Remittance Calculator
See what a money transfer really costs the sender, and how much the recipient gets. Compare up to three providers.
A transfer costs the sender two things: the fee, and the exchange rate margin, which is how far the provider's rate is below the mid-market rate. The recipient gets the amount converted times the rate offered. Enter the amount, each provider's fee and rate, and the calculator shows what you pay, what they receive, and the total cost in money and as a share of the amount sent, so you can pick the offer that delivers the most. Or enter the amount the recipient must get, and it works out how much to send. The World Bank puts the global average cost of sending $200 at 6.36% in the third quarter of 2025, against a UN target of less than 3%.
Calculate the Cost and the Amount
The margin is measured against this rate. You can type the rate from a source you trust.
What Sending $200 Costs on Average
The World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide database tracks the total cost of sending $200, as a percentage of the amount sent, for each provider in it. The tables show the average for the senders' countries and for the receiving countries, in the latest years available in the World Bank's data. The United Nations reports the global average for the third quarter of 2025 at 6.36%, down from 7.42% in 2016, with 4.59% for digital services, 7.3% for the others and 3.54% for digital-only operators.
Sending from a country (average cost of $200)
| From | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 3.32% | 2.73% | 3.51% |
| United Kingdom | 2.92% | 2.67% | 3.61% |
| Canada | 4.17% | 3.28% | 2.97% |
| United Arab Emirates | 3.82% | 2.35% | 3.08% |
| Germany | 3.79% | 3.31% | 3.02% |
| France | 4.41% | 2.95% | 2.90% |
| Italy | 5.43% | 3.91% | 2.19% |
| Australia | 4.12% | 3.42% | 2.88% |
| Saudi Arabia | 4.27% | 1.19% | 4.52% |
| South Africa | 8.41% | 4.10% | 3.75% |
Receiving in a country (average cost of $200)
| To | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 4.78% | 3.47% | 4.64% |
| Ghana | 3.33% | 1.42% | 2.01% |
| Kenya | 5.04% | 2.17% | 3.86% |
| South Africa | 3.46% | 2.06% | 4.55% |
| Egypt, Arab Rep. | 4.77% | 3.93% | 3.30% |
World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, through the World Development Indicators, updated 2026-07-13. The latest year in that series is 2023. An average of providers is not the price of any one of them.
Go Deeper
What a Money Transfer Really Costs
The World Bank explains that the cost of a remittance has several parts: the transaction fee, the exchange rate applied, and the margin eventually charged. The fee is what the sender pays when the transfer starts, and it often depends on the amount. The exchange rate margin is the spread that is not quoted in the fee: the provider converts at a rate that is lower than the mid-market rate, and keeps the difference. Most transfers end in a local currency, so the margin applies to most of them. The World Bank's methodology adds that fees and taxes charged by the receiving country or organisation are not tracked in its database, so the real cost can be higher than the figures.
How the Calculator Works
- You pay = the amount, plus the fee if the fee is added on top. If the fee is taken out, you pay the amount and the fee comes out of it.
- They receive = the amount that is converted × the rate offered. The amount converted is the amount, or the amount minus the fee when the fee is taken out.
- Exchange rate margin = 1 − (rate offered ÷ mid-market rate). A rate above the mid-market rate gives a negative margin.
- Total cost = the fee + the margin on the amount converted, in the sending currency. As a share of the amount sent it is the measure that the World Bank uses for its average cost.
- Effective rate = what they receive ÷ what you pay. It is the number to compare between providers, because it includes the fee.
- Amount to send for a target = the target ÷ the rate offered, plus the fee (on top, or taken out of what is sent).
A Worked Example
The example uses invented numbers. You send $500 and the provider charges a $5 fee on top. The mid-market rate is ₦1,330 per dollar and the provider offers ₦1,300. You pay $505.00, and the recipient gets ₦650,000. The margin is 2.26%, which is $11.28 on the amount converted. The total cost is $16.28, or 3.26% of the amount sent, and the recipient is ₦21,650 short of what the whole $505.00 would have given at the mid-market rate. The fee is the smaller part of the cost: the rate decides more.
How to Compare Providers
- Compare what the recipient gets, not the fee. A provider with no fee and a poor rate can cost more than one with a fee and a good rate.
- Use the same amount and the same currencies for every provider, and check the fee mode: some add the fee on top, some take it out of the amount.
- Read the rate at the final step. The rate on the first screen may not be the rate applied.
- Check the reference rate. If you enter a different mid-market rate, the margins change, but the amounts the recipient gets do not.
- Check the speed and the delivery method. Cash pickup, a bank account and a mobile wallet can differ in price and in time, and this calculator only knows the numbers you enter.
Sending Money to Nigeria: Which Rate Do You Get?
When the recipient is paid in naira, the calculator can show how the rate offered compares with the parallel market average that we collect for the dollar, pound, euro and Canadian dollar, next to the reference rate. The official and parallel market rates can differ, and the gap changes, so a provider's rate can be above or below either one. The comparison is information: it does not say which rate a provider is allowed to use or which one is better for you. Our exchange rate page shows both rates, and the dollar to naira black market rate page shows today's parallel rate.
Nigeria receives a lot of money this way. The World Bank reports about $22.79 billion in personal remittances received by Nigeria in 2025, in current US dollars. On the World Bank's figures the average cost of sending $200 to Nigeria was 4.64% in 2023, against 2.01% for Ghana and 3.86% for Kenya.
Ways the Cost Falls or Rises
The United Nations reports that in the third quarter of 2025 digital remittances averaged 4.59% and the other services 7.3%, and that digital-only operators averaged 3.54%. Those are averages across providers and corridors, so a single provider can be higher or lower. The cost also depends on the amount: a fixed fee weighs more on a small transfer. Use the calculator with your own amount to see the percentage, and try a larger and a smaller amount.
The UN Target
Target 10.c of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals calls for reducing to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances by 2030, and for eliminating remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent. Use it as a benchmark: a total cost above the target is not wrong, but it is high against it.
What This Page Uses
The average costs are from the World Bank's cost of sending remittances from a country and to a country, which come from Remittance Prices Worldwide and are used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. The global figures for the third quarter of 2025 and the target are from the United Nations page on Sustainable Development Goal 10. Remittances received by Nigeria are the World Bank's personal remittances received, from the IMF's balance of payments data. The reference rates are from Open Exchange Rates through our server, and the parallel market averages are our own daily averages, described on our methodology page. The arithmetic was checked against high-precision calculation on 2,000 cases. We last checked on 21 September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the remittance calculator work out?
For each provider you enter, it works out what you pay, what the recipient gets, the exchange rate margin, and the total cost of the transfer in money and as a share of the amount sent. It can also work backwards from the amount the recipient must receive to the amount you have to send.
How much does it cost to send money abroad?
It is the fee plus the exchange rate margin. The World Bank's average total cost of sending $200 was 6.36% in the third quarter of 2025, according to the UN. A single provider can be well above or below that average, and the cost depends on the corridor, the amount and how you send.
What is the exchange rate margin?
It is the spread that the provider keeps by converting at a rate below the mid-market rate. The World Bank notes that it is not quoted in the transfer fee. The calculator measures it as 1 minus the rate offered divided by the mid-market rate.
What is the mid-market rate, and where do I find it?
It is the rate between the buying and selling rates of the market, the middle of the two, before any provider adds a spread. The calculator fills in a reference rate from Open Exchange Rates through our server, and you can type the rate from a source you trust. The two can differ a little.
How is the total cost calculated?
Total cost = the fee + the margin on the amount that is converted, in the sending currency. As a share of the amount sent, this is the measure the World Bank uses for its average cost of sending $200. In the example on this page, $500 with a $5 fee and a rate of 1,300 against a mid-market rate of 1,330 costs 16.28, which is 3.26%.
How much should I send so the recipient gets a set amount?
Use the mode "They must receive an amount". The amount to convert is the target divided by the rate offered. If the fee is added on top, you pay that plus the fee. If the fee is taken out of the amount, you send the amount to convert plus the fee.
Is the fee added on top or taken out of the amount?
It depends on the provider, so the calculator lets you choose. When the fee is on top, the recipient gets the full amount converted. When it is taken out, the recipient gets the amount minus the fee, converted. Compare the two providers with the same choice.
Which provider is the cheapest?
This page cannot say, because it does not know any provider's prices. Enter the fee and the rate each provider quotes for your amount, and the calculator ranks them by what the recipient receives. The effective rate, what they get for each unit you pay, includes the fee and is the easiest number to compare.
What is a good total cost for a remittance?
The UN's Sustainable Development Goal target 10.c is to bring the transaction cost of migrant remittances below 3 per cent by 2030, and to eliminate corridors that cost more than 5 per cent. Against that, 3.54% is the reported average of digital-only operators, and 7.3% of non-digital services.
How much does it cost to send money to Nigeria?
On the World Bank's figures, the average total cost of sending $200 to Nigeria, across the providers it tracks, was 4.78% in 2021, 3.47% in 2022 and 4.64% in 2023. That is an average, not the price of any provider, and 2023 is the latest year in that series.
Does the calculator include fees charged by the receiving bank?
No. It counts the fee and the exchange rate margin that you enter. The World Bank notes that fees and taxes charged by the receiving country or organisation are not tracked in its database, so the real cost can be higher. Ask the provider and the recipient's bank.
Why did the recipient get less than I expected?
The usual reasons are an exchange rate below the mid-market rate, a fee that was taken out of the amount, a rate that changed between the quote and the payment, and charges at the receiving end. Compare the rate on the final screen of the provider with the reference rate.
How does the parallel market rate come into it?
When the recipient is paid in naira and you send dollars, pounds, euros or Canadian dollars, the calculator shows the parallel market average that we collect, and how far each rate offered is above or below it. The official and parallel rates can differ. This is information, not a recommendation.
Where does the reference rate come from?
From Open Exchange Rates, through our server, for more than 170 currencies. It is a reference, and it may differ a little from the mid-market rate that a provider or a rate site shows, so you can type your own.
Can I use it to send money from Nigeria?
Yes. Choose NGN as the sending currency and the currency the recipient will get. The calculator does the same arithmetic. It does not cover any rules or limits on sending money out of Nigeria, so check those with your bank.
Are digital transfers cheaper than cash transfers?
The UN reports that in the third quarter of 2025 digital remittances averaged 4.59% and the other services 7.3%, and digital-only operators 3.54%. Those are averages, so compare the actual offers for your amount.
How current is the data?
The average costs by country are the World Bank's, last updated on 2026-07-13, and the latest year in them is 2023. The global figures are for the third quarter of 2025. Providers' prices change, so use the quote at checkout. We last checked this page on 21 September 2026.
Is anything I type stored or sent?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. The page asks our server for the public reference rates and, for naira transfers, the parallel market average, and it sends nothing about you or your amounts.
