Tool
What does it really cost to send money to the Philippines?
Enter an amount. See the all-in cost across every rail, ranked cheapest-first: the FX margin plus the fee, not just the visible fee. The margin is where the money quietly goes.
Cheapest rail for this transfer
Wise
USD balance → PHP, then InstaPay to PH bank
Gross value ₱61,583 at a mid-market benchmark of ₱61.58/USD (2026-07-10). The high end of each rail's band is shown — the cost to plan against. Spreads move daily; figures are illustrative, not a live quote.
What this means
On this transfer, Wise costs ₱511 (0.83%) all-in versus ₱2,463 (4.00%) on USD wire to PH bank FCDU, a ₱1,952 gap on the same dollars.
Sending this every month, the wrong rail costs you an extra ₱23,426 per year: pure FX margin and fees, before the rate even moves.
Remitly is not ranked here: the transfer fee is published (zero on bank deposit, wallet, and debit-card payouts) but the standard exchange rate is not, so there is no honest all-in figure to compare. Pull a live quote in the app and check it against the mid-market rate above before you commit.
USD wire to PH bank FCDU's cost is mostly an FX margin baked into the rate, not a visible fee, which is why it looks "free" until you compare the pesos that actually land.
The bank-wire and Western Union figures are representative bands, not transcribed rate sheets: neither publishes an obtainable USD→PHP spread, so those rows are flagged unverified. Confirm the exact rate with the provider before a large transfer.
Methodology, formula + sources
How this is calculated
Each rail's cost is split into two parts that behave differently: the FX margin baked into the quoted rate, and any transparent fee on top. The all-in cost is both, applied to the gross peso value at a single mid-market benchmark so every rail is comparable on the same day. The benchmark is read from our BSP FX ledger, not typed in here, so it cannot go stale independently. The high end of each published band is used — the cost to plan against. A rail whose provider does not publish its FX margin (Remitly) is listed with its verified fees but never ranked: it gets no invented spread.
Formula
grossPhp = amountUsd × benchmarkRate (benchmark = BSP USD→PHP reference rate) allInCost = grossPhp × (fxMargin% + fee%) + fixedFee×rate (high end of each band) received = grossPhp − allInCost unpriced = rail with no published FX margin → listed, not ranked, never guessed annualGap = (mostExpensive − cheapest) × (12 if monthly else 1)
Constants + data sources (each dated)
| Value used | Source | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-market benchmark: ₱61.58/USD (BSP reference rate, 2026-07-10) | BSP Reference Exchange Rate Bulletin, via the LiveInPH FX ledger | 2026-07-10 |
| Wise: mid-market + 0.45–0.83% fee (tapers with size) | Wise USD→PHP comparison page (live quote, 12 Jul 2026) | 2026-07-12 |
| Payoneer → PH bank: 1.2–4% FX margin | Payoneer pricing page — 'To a bank account in the recipient's non-local currency (with currency conversion): 1.2% – 4%' | 2026-07-12 |
| PayPal (PH cash-out): 3% currency-conversion fee; withdrawal to a PH bank free above ₱7,000, ₱50 below | PayPal Philippines fee page — Asia-Pacific currency-conversion fee 3.0%; withdrawal to a PH bank: No Fee above PHP 7,000, PHP 50.00 below | 2026-07-12 |
| Western Union: 1.5–2.5% FX margin, $0 bank-funded fee (unverified band — site is bot-protected) | Western Union send-to-GCash page ($0 transfer fee, bank-funded) + representative FX-margin band | 2026-05 |
Worked example (reproduce this by hand)
USD 1,000 sent monthly, at the ₱61.58/USD benchmark (gross ₱61,583).
- Wise: ₱61,583 × 0.83% = ₱511
- PayPal: ₱61,583 × 3% = ₱1,847
- gap per transfer = ₱1,336 → × 12 months
→ Choosing PayPal over Wise costs ≈ ₱16,036/year on the same dollars. Same numbers in code, ledger, and tests.
Assumptions
- A single mid-market benchmark peso-ises every rail for same-day comparison. Real rates move daily; the percentage spreads are the stable part to compare.
- The high end of each band is used (the cost to plan against). Wise’s fee tapers from ~0.83% on USD 1,000 toward ~0.45% on larger amounts — large transfers are slightly cheaper than shown.
Known limits — what this does not model
- USD→PHP only. Other source currencies have different fee structures.
- The bank-wire and Western Union rows are representative bands flagged unverified: no PH bank publishes an obtainable inbound-wire/FCDU conversion rate, and Western Union’s site is bot-protected, so neither could be re-verified on 12 Jul 2026. They are left exactly as recorded rather than refreshed from a comparison site. Confirm the exact spread before a large transfer.
- Remitly is listed but not ranked: its fees are published (and zero on the three digital payouts), but its standard exchange rate is not, so it has no honest all-in figure. Pull a live quote in the app.
- Does not model delivery speed, transfer limits, KYC friction, or promotional first-transfer waivers.