee screen for its allowance, reset and applicable variable or fixed fee. Multiple cards on one Wise account do not create separate allowances. Revolut’s allowance and charges depend on the applicable market and plan. A calendar month and rolling month are not the same period.

Larger withdrawals do not keep the same total cash amount below an amount-based allowance. They may reduce count-based charges but increase cash carried. Compare the provider fee, currency conversion and the ATM operator’s charge; a bank-branded ATM is not automatically free.

Where offered, choosing the withdrawal currency rather than the ATM’s conversion generally leaves conversion to your card provider. Read the screen: declining conversion is not always the same as cancelling the withdrawal. Neither card is guaranteed to satisfy every hotel or rental deposit requirement.

Read the legal entity and customer-funds notice in your own account. Do not assume every Revolut balance has the same bank/deposit status everywhere or that every Wise product uses one protection model. Safeguarding and deposit insurance are different; investment or other optional products can introduce different risks.

If considering a paid plan, verify the benefits you will actually use, limits, activation requirements, cancellation terms and renewal cost. Insurance included with a plan is not automatic coverage for every trip or activity. A list of extra features is not evidence that the plan saves you money.

Choose Wise when its eligible receiving route and actual conversion/transfer quote fit your task. Choose Revolut when its eligible payment features and total price fit your use. Neither recommendation is permanent; repeat the relevant comparison before a material transfer or renewal.

Keep both if the second serves a distinct need or funded backup role worth its administration and fees. Check access without the primary phone or account and avoid keeping both unfunded behind the same blocked source. A small successful payment checks that transaction, not every future payment.

Record your decision with the route, costs, entity and date reviewed. Keep an independently accessible option for essential travel spending; do not treat either provider as a way around a review or eligibility restriction.