Revolut vs Wise
Both are cheap, both are licensed here, and they disagree about how pricing should work. Revolut sells you a plan and an allowance; Wise sells you one transfer at a time. That difference decides this more than any single number.
Wise if you want to know the cost before you press send; Revolut if you want a spending account that travels and you are comfortable with an allowance rather than a price. Wise publishes a fee per transfer — A$2.81 on A$1,000 to USD — and we can check it. Revolut Standard publishes no figure at all: exchange is free within fair-usage limits that it does not state as a dollar amount, which is why the table above will not print a number for it. That is not a criticism of the product, but it does mean nobody can tell you in advance what a large exchange will cost.
Side by side
Costs are computed from each provider's published schedule for a bank-funded, bank-delivered transfer. A row marked estimated sits outside what the provider publishes as a rate.
1 Standard has no published allowance figure, only fair-usage limits, so a fee beyond the surcharge cannot be ruled out at this amount.
2 Outside the measured range; using the A$1,000 measurement.
Which one, and when
One large transfer, and you want the cost first
Wise quotes the fee before you confirm and the quote is what you pay. Revolut Standard cannot be quoted in advance by anyone, ourselves included, because the free allowance is governed by fair usage rather than a published threshold. For a single sizeable exchange, knowing the number beforehand is worth more than a plan that might make it free.
You are travelling and spending on a card
This is what Revolut is built for. Card spending in another currency, ATM withdrawals up to A$350 a month across five withdrawals, and a balance you can hold in the currency you are standing in. Wise also issues a card, but it is a transfer service with a card attached rather than the other way round.
You exchange on a Saturday
Revolut applies a weekend surcharge when foreign exchange markets are shut, and the size of it depends on your plan. Wise does not price by day of the week. If your exchanging happens when you have time rather than when markets are open, that surcharge is a recurring tax on your schedule.
You want to pick the cheapest by comparing plans
Revolut has five tiers from free to A$99.99 a month, and the paid ones buy exchange allowances rather than better rates. Working out whether a plan pays for itself needs your own monthly exchange volume, which only you know. Anyone who tells you a tier is cheaper than Wise without asking that figure is guessing.
Where each one loses
Revolut Standard states no allowance figure, only fair-usage limits, so no one can price a large exchange in advance — and a weekend surcharge applies outside market hours. Its paid tiers cost up to A$99.99 a month, which has to be earned back before any of it is a saving.
Wise prices each transfer rather than bundling, so it never becomes free however much you use it, and the flat component makes small transfers proportionally dearer: 0.32% on A$500 against 0.28% on A$1,000. It is a transfer service first, and a weaker everyday spending account than Revolut.
General information about payment methods available in Australia. Not financial advice. Fees, limits and features change — verify current terms with the provider before acting.