What is the mid-market rate?

The mid-market rate (also called the interbank rate or spot rate) is the midpoint between the buy and sell prices in the global currency market. Banks use this rate when trading large sums with each other. Retail customers receive a rate that includes a spread above this midpoint. The mid-market rate is the fairest benchmark for evaluating how much your conversion is actually costing you.

Why do banks charge more than the Google rate?

Google, financial data sites, and this tool all display the mid-market rate. Banks and exchange services apply a spread to cover their operational costs and generate revenue from retail currency conversion. The wider the spread, the more the conversion costs you relative to the benchmark. Specialist transfer services that operate at scale can offer spreads closer to the mid-market rate.

What does the inverse rate mean?

If 1 USD = 0.92 EUR, the inverse rate is 1 EUR = 1.087 USD. The inverse is displayed because some users think of the conversion in the opposite direction, travelers to Europe think in USD per EUR rather than EUR per USD. Both are shown so you can read the rate however is most intuitive for your situation.

Is it better to exchange currency before or after travel?

There is no universal answer. Exchanging at a specialist service before departure often offers better rates than exchanging on arrival at banks or kiosks. However, rates move, and locking in early is a bet on rates not improving. For most travelers, the simplest approach is a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card or multi-currency travel card, which automatically converts at near-mid-market rates at the point of purchase.

Why do different services quote different exchange rates for the same currency pair?

Every bank, card issuer, and exchange service applies its own spread on top of the mid-market rate, and those spreads differ based on the service's cost structure, transaction volume, and pricing strategy. A specialist transfer service processing millions of transactions daily can afford a thinner margin than a hotel front desk converting a small amount of cash. The mid-market rate shown in this tool is the shared reference point; the variation you see between services is purely the difference in their spreads. Comparing the rate you are offered to the current mid-market rate tells you exactly how much each service is charging for the conversion.

Does the tool account for fixed fees on top of the spread?

The spread field accounts for percentage-based margins. Some services also charge a fixed transaction fee per conversion, for example, a $5 wire fee or a 1% spread plus a $3 minimum. The tool does not model fixed fees separately. For large transactions the fixed fee has a negligible effect on the comparison; for small conversions a $5 fee on a $50 conversion is a 10% cost that dwarfs the spread. When converting small amounts, check whether your provider charges a fixed fee and factor it in manually.

Currency Converter

Convert between major currencies with live mid-market rates. Compare bank spread cost before you travel or pay internationally.

Conversion

FromToAmountBank / card spread (%)

Mid-market rates from open.er-api.com (hourly refresh, cached in your browser for one hour).

Fetching live rates…

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Rates are indicative. Banks and card networks quote their own price at checkout.

How this tool works

The tool fetches the mid-market rate from a live API on page load, caches it for one hour, and applies the following:

Worked example

Amount: $1,000 USD Mid-market rate: 0.9200 EUR/USD Bank spread: 2.5% ` Converted (mid) = 1,000 x 0.9200 = 920.00 EUR Bank rate = 0.9200 x (1 - 0.025) = 0.8970 EUR/USD Converted (bank) = 1,000 x 0.8970 = 897.00 EUR Spread cost = 920.00 - 897.00 = 23.00 EUR Inverse rate = 1 / 0.9200 = 1.0870 (1 EUR = 1.0870 USD) ` The spread costs you 23 EUR, approximately $25, on a $1,000 conversion. On a $10,000 transfer the same 2.5% spread costs $250. Understanding the spread is the most practical takeaway the tool provides.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the mid-market rate?
The mid-market rate (also called the interbank rate or spot rate) is the midpoint between the buy and sell prices in the global currency market. Banks use this rate when trading large sums with each other. Retail customers receive a rate that includes a spread above this midpoint. The mid-market rate is the fairest benchmark for evaluating how much your conversion is actually costing you.
Why do banks charge more than the Google rate?
Google, financial data sites, and this tool all display the mid-market rate. Banks and exchange services apply a spread to cover their operational costs and generate revenue from retail currency conversion. The wider the spread, the more the conversion costs you relative to the benchmark. Specialist transfer services that operate at scale can offer spreads closer to the mid-market rate.
What does the inverse rate mean?
If 1 USD = 0.92 EUR, the inverse rate is 1 EUR = 1.087 USD. The inverse is displayed because some users think of the conversion in the opposite direction, travelers to Europe think in USD per EUR rather than EUR per USD. Both are shown so you can read the rate however is most intuitive for your situation.
Is it better to exchange currency before or after travel?
There is no universal answer. Exchanging at a specialist service before departure often offers better rates than exchanging on arrival at banks or kiosks. However, rates move, and locking in early is a bet on rates not improving. For most travelers, the simplest approach is a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card or multi-currency travel card, which automatically converts at near-mid-market rates at the point of purchase.
Why do different services quote different exchange rates for the same currency pair?
Every bank, card issuer, and exchange service applies its own spread on top of the mid-market rate, and those spreads differ based on the service's cost structure, transaction volume, and pricing strategy. A specialist transfer service processing millions of transactions daily can afford a thinner margin than a hotel front desk converting a small amount of cash. The mid-market rate shown in this tool is the shared reference point; the variation you see between services is purely the difference in their spreads. Comparing the rate you are offered to the current mid-market rate tells you exactly how much each service is charging for the conversion.
Does the tool account for fixed fees on top of the spread?
The spread field accounts for percentage-based margins. Some services also charge a fixed transaction fee per conversion, for example, a $5 wire fee or a 1% spread plus a $3 minimum. The tool does not model fixed fees separately. For large transactions the fixed fee has a negligible effect on the comparison; for small conversions a $5 fee on a $50 conversion is a 10% cost that dwarfs the spread. When converting small amounts, check whether your provider charges a fixed fee and factor it in manually.