Wise or Revolut for travel: compare your actual fees
Both can be useful, but the better choice depends on your country, spending and withdrawals. These examples use UK personal accounts.
Compare Wise and Revolut using the terms for your country of residence and the plan you would actually use. A fee quoted for a UK account may not apply to someone living in the EU or elsewhere.
The comparison below uses UK personal Wise and Revolut Standard accounts, checked on 8 September 2026. It covers ordinary travel spending and cash, not business accounts, investments or every transfer route.
The main published differences
| Cost | Wise, UK personal | Revolut Standard, UK |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | No subscription fee | Free Standard plan |
| Physical card | £7 on the UK pricing page; optional delivery upgrades extra | First card free, with delivery charged as shown in the app |
| Provider's ATM allowance | Up to £250 per month | Up to £200 or five withdrawals per rolling month, whichever comes first |
| After that allowance | 2.69% on the amount above £250 | 2%, with a £1 minimum fee per chargeable withdrawal |
| Currency exchange | Conversion fee varies with the currencies and amount | Revolut's rate and any applicable exchange fee; 1% fair-use fee above the £1,000 monthly Standard exchange limit |
Sources: Wise's UK card pricing and Revolut's UK Standard fee terms. Check the live quote before exchanging. Neither column removes an ATM operator's own charge.
What that means for a cash-heavy trip
Suppose you withdraw the equivalent of £300 during the relevant monthly period and have used none of the allowance beforehand. Wise's published charge on the £50 above its allowance would be about £1.35, before conversion or machine charges.
For Revolut, the number and size of withdrawals matter as well as the total. Once a withdrawal is chargeable, the £1 minimum can make repeated small withdrawals relatively expensive. Do not compare the two by applying a percentage only to the final monthly total without checking how each provider calculates it.
Compare the amount you receive
For a GBP-to-EUR exchange, enter the same amount in both services at roughly the same time and compare the euros received after fees. A fee described as zero does not by itself establish the best final rate.
Check any timing-dependent charge and allowance reset date in your own account. Older articles quote different limits and weekend rules, so the current app quote is the useful reference for your transaction.
Keep a separate backup
Whichever you choose, carry another usable payment method separately. Account checks, a lost phone or a damaged card can interrupt access to money with any provider.
At shops and ATMs, read the currency choice carefully. Our conversion guide explains why selecting the provider does not settle the separate exchange offer made by the merchant or cash machine.