Revolut is the better daily banking companion: a fuller feature set (budgeting, virtual cards, investments, travel perks), €1,000/month of interbank-rate FX on the free plan, and instant transfers between users. Wise is the better pure transfer tool: true mid-market rate with a transparent fee, local bank details in 10+ currencies, and no weekend markups or monthly FX caps. Most expats use Revolut for spending and Wise for sending — both have free tiers, so the combo costs nothing.
Revolut vs Wise is the expat's version of "which is better" — and like most such debates, the answer is that they're built for different jobs. Revolut wants to be your financial super-app: spending, budgeting, investing, travel. Wise wants to do one thing perfectly: move money across borders at the real exchange rate.
This guide compares them feature by feature so you can decide which deserves a place in your wallet — spoiler: for most expats, it's both. Figures reflect official pricing as of October 2026.
Revolut vs Wise: head-to-head
| Criterion | Revolut (Standard) | Wise (personal) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | €0 | €0 (no subscription) |
| Account type | E-money / bank (LT licence) | Multi-currency account (not a bank) |
| IBAN / account details | Lithuanian IBAN + local details in some currencies | Local bank details in 10+ currencies (EUR via Belgian IBAN) |
| Free FX allowance | €1,000/month at interbank rate, then 1% | No cap — mid-market rate + transparent fee every time |
| Weekend FX markup | ~1% outside market hours | None |
| Free ATM withdrawals | €200/month, then 2% | €200/month (2 withdrawals), then fees |
| Debit card | Free virtual; physical on request | Debit card available (€7 one-time in most of Europe) |
| Extra features | Budgeting, Vaults, stocks, crypto, travel insurance (paid tiers), e-SIMs | Focused: transfers, balances, card, business accounts |
| Best for | Daily spending & travel companion | International transfers & receiving |
Revolut: the spending super-app
Revolut Standard
Revolut's free Standard plan packs more features than most paid bank accounts: real-time spending analytics, Pockets for budgeting, disposable virtual cards for online shopping, and easy stock and crypto investing. For expats, the killer features are €1,000/month of interbank-rate currency exchange and instant free transfers to the millions of other Revolut users — splitting bills with expat friends has never been easier.
The limits: the €1,000 FX allowance is plenty for travel spending but not for moving salaries; beyond it you pay 1%. The ~1% weekend markup punishes Saturday-night spending abroad — a quirk Wise doesn't have. And the Lithuanian IBAN means the same German-administration friction discussed in our N26 vs Revolut guide.
Wise: the transfer specialist
Wise personal account
Wise does fewer things, deliberately. Its multi-currency account gives you real local bank details — a US routing number, UK sort code, European IBAN — so employers and clients pay you like a local. Transfers use the true mid-market rate with a fee shown upfront: no monthly caps, no weekend markups, no games.
For a freelancer receiving $3,000 monthly from US clients, or anyone sending four-figure sums home regularly, Wise's uncapped mid-market pricing beats Revolut's allowance model decisively. The trade-off: Wise is not a bank (funds are safeguarded with tier-1 banks rather than covered by deposit insurance), and its feature set is intentionally thin — no investments, no crypto, basic budgeting.
FX compared: a €2,000/month freelancer
Take an expat converting €2,000 monthly (weekday, illustrative):
| Revolut Standard | Wise | |
|---|---|---|
| First €1,000 | €0 (within allowance) | ~€4–8 fee at mid-market rate |
| Next €1,000 | ~€10 (1% fair usage) | ~€4–8 fee at mid-market rate |
| Illustrative monthly FX cost | ~€10 | ~€8–16 |
| Weekend transfers | +~1% markup | No markup |
Receiving money: where Wise dominates
This is the underrated difference. Wise gives you local bank details — a US client pays your USD details via ACH like a domestic transfer; a UK employer uses your sort code. Revolut offers local details in fewer currencies and routes more through its LT IBAN. If you earn across borders, Wise's receiving network is the practical choice; pair it with our money transfer guide for corridor specifics like EUR → PKR.
Who should pick which?
- Pick Revolut if: you want one app for spending, budgeting and travel; you convert under ~€1,000/month; your friends use Revolut (instant free transfers).
- Pick Wise if: you regularly move or receive larger sums; you freelance for foreign clients; you send money home monthly; you hate weekend markups and caps.
- Use both (the expat standard): Revolut for daily spending and travel; Wise for receiving foreign income and scheduled transfers home. Add a German bank (see best accounts in Germany) for salary and rent — and you've covered everything for €0/month.
For freelancers: receiving client payments
If you invoice foreign clients, the comparison tilts hard toward Wise. Its local bank details mean a US client pays via domestic ACH (free for them, fast for you) instead of an international wire with $15–30 in correspondent fees. A German freelancer receiving $4,000 monthly saves roughly $20–40 per invoice in avoided wire fees alone, before the FX advantage. Revolut can receive international transfers too, but routes through fewer local rails and its LT IBAN can confuse non-EU payers. Many freelancers run Wise for income, Revolut for spending — with a German bank underneath for tax and rent. See our transfer guide for corridor specifics.
Support and reliability compared
Revolut's support is in-app chat — fast for standard issues, frustrating for complex ones, with no phone line on free plans. Wise's support (chat + email, phone for urgent cases) is widely rated more human, though slower at peak times. On reliability: both have had well-publicised growing pains (Revolut with account freezes during compliance reviews, Wise with occasional payout delays on exotic corridors). Practical hedge: never keep your entire financial life in one fintech. Keep a licensed German bank as your base, use Revolut and Wise as tools on top — which is exactly the setup this guide recommends.
- Daily spending & travel: Revolut — richer features, €1,000/month interbank FX, instant user-to-user transfers.
- Transfers & receiving: Wise — uncapped mid-market rate, no weekend markups, local bank details in 10+ currencies.
- Under ~€1,000/month FX: Revolut is usually cheaper; above it, Wise typically wins.
- Freelancers: Wise's local receiving details save real money on client payments.
- Keep a German bank underneath for salary, rent and direct debits — fintechs are tools, not foundations.
Next step: set up both free tiers, then compare transfer corridors in our money transfer guide.
Paid tiers: when do they pay off?
Both offer premium plans — Revolut Premium/Metal, Wise doesn't do subscriptions but has volume-based pricing nuances. The math is simple: Revolut Premium (~€8–9/month) pays off if you consistently exceed the free €1,000 FX allowance or travel enough to use the lounge passes and travel insurance; otherwise it's decoration. Metal (~€16/month) is a lifestyle product — cashback and concierge rarely justify it on pure numbers. Wise has no subscription to evaluate: heavy users just pay per transfer, which keeps the decision honest. Rule of thumb: stay on free tiers until a paid feature saves you measurably more than it costs for three consecutive months.
Sources & further reading
Primary sources consulted for this guide (Bank of Lithuania — Revolut Bank UAB supervision among them). Figures change — always verify against these official sources:
- Bank of Lithuania — supervised financial institutions
- Revolut and Wise — official pricing pages
- ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates — mid-market benchmark
How we compared
We compared Revolut Standard and Wise personal accounts on official pricing pages as of October 2026, across FX allowances and markups, ATM quotas, account-detail coverage and feature depth. The €2,000/month freelancer table is illustrative — Wise fees vary by currency route and Revolut costs depend on plan, timing and weekend markups. We weighted uncapped mid-market pricing for larger/regular flows and feature breadth for daily use. Neither provider paid for placement. Verify live terms before applying.