Remitly vs Xoom
Which Is Better, Xoom or Remitly?
Remitly and Xoom are two top-notch money transfer platforms well known for their wide coverage and cash pay-out services. —
Remitly Rankings
On the one hand, there's Remitly, a global specialist in cash-based remittances and bank transfers across the globe that offers impressive reach and good fees and exchange rates. From July 2021 to July 2022, Remitly was the overall cheapest service for transfers from the United States to India, Mexico, and the Philippines according to Monito's comparison engine (Canada to India transfers too).
Xoom by PayPal Rankings
On the other hand, PayPal-backed Xoom is another reliable option to consider, with a vast reach and millions of active customers (although its fees and exchange rate are more expensive than Remitly's). Xoom never ranked in the top 5 on Monito for transfers from the US to India, Mexico, or the Philippines from July 2021 to July 2022.
While in most cases we recommend Remitly over Xoom, in the end, both will offer you excellent service, and whether Remitly or Xoom is ultimately right for you depends on several factors. In this side-by-side comparison, we explore a few of those factors to help you make the best decision and save money in the process.
Trust & Credibility
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.
Xoom is fully licensed and authorized by the relevant authorities in the countries in which it operates.
Security & reliability
Remitly’s website is fully-secured and makes use of top-notch security protocols, including segregated user accounts and HTTPS.
Xoom’s platform is fully secured, making use of top-notch security protocols, such as segregated user accounts and HTTPS.
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.
Founded in 2001, Xoom is a well-established international money transfer provider that transferred approximately $10 billion for 250 million customers in the last year. Xoom has 320 employees.
Transparent pricing
Remitly is not transparent about its pricing: 35% of fees are hidden in the exchange rate margin.
Xoom is only partially transparent in disclosing its fees: approximately 74% of its fees are hidden in the exchange rate margin.
Remitly vs Xoom: Trust & Credibility
Remitly and Xoom are safe and secure money transfer platforms that you can trust to get your money from A to B. We don't see much difference in this section and are confident that both will deliver, and even exceed, on their promises.
Is Remitly Safer Than Xoom?
Xoom is a PayPal-backed money transfer platform that supports transfers to an impressive number of countries and currencies. Xoom has around five million active users and has been operating since 2001, giving it a long service track record. On the other, there's Remitly, a licensed money transmitter in the US that's authorized to operate in all other countries in which it does business.
Xoom has been in the business for over 20 years, while Remitly has only been around for 10. Remitly moves over $5 billion across the globe for more than 3 million customers annually, while Xoom transfers some $10 billion for two million customers every year.
🖊 Licensing |
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|---|---|---|
📃 Founded | 2011 | 2001 |
🔒 Segregated Accounts | ✔ | ✔ |
💰 Profitable | ✘ | ✔ |
📈 Publicly Listed | ✔ | ✔ |
| Try Remitly | Try Xoom |
Last updated: 21/3/2022
Service & Quality
Opening an account
Opening an account with Remitly is relatively easy to do, though it may take some time to do.
Opening an account with Xoom is relatively easy to do, though it may be a lengthy experience.
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.
Transferring money with Xoom is fast and easy to do.
Contacting support
Remitly offers its users extensive customer service, with live chat and phone support that are available 24/7.
Though it does not offer chat support, Xoom offers an extensive FAQ section and its customer service is easy to get in touch with, either by phone or email.
Remitly vs Xoom: Service Quality
Whether you choose Remitly or Xoom, you can rest assured that you'll be getting high-quality service. 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.
Is Remitly Better Than Xoom?
However, when it comes to the overall transfer experience, Remitly has a slight edge over Xoom. For example, while our analysis found it to be slightly quicker to send money with Xoom than with Remitly (as there were fewer steps to the process), we found Remitly's customer support to be significantly better than Xoom's via its in-app live chat feature (something which Xoom is missing).
Remitly vs Xoom: Where Are They Available?
Take note that Remitly and Xoom aren't available everywhere, nor do they have the same reach. Take a look at the two services' availability below:
- Remitly: From Europe, US, Canada, Singapore, and Australia to around 47 currencies on every continent.
- Xoom: Available where PayPal is available to more than 150 countries and territories worldwide.
📥 Pay-In |
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📤 Pay-Out |
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⬇ Min. Transfer | $1.00 | $10.00 |
⬆ Max. Transfer | $20,000 |
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💱 Currencies | 47 | 35 |
💬 Languages | English, French, Spanish, Polish, Vietnamese, German, Romanian, Italian, Turkish | English, Spanish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Dutch |
| Try Remitly | Try Xoom |
Last updated: 21/3/2022
Fees & Exchange Rates
Transfers to a bank account
Often the cheapest on Monito for transfers to bank accounts.
Seldom the cheapest or most competitive on Monito for transfers to bank accounts.
Transfers to cash pickup
Almost always the cheapest on Monito for transfers to cash pick-up locations.
Seldom the cheapest or most competitive on Monito for transfers to cash pick-up locations.
Transfers to a mobile wallet
Almost always the cheapest on Monito for transfers to mobile wallets.
Xoom does not have a score in this category.
Remitly vs Xoom: Fees & Exchange Rates
When it comes to costs, Remitly is almost always the better choice than Xoom. —
Remitly and Xoom Exchange Rates
This is because Remitly charges a meager margin on the mid-market exchange rate (i.e. an exchange rate only slightly worse than the one you see on Google) and makes most of its money by adding a small fee onto every transfer. On the other hand, Xoom charges a standard exchange rate margin and a rather hefty variable fee in addition. As a result, this means that Xoom is almost always the more expensive option — whether you're looking to make a bank-to-bank transfer or a cash pickup transfer.
Remitly vs Xoom: The Costs Combined
For example, suppose you were sending a $500 transfer to a friend in Mexico from the USA. At the time of writing, a direct bank payment via Remitly would cost $3.60 in total fees, while a bank transfer with Xoom would cost $3.99 plus an exchange rate that's 2.41% worse than the mid‑market rate. In the end, your friend would receive 10,005 Mexican pesos if the transfer were made with Remitly and 9,820 Mexican pesos with Xoom. That's a nearly 2% difference in the amount received!
Take a look at the table below to get a better picture of how this works:
💱 Exchange Rate Margin | 1%-2% | 0.4%-4% |
|---|---|---|
💸 Additional Fees | 2%-3% | 2.9%-3.3% |
🏦 % Cheapest¹ (Bank) | 6% | 1.4% |
🏦 % Competitive² (Bank) | 44% | 2% |
💵 % Cheapest (Cash) | 80% | 5% |
💵 % Competitive (Cash) | 37% | 9% |
| Try Remitly | Try Xoom |
Last updated: 21/3/2022
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).
However, while Remitly is usually cheaper than Xoom, we still recommend comparing money transfer services on Monito. This way, you'll be able to find the provider that gives you the best rate for your transfer in real-time.
You can compare below — it's free, and it only takes a minute:
Xoom vs Remitly: Find the Cheapest Money Transfer
Customer Satisfaction
Trustpilot reviews
4/5 stars from around 40,000 reviews.
2.6/5 stars from around 25,000 reviews.
App Store reviews
4.9/5 stars from around 1,100,000 reviews.
4.8/5 stars from around 1,000,000 ratings.
Google Play reviews
4.8/5 stars from around 600,000 reviews.
Xoom does not have a score in this category.
Remitly vs Xoom: Customer Satisfaction
Based on tens of thousands of combined reviews on Trustpilot, it's pretty clear that Remitly and Xoom both impress their users.
Remitly and Xoom's Customer Service
Xoom is very popular with users, earning a 4.1- out of five-star rating on Trustpilot with many positive reviews. More impressive still is Remitly, which has received even more positive reviews on Trustpilot, with an average rating of 4.5 out of five stars (from around 50% more total reviews).
While we think Remitly slightly outdoes Xoom in this area, it's fair to say that both platforms deliver on their promises and satisfy their users.
Remitly vs Xoom
In almost all cases, we recommend Remitly over Xoom, particularly for small- to medium-sized bank transfers (up to $10,000) destined for international bank accounts because Remitly is exceptionally well-priced for these transfers. As we've seen, Remitly is the cheaper way to send money in general, although it's not necessarily much faster or more straightforward to use than Xoom. (If you'd like to learn more, we recommend checking out our in-depth Remitly review and Xoom review.)
We only recommend using Xoom over Remitly if you want to send money to a location that Remitly doesn't support. However, Xoom is seldom the only option on Monito's money transfer comparison results even in these cases. For this reason, if you're sending cash, we recommend comparing providers instead and selecting the 'Cash pick-up' tab on the Monito 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.
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Monito is trusted by 15+ million users across the globe.
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Monito's experts spend hours researching and testing services so that you don't have to.
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Our recommendations are always unbiased and independent.
