Monito.com

Remitly vs Wise

Curious how Monito creates these scores?

Is Remitly Better Than Wise? Compare Them Side-by-Side

Aug 12, 2022
Advertiser disclosure

Remitly and Wise are two of the best ways to transfer money internationally, offering a range of valuable features and services. —

A true specialist in cash-based remittances and bank transfers across the globe, Remitly offers impressive reach and reasonable fees and exchange rates. On the other hand, London-based fintech Wise frequently ranks as the cheapest way to transfer money internationally on Monito. According to the Monito Score, Wise is also ranked as the best money transfer service of all, and its mobile app is rated the best money transfer app.

Find the best deal now:

As you'll find out more in this article, if you'd like to make an international bank transfer, we generally recommend Wise over Remitly. However, for cash pick-up and cash home delivery transfers (services which Wise doesn't support), Remitly usually offers the best deal out there.

In the end though, both will provide you with excellent service, and whether Remitly or Wise is ultimately suitable for you depends on several factors. This side-by-side comparison explores a few aspects to help you make the best decision and save money.

Remitly
7.8
Wise
10

Trust & Credibility

Background check

Background check
Background check

Remitly is registered and regulated as a Money Services Business with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and by the relevant authorities in the countries in which it operates.

Licensed and authorised in the UK, US, Europe, and other countries.

Security & reliability

Security & reliability
Security & reliability

Remitly’s website is fully-secured and makes use of top-notch security protocols, including segregated user accounts and HTTPS.

HTTPS, segregated client accounts, secure data storage and network.

Company size

Company size
Company size

Founded in 2011, Remitly is a well-established money transfer provider: it serves over 3 million customers, has transferred $5 billion in the past year alone, and now has a thousand employees.

16 million customers, 4,500 employees, and $133 billion in annual volumes.

Transparent pricing

Transparent pricing
Transparent pricing

Remitly is not transparent about its pricing: 35% of fees are hidden in the exchange rate margin.

No exchange rate margin, only a low transparent fee.

Remitly vs Wise: Trust & Credibility

Looking at Remitly and Wise, it's quite clear that both are large, duly licensed companies with a track record of success delivering funds across the globe.

On the one hand, there's Remitly, which is licensed as a money transmitter in the US and also authorized to operate in all Canadian provinces (including Quebec), as well as in the UK and Ireland (which represents the entire EU). Like Wise, Remitly has been in the field for 10 years and today moves over $5 billion across the globe for more than 3 million customers annually. What's more, Remitly offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, or you will get your money back.

On the other hand, Wise is similarly duly licensed, although slightly larger than Remitly: it moves more than US$70 billion across borders for more than 10 million customers every year.

Regardless of which platform you choose, both offer institutional grade security and take preventative measures, such as 2-step login and verification procedures, and both hold client funds completely separate from business accounts, as per FCA requirements. This means that should either country face any financial difficulties, then your money will be safe.

Last updated: 18/3/2022

Remitly
9.3
Wise
8.7

Service & Quality

Opening an account

Opening an account
Opening an account

Opening an account with Remitly is relatively easy to do, though it may take some time to do.

No exchange rate margin, only a low transparent fee.

Making a transfer

Making a transfer
Making a transfer

Transferring money with Remitly is a straightforward process, made all the more convenient by the variety of pay-in and pay-out options it offers.

Very easy, can be done in just a few clicks.

Contacting support

Contacting support
Contacting support

Remitly offers its users extensive customer service, with live chat and phone support that are available 24/7.

Very easy, responsive live chat and phone support available 24/7.

Remitly vs Wise: Service & Quality

Whether you choose Remitly or Wise, you're in for high-quality service, and you can be assured that your money will be delivered smoothly, the transfer process will be hassle-free, and you can sign up with either platform in just a few clicks.

However, when it comes to the overall transfer experience, Wise has the edge over Remitly, even though Remitly offers more pay-in and pay-out options than Wise. For example, there are slightly fewer steps to both signing up and sending money with Wise, and in our impression, we found its user interface to be slightly cleaner and more intuitive than Remitly's (although Remitly's was by no means bad!)

info icon

Remitly vs Wise: Where Are They Available?

Take note that Remitly and Wise aren't available everywhere, nor do they have the same reach. Take a look at the two services' availability below:

  • Remitly: Available to users in Europe, the US, Canada, Singapore, and Australia and transfers to around 47 currencies on every continent.
  • Wise: Available in the EEA, UK, US, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand and supports transfers to around 57 foreign currencies.

Last updated: 18/3/2022
¹ Varies based on currency

Remitly
9.7
Wise
9.6

Fees & Exchange Rates

Transfers to a bank account

Transfers to a bank account
Transfers to a bank account

Often the cheapest on Monito for transfers to bank accounts.

Extremely cheap and competitive on Monito.

Transfers to cash pickup

Transfers to cash pickup
Transfers to cash pickup

Almost always the cheapest on Monito for transfers to cash pick-up locations.

Wise does not have a score in this category.

Transfers to a mobile wallet

Transfers to a mobile wallet
Transfers to a mobile wallet

Almost always the cheapest on Monito for transfers to mobile wallets.

Wise does not have a score in this category.

Remitly vs Wise: Fees & Exchange Rates

When it comes to pricing, Remitly and Wise are the two cheapest money transfer providers on Monito's real-time comparison engine on average, and you can be sure that you'll get a good deal with either of them.

Provided you choose Remitly's 'Economy' pricing, Remitly will sometimes be the cheapest provider of all on Monito, and often so for cash transfers (which Wise doesn't support). However, for online bank-to-bank transfers, Wise is very often the cheapest service on Monito, and usually out-competes Remitly for transfers of these kinds.

(However, Remitly is very cheap on transfer corridors from North America and Europe to developing countries, and often is the better choice than Wise, even for bank transfers. That's why it's always important to compare transfer providers before sending money abroad.)

Take a look at the table below to get a better picture of how this works:

Last updated: 18/3/2022
¹ How often the provider was the cheapest on Monito (Apr-Jun 2021).
² How often the provider's fees were below 1.5% for a $1,000 transfer on Monito (Apr-Jun 2021).

In the end, because Wise doesn't offer transfers for cash pickup where Remitly does, Remitly makes sense over Wise in for these transfers. Be sure to run a search on Monito's real-time comparison engine below to find the best deal for your transfer:

Compare Wise and Remitly to other top money transfer providers:

Remitly
9.4
Wise
9.5

Customer Satisfaction

Trustpilot reviews

Trustpilot reviews
Trustpilot reviews

4/5 stars from around 40,000 reviews.

Very good reviews on Trustpilot.

App Store reviews

App Store reviews
App Store reviews

4.9/5 stars from around 1,100,000 reviews.

Outstanding App Store reviews.

Google Play reviews

Google Play reviews
Google Play reviews

4.8/5 stars from around 600,000 reviews.

Very good reviews on Google Play.

Remitly vs Wise: Customer Satisfaction

Based on how customers review Wise and Remitly, it's quite clear that both platforms impress their users.

Remitly is very popular with users, earning a four- out of five-star rating on Trustpilot with a high number of positive reviews. More impressive still is Wise, which has received overwhelmingly positive reviews on Trustpilot, with around 85% of 116 thousand customers rating the service five out of five stars.

While we think Wise slightly outdoes Remitly in this area too, it's fair to say that both platforms deliver on their promises and satisfy their users.

Wise vs Remitly: Which Is Better For You?

In almost all cases, we recommend Wise over Remitly, and in particular for small- to medium-sized bank transfers (up to $10,000) destined for international bank accounts. This is because Wise is particularly well-priced for these transfers. If you'd like to learn more, we recommend checking out our in-depth Wise review and Remitly review respectively.

However, we generally recommend using Remitly over Wise if you want to send money to your recipient to be collected in cash. For this reason, if you're sending cash, we recommend comparing providers instead and selecting the 'Cash pick-up' tab on the results page.

Why Trust Monito?

You’re probably all too familiar with the often outrageous cost of sending money abroad. After facing this frustration themselves back in 2013, co-founders François, Laurent, and Pascal launched a real-time comparison engine to compare the best money transfer services across the globe. Today, Monito’s award-winning comparisons, reviews, and guides are trusted by around 8 million people each year and our recommendations are backed by millions of pricing data points and dozens of expert tests — all allowing you to make the savviest decisions with confidence.

Learn More About Monito
  • Monito is trusted by 15+ million users across the globe.

  • Monito's experts spend hours researching and testing services so that you don't have to.

  • Our recommendations are always unbiased and independent.

Monito.com

Global Impact Finance Ltd
Rue du Pont 22
1003 Lausanne
Switzerland

Affiliate Disclosure
Instead of banner ads and paywalls, Monito makes money through affiliate links to the various payment service providers featured on our website. While we work hard to scout the market for the best deals, we're unable to consider every possible product available to you. Our extensive range of trusted affiliate partners enables us to make detailed, unbiased, and solution-driven recommendations for all types of consumer questions and problems. This allows us to match our users with the right providers to suit their needs and, in doing so, match our providers with new customers, creating a win-win for everybody involved. However, while some links on Monito may indeed earn us a commission, this fact never impacts the independence and integrity of our opinions, recommendations, and evaluations.