💱 Currency Converter
A currency converter for 166 currencies at the mid-market rate, plus what a card, bank or bureau actually gives you once the markup is applied.
What Currency Converter Does
The rate you see quoted almost everywhere — on Google, on this page, on any free converter — is the mid-market rate. It is the midpoint between what buyers are bidding and sellers are asking on the wholesale market, and it is the rate no consumer is ever actually offered.
That is not a scandal, it is how the business works: whoever converts your money takes a margin for doing it. What makes it worth a calculator is that the margin is almost always built into the rate rather than shown as a fee, so there is nothing on the receipt to compare. A card quoting "no foreign transaction fee" may still be taking around 1%; a bank wire around 4%; an airport bureau de change can exceed 12%. On a $1,000 conversion that spread is over $90, and none of it appears as a line item.
So this page does the ordinary conversion and then does the useful part: you say how you will actually pay, and it shows what would really land in your account. Every other free converter shows the mid-market rate and stops.
One more distinction worth knowing, because it catches people out at tax time. If you are reporting a foreign account to the IRS, the rate you need is not a market rate at all — it is the Treasury Reporting Rate of Exchange, published quarterly. That is a different number from anything on this page, and the official source is linked below.
How to Use Currency Converter
- Enter the amount and pick the two currencies — 166 are available
- Read the mid-market conversion, with the exact time the rate was published
- Choose how you will actually pay, from a fee-free card to an airport bureau
- Compare the mid-market figure with what you would really receive
Formula Used by Currency Converter
The conversion
converted = amount × rate
- rate
- Units of the target currency per one unit of the source
- Direction
- The reverse rate is 1 ÷ rate, not the same number
Worked example
$1,000 at a USD/EUR rate of 0.8611
- 1,000 × 0.8611
Result: €861.10 at the mid-market rate
What the markup costs you
received = amount × rate × (1 − markup ÷ 100)
- markup
- The margin taken on the rate, usually invisible
- Why subtract
- You receive less of the target currency for the same amount given
Worked example
The same €861.10 at three different markups
- 1% — a fee-free card: €852.49
- 3% — a typical card: €835.27
- 12% — an airport bureau: €757.77
Result: A €94.72 spread on one $1,000 conversion, none of it itemized
Cross rates
A → B = (A → USD) × (USD → B)
- Why
- Most feeds quote everything against one base currency
- Consequence
- A conversion between two minor currencies carries two rates worth of spread
Worked example
Converting Thai baht to Mexican pesos
- THB → USD
- USD → MXN
Result: Two conversions in practice, which is why exotic pairs cost more than the quoted rate suggests
What $1,000 becomes, by how you convert it
At a USD/EUR mid-market rate of 0.8611. The markups are typical all-in figures; your own card issuer states its own, usually in the rate rather than as a fee.
| How you pay | Typical markup | You receive | It costs you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-market rate (nobody gets this) | 0% | €861.10 | — |
| Specialist transfer service | ~0.5% | €856.79 | €4.31 |
| Card with no foreign transaction fee | ~1% | €852.49 | €8.61 |
| Typical debit or credit card | ~3% | €835.27 | €25.83 |
| Bank wire transfer | ~4% | €826.66 | €34.44 |
| Airport bureau de change | ~12% | €757.77 | €103.33 |
Three different rates, three different purposes
These are not competing estimates of one number — they are separate figures with separate uses, and using the wrong one causes real problems.
| Rate | Who publishes it | Updated | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-market | Market data providers | Continuously | Reference, planning, comparison |
| Your provider's rate | Your bank or card issuer | At settlement | What you will actually be charged |
| Treasury Reporting Rate | US Treasury | Quarterly | FBAR and IRS foreign account reporting |
| Central bank reference | ECB, Bank of Canada and others | Daily, fixed time | Accounting, contracts, official records |
Where the money quietly goes
Four separate mechanisms, often stacked on the same transaction. Only the second is normally disclosed as a fee.
| Mechanism | Typical cost | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Markup on the exchange rate | 1–12% | Compare the rate offered against mid-market |
| Foreign transaction fee | 0–3% | Use a card that does not charge one |
| Dynamic currency conversion | 3–12% | Always choose to be charged in the local currency |
| ATM operator fee | Fixed, $2–6 | Withdraw larger amounts less often |
How to Read Your Result
Always decline to be charged in your own currency
When a foreign card terminal or website offers to bill you in your home currency, that is dynamic currency conversion. It looks like a convenience and is a revenue product: the merchant's payment processor sets the rate and keeps the margin, typically 3% to 12%, and you lose whatever rate your own bank would have given. Choosing the local currency hands the conversion to your card network instead, which is almost always better. This is the single easiest saving available to a traveler and it is offered precisely because most people accept it.
The mid-market rate is a reference, not an offer
It is genuinely useful — it tells you what the currency is worth, and it is the benchmark against which any quote should be judged. But treating it as the rate you will get guarantees disappointment. The right way to use it is as a denominator: take the rate your provider quotes, divide by mid-market, and you have their markup as a percentage. A provider unwilling to show you their rate before you commit is telling you something.
The tax rate is a different number entirely
This trips up anyone with a foreign bank account. US reporting obligations — the FBAR in particular — expect the Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange, published quarterly, not the market rate on the day. The Treasury is explicit that its published rates are not current rates of exchange. Using a live rate from a converter like this one for a filing is a genuine error, and the fix is simply to use the official table, which is free and linked in the sources.
Rates are stale here, deliberately disclosed
The feed behind this page refreshes about once every 24 hours, and the exact publication time is printed under the result rather than hidden. That is honest and it is a real limit: for planning a trip, quoting a client or sizing a transfer, a day-old rate is fine, because the markup you pay dwarfs the intraday movement. For trading, or for a decision that settles today, it is not — use a live market feed. Any free converter claiming real-time rates is either paying for a feed or overstating what it has.
Cross-currency conversions cost twice
Most rate feeds and most providers quote everything against a single base, usually the dollar. Converting Thai baht to Mexican pesos therefore means two conversions, and in practice two spreads. The quoted cross rate can look reasonable while the executed cost is nearly double the markup you would pay on a major pair. If you regularly move money between two non-dollar currencies, it is worth asking a provider explicitly whether they cross through USD.
Why this page cannot beat Google on the plain question
Worth saying plainly: Google shows its own converter above these results, with live rates and a chart, and Xe and Wise operate real currency infrastructure. If all you want is "what is 100 dollars in euros", the widget at the top of the search results is the fastest answer and you should use it. What it does not tell you is what you will actually be charged, which is the question that costs money, and that is what this page is for.
Limitations & Accuracy Notes
- Rates refresh roughly every 24 hours and are supplied by a third-party feed. The publication time is shown with every result. This is not a real-time or trading-grade source.
- Markup figures are typical ranges, not your provider's actual rate. Card issuers, banks and bureaux each set their own, and it is normally built into the rate rather than disclosed as a fee.
- Nothing here is suitable for tax filing. US foreign account reporting expects the Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange, which are quarterly official rates and a different number.
- Cryptocurrency is not included. Crypto rates move continuously, vary between exchanges and do not have a single reference rate in the way fiat currencies do.
- Some listed currencies are pegged, tightly managed or subject to capital controls, so the quoted rate may not reflect what is obtainable locally. Parallel market rates can differ substantially.
- This is a calculation, not a quote. Only your bank, card issuer or transfer provider can tell you the rate you will actually receive.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the mid-market rate, and why can I never get it?
How much do banks and cards actually charge?
Which exchange rate should I use for tax reporting?
How current are these rates?
Why is the rate different when I actually pay?
How many currencies are supported?
References & Further Reading
- US Treasury Fiscal Data — Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange — The official quarterly US government rates used for FBAR and federal reporting, which the Treasury states are not current rates of exchange and should not be used to value transactions
- Wise — Currency Converter — The clearest competing statement of the mid-market rate, and the page that makes the strongest case that it is not the rate consumers receive
- ExchangeRate-API — open access endpoint — The rate feed behind this tool, documenting the roughly 24-hour refresh cadence disclosed above