True Cost of Exchange
You hand over one amount and receive another. The gap is the cost, and it is usually larger than the "0% commission" sign suggests.
Why this calculator is different
Every exchange calculator we could find is run by someone who profits from the answer. We do not sell currency, transfers, or cards. The most accurate thing you can do is paste the rate you were actually quoted, that is arithmetic against the mid-market rate, and it cannot be spun.
The prompt that costs the most
When a foreign card machine or ATM asks whether you want to pay in your home currency, say no. That is dynamic currency conversion: the merchant's bank does the conversion at a rate it chooses, typically 5–12% worse than your own card network's. It is offered as a convenience and presented as certainty, and it is almost always the more expensive option. Always choose to be charged in the local currency.
What actually makes up the cost
- The spread: the gap between the mid-market rate and the rate you are given. This is where most of the cost hides, and it is why "0% commission" can still be expensive.
- Commission: a visible percentage or flat fee.
- Foreign transaction fee: charged by your card issuer, commonly around 3%.
- ATM fees: the machine operator's fee and your own bank's, separately.
- Dynamic currency conversion: see above.
- Local taxes: some countries tax foreign exchange transactions. India, for example, applies GST on conversion and TCS on certain remittances. We have not yet verified current rates, so they are not modelled here.
Mid-market rates from open.er-api.com (Exchange Rate API, free tier), last updated Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:02:31 +0000. Snapshot taken 22 September 2026: rates move, so treat the result as indicative unless you are using your own quoted rate. Not financial advice.