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.
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 high end of each published band is used — the cost to plan against. Payoneer's GCash route applies its free monthly quota before the excess margin.
Formula
grossPhp = amountUsd × benchmarkRate allInCost = grossPhp × (fxMargin% + fee%) + fixedFee×rate (high end of each band) received = grossPhp − allInCost GCash rail = max(0, grossPhp − freeQuota) × payoneerBankMargin% annualGap = (mostExpensive − cheapest) × (12 if monthly else 1)
Constants + data sources (each dated)
| Value used | Source | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-market benchmark: ₱58.50/USD (2026-05-14) | LiveInPH USD→PHP corridor ledger | 2026-05 |
| Wise: mid-market + 0.45–0.83% fee (tapers with size) | Wise USD→PHP comparison page (live quote) | 2026-05-14 |
| Payoneer → PH bank: 1.8–2% FX margin | Payoneer help centre — withdraw to bank FAQ ('up to 2%') | 2026-05 |
| Payoneer → GCash free quota: first PHP 8,000/month free, excess at the Payoneer→bank margin | Payoneer help centre — GCash withdrawal | 2026-05 |
| PayPal: 4–5% combined spread (low confidence) | Wise USD→PHP vs PayPal comparison | 2026-05 |
| Western Union: 1.5–2.5% FX margin, $0 bank-funded fee (low confidence) | Western Union send-to-GCash page ($0 transfer fee, bank-funded) + representative FX-margin band cross-checked against rate trackers | 2026-05 |
Worked example (reproduce this by hand)
USD 1,000 sent monthly, at the ₱58.50/USD benchmark (gross ₱58,500).
- Wise: ₱58,500 × 0.83% = ₱486
- PayPal: ₱58,500 × 5% = ₱2,925
- gap per transfer = ₱2,439 → × 12 months
→ Choosing PayPal over Wise costs ≈ ₱29,273/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.
- Bank-wire, PayPal, and Western Union rows are representative low-confidence bands — none publishes a clean USD→PHP rate sheet, and Western Union’s margin shifts with funding method, payout, and promo. Confirm the exact spread before a large transfer.
- Does not model delivery speed, transfer limits, KYC friction, or promotional first-transfer waivers.