Remittance App vs Broker for Forex: Which Is Cheaper When Investing?
Some investors use Wise or Revolut to convert their currency before sending to their broker, hoping to get a better rate than the broker's FX. Is this actually cheaper? The answer depends on the broker — and often the comparison is closer than you'd expect.
Wise vs IBKR: who wins?
Wise charges a mid-market rate plus a percentage fee: typically 0.35–0.6% for GBP/USD, EUR/USD conversions. IBKR charges 0.1% minimum $2. For amounts above $2,000, IBKR is consistently cheaper than Wise for currency conversion. Below $500, Wise may be comparable due to IBKR's $2 minimum creating a higher effective percentage.
However, using Wise requires two steps: convert on Wise, then wire to your broker's USD account. The wire itself costs $0–$5. So the total process is: Wise FX + wire fee vs IBKR FX in a single step. For large amounts, IBKR wins on cost. For investors who already have a Wise multi-currency account for other reasons, there's less additional friction to using Wise.
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ForexFee guides are based on publicly available information and live rate data from Wise's comparison API. For pricing, KYC requirements and current promotions, always check each provider's official site. See our methodology for how we source and rank rates.