If you live in the U.S. and send money to family, every transfer has a cost you don't always see: the fee and, above all, the exchange rate. To compare with data rather than advertising, we used the World Bank's database, which measures every quarter what it costs to send money with each company. The takeaway is clear: the same transfer can cost almost nothing or more than 15%, depending on who you use and how.
What a transfer really costs
A money transfer has two costs:
- The fee: what you pay to send, and what gets advertised.
- The exchange rate margin: the gap between the market exchange rate and the one you get. If the dollar is at 18 pesos and you get 17.70, that gap is a cost, even if it isn't labeled as one.
That's why a company can advertise "no-fee transfers" and still cost more than one charging $5: it keeps the difference in the exchange rate.
Where the data comes from
We use Remittance Prices Worldwide, the World Bank database that measures the cost of sending money between countries. Every quarter, the World Bank checks what companies charge to send $200 and $500, how you pay, how the money is received and how long it takes, and calculates the total cost: fee plus exchange rate margin.
The tables below use data from the third quarter of 2025, collected in August 2025, for a $200 transfer: the most recent edition published by country. Prices change often and many companies offer first-transfer promotions, so treat them as a guide to who tends to be cheap or expensive, not as today's price.
For each company we show its cheapest option in the World Bank sample. A negative cost means the exchange rate applied was better than the reference rate.
Sending to Mexico
| Company | How you pay → how it's received | Total cost on $200 | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart2World | Debit card → cash | -2.44% | Under 1 hour |
| Xoom | Bank account → cash | -0.48% | Under 1 hour |
| Wise | Bank account → bank account | 1.26% | Same day |
| MoneyGram | Bank account → bank account | 1.71% | 3 to 5 days |
| Ria | Debit card → bank account | 2.24% | Under 1 hour |
| Western Union | Bank account → cash | 3.90% | 3 to 5 days |
| Wells Fargo | Bank account, at a branch → bank account | 4.12% | 2 days |
| Remitly | Bank account → cash | 5.38% | 3 to 5 days |
Notice how the price changes within the same company: at Western Union, the same transfer paid by credit card and picked up in cash cost 6.90%. At Ria, paying by credit card raised the cost to 6.31%.
Sending to Colombia
| Company | How you pay → how it's received | Total cost on $200 | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart2World | Debit card → cash | -2.65% | Under 1 hour |
| Xoom | Bank account → cash | 2.79% | Same day |
| Wise | Bank account → bank account | 3.40% | Same day |
| Remitly | Bank account → cash | 3.97% | Under 1 hour |
| Wells Fargo | Bank account, by phone → bank account | 4.00% | 2 days |
| Ria | Bank account → cash | 4.27% | 3 to 5 days |
| MoneyGram | Bank account → cash | 5.12% | 3 to 5 days |
| Western Union | Bank account or card → cash | 5.19% | Under 1 hour to 5 days |
| Citibank | Bank wire → bank account | 17.50% | 2 days |
Citibank's wire carries a flat $35 fee: on a $200 transfer that's 17.5%, although on a large transfer it would weigh much less. And the same Walmart2World option that was so cheap with a debit card cost 12.56% when paid in cash at the store.
Five things that change the price
- How you pay. From your bank account is usually cheapest; by credit card, most expensive. In the Colombia data, Wise went from 3.40% with a bank account to 9.27% with a credit card.
- How the other person receives it. Bank deposit, cash pickup or mobile wallet are priced differently, even at the same company.
- How much you send. Flat fees weigh heavily on small transfers. Sending $400 once usually beats sending $200 twice.
- Speed. Some companies charge more for delivery in minutes than for delivery in days.
- The destination country. The same company can be cheapest in one country and not in another. Xoom cost below zero to Mexico and 2.79% to Colombia.
Other countries and Spain
The World Bank publishes data for many other Latin American countries, such as Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. You can look up your country at remittanceprices.worldbank.org and see the same columns as in our tables.
If your country isn't in that database, as may be the case for Spain, the method is the same: before sending, ask each company exactly how much the other person will receive and compare it with the market exchange rate at that moment.
If you send to a country under sanctions or restrictions, there are fewer options and they change often. Check first which companies operate to that country and on what terms.
How to send safely
- Use licensed companies. Money transfer companies need a license in the states where they operate. You can check at NMLS Consumer Access, the public lookup for licensed financial companies.
- Know your rights. For transfers over $15, federal law requires that you be told the fee, exchange rate and amount to be received before you pay; lets you cancel for free within 30 minutes; and gives you 180 days to report an error. We explain this in our guide on opening an account without an SSN.
- Keep the receipt for every transfer, with its reference number.
- Never send money to someone you don't know or who pressures you to pay quickly: it's one of the most common scams.
Common mistakes
- Looking only at the fee. The exchange rate margin can cost more.
- Paying by credit card for convenience. It's usually the most expensive option.
- Making many small transfers. Every flat fee adds up.
- Always using the same company without comparing. The cheapest for one country may not be for another, and prices change.
- Going by the first-transfer promotion. Check what the second one will cost.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to send money from the U.S.?
It depends on the country and on how you pay and how the money is received. In the World Bank data, paying from a bank account or with a debit card and receiving into an account or in cash tends to be cheapest, and the cheapest company varies by country.
Is a bank wire or a money transfer company better?
For small amounts, money transfer companies usually work out better, because international bank wires carry high flat fees. For large amounts, compare: a flat fee weighs less the more you send.
Do I need an SSN to send money?
Each company decides which documents it asks for, usually a government ID. If you send from your bank account, you'll need one open: see how to open an account without an SSN.
Why is the data from 2025?
The World Bank publishes its data quarterly and a few months behind. We use the most recent edition available by country. It shows which kinds of options tend to be cheap or expensive; the exact price today is what each company quotes before you pay.
Next step
If you don't have a U.S. account yet, start there: it's the cheapest way to fund your transfers. Read how to open an account without an SSN and our comparison of banks for non-residents.
Sources
- World Bank: Remittance Prices Worldwide
- World Bank: Sending money from the United States to Mexico
- World Bank: Sending money from the United States to Colombia
- World Bank: Sending money from the United States to Guatemala
- World Bank: Sending money from the United States to the Dominican Republic
- CFPB: What is a remittance transfer and what are my rights?
- NMLS Consumer Access