Currency Converter

Pick a source currency, a target, and an amount. The tool returns the converted value using a reference rate updated periodically.

Reach for it before pricing an international invoice, comparing a quote from a foreign supplier, or estimating a travel budget. The number it returns is a mid-market rate — it does not include the spread your bank or card network will add when the actual transaction settles. Plan on losing 1–3% to that spread on most consumer transfers.

For execution-grade rates (treasury, large transfers, programmatic FX) use a feed from your bank or a service like Wise — they quote rates with the spread already in.

The rate displayed is a mid-market rate — the midpoint between bid and ask in the wholesale FX market. Banks, payment processors, and card networks add a spread on top before they actually exchange money on your behalf. The spread varies: 0.5-1% for major-pair Wise transfers, 1-3% for typical bank wires, 3-5% for credit card foreign transactions, and as much as 8-10% for airport currency exchanges. The mid-market rate the tool shows is the right starting point for price comparison; it is not what you'll actually pay.

Worked example. You're invoicing a UK client for $1,000 USD and want to know the GBP equivalent. The tool says (at a recent reading) 1 USD = 0.79 GBP, so $1,000 = £790 mid-market. If the client pays via UK bank transfer through their bank's FX desk, they'll likely see a rate closer to 0.81-0.82, charging them £810-820 for the same $1,000 settlement. The bank pockets the spread. To minimize the spread, route the payment through Wise, Revolut, or a similar non-bank — they quote the mid-market rate and charge a transparent fixed fee.

The rate update cadence matters for big numbers. The tool refreshes periodically (typically every few minutes) from a quote feed. For a $1,000 transaction, you can ignore intra-day movement. For a $1,000,000 transaction, the rate at 2:00 PM and 2:05 PM may differ by enough to matter; treasury and corporate FX desks use live streaming feeds, not periodically-updated calculator pages. Match the precision of your tool to the size of the transaction.

Not all currencies move smoothly. Pegged currencies (HKD-USD, several Gulf currencies tied to USD) hold a fixed rate by central bank intervention; the rate looks identical day after day until the peg breaks. Crawling pegs (some emerging markets) move predictably along a curve. Free-floating currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, GBP) move on macro news and trader flow. The tool quotes the same way regardless; the tradable depth and spread you'll see in the market depend heavily on which kind of currency pair you're looking at.

For crypto currency pairs (BTC, ETH, etc.), the situation is different again. Spreads on retail crypto exchanges are typically 0.5-1% even on liquid pairs; on illiquid pairs, 5%+ slippage is normal. The mid-market rate from a reputable aggregator (CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap) is a reasonable reference, but actual execution price varies considerably across venues.