Remitly vs Wise in Canada (2026): fees and exchange rates

For most of the countries we priced from Canada on October 22, 2026, Remitly delivered a little more money than Wise, and on a first transfer it delivered a lot more. Wise won where Remitly’s exchange rate was furthest from the mid-market rate, as it was that morning for Senegal and Haiti. The gap on $1,000 was usually a few dollars either way. So when you’re weighing Remitly vs Wise, how you pay, how the money arrives and whether you’re a new customer can matter as much as the price.

What’s the difference between Remitly and Wise?

Both are online services that send money from Canada to a bank account or mobile wallet abroad, and both are registered with FINTRAC and the Bank of Canada. They charge differently, though. Remitly keeps part of the exchange rate and often charges no fee. Wise gives you the mid-market rate, the one you see on Google, and charges a fee it shows you before you pay.

So a Remitly transfer with no fee still costs something, because the cost is built into the rate. The fair test is how much arrives at the other end, and that’s what the quotes below measure.

They’re built for different jobs, too. Remitly is made for sending money to family, with cash pickup in many countries. Wise is built around an account, so you can keep money in other currencies as well as send it.

Remitly: how it works, and what it really costs

On October 22, Remitly’s (opens in a new tab) everyday rate sat 0.5% to 0.8% below the mid-market rate to India, the Philippines, China, the US, the UK and France, with no fee on $1,000 except $1.49 to China. To Nigeria, Pakistan, Morocco, Senegal and Haiti, it sat 1.1% to 2.6% below, and Morocco, Senegal and Haiti added a fee of $1.99 to $5.99.

New customers get a better rate on their first transfer. Remitly calls it a welcome rate, and that morning it was above the mid-market rate itself to every country in our table except Haiti, on the first $500 to $2,000 depending on the country. To India, Remitly also charges no fee on your first three transfers.

You can pay by Interac e-Transfer, from your bank account, or by debit or credit card. Remitly’s rates above apply when you pay by Interac e-Transfer or from a bank account, except to Senegal and Haiti, where its calculator gave a debit card price. A credit card adds a 2% fee (opens in a new tab), and your card issuer may also treat the payment as a cash advance.

Remitly delivers to bank accounts, to mobile wallets such as GCash or Maya in the Philippines and to UPI IDs in India, and the money can also be picked up as cash. In the Philippines, it can be delivered to the door. What Remitly doesn’t do is hold money. Its user agreement (opens in a new tab) says a Remitly account isn’t a deposit account and can’t hold funds.

Wise: how it works, and what it really costs

Wise (opens in a new tab) converts at the mid-market rate and charges a fee, shown before you pay. On $1,000 paid by bank transfer on October 22, the fee ran from $6.34 to France and $6.78 to the UK up to $26.54 to Morocco. It was $7.77 to India.

How you pay changes that fee a lot. A bank transfer, or a bill payment from your online banking, is the cheapest. Interac e-Transfer added about $5.70 on $1,000, and a debit or credit card cost more than twice as much as a bank transfer.

Wise’s welcome offer is narrower than Remitly’s. Under its promotion terms (opens in a new tab), it waives the fee on the first $600 of a new customer’s first transfer, but only to India, only for people who sign up by January 3, 2027, and not for Quebec residents. Wise also lowers its fee automatically once you send more than $35,000 in a month.

Wise pays into bank accounts, UPI IDs in India and mobile wallets such as GCash and Maya in the Philippines. It has no cash pickup. It can also hold your money. Its Canadian account (opens in a new tab), a chequing account launched in September 2026, keeps balances in 40 currencies, comes with a debit card and no monthly fee, and holds the money in trust at a CDIC member.

Remitly vs Wise: which is cheaper?

Remitly, to most of the 11 countries we priced. On $1,000 sent on the morning of October 22, 2026, it cost less than Wise to six of them, including India, the Philippines and the US. Wise cost less to four: Pakistan, Nigeria, Senegal and Haiti. Sending euros to France cost exactly the same.

Cost here is the fee plus what each service kept in the exchange rate, in Canadian dollars, measured against the mid-market rate at the time. Remitly’s figures are its everyday rates from its own calculator, for someone paying by Interac e-Transfer, or by debit card to Senegal and Haiti. Wise’s are its regular fees for paying by bank transfer, from its own pricing. We took all of them within 12 minutes.

If you’d pay Wise by Interac e-Transfer instead of a bank transfer, add about $5.70 to its column. That puts Remitly ahead to France, Pakistan and Nigeria as well.

The amount matters too. Wise’s fee shrinks as a share of a bigger transfer. At $3,000, Wise was cheaper to France and within 30 cents of Remitly to the US, but Remitly’s lead to India and China grew. On $10,000, priced a few minutes later, Remitly cost about $19 less than Wise to India, and Wise cost about $56 less to Pakistan.

On a first transfer, Remitly wins almost everywhere. To India, $1,000 at its welcome rate was ₹68,840. That’s about $21 more than Wise delivers on a first transfer with its welcome offer, and about $27 more without it.

Which is better for sending money to family?

Remitly, for most families. Beyond the lower prices in the table above, it can deliver cash, either at a pickup point or to the door in the Philippines. Wise only pays into bank accounts, UPI IDs and some mobile wallets.

The exception is a country where Remitly’s rate sits far from the mid-market rate, so check Wise first for Pakistan, Nigeria, Senegal and Haiti. On $1,000 a month to Haiti, the gap on October 22 was about $19 a transfer, or close to $230 a year.

Which is better if you need to hold other currencies?

Wise, because a Remitly account can’t hold money. Wise can get you paid as if you had a chequing account in the US or the UK, and you can keep US dollars or pounds until you choose to convert them. And for a transfer bigger than $140,000, Remitly’s limit for one transfer from Canada, Wise is the one of the two that can take it.

What about Western Union or Remitbee?

Western Union’s prices here come from Wise’s public comparison tool, so they’re a competitor’s figures. That morning, Western Union was within a few dollars of Remitly on $1,000 to India, the Philippines and Pakistan. To the US, the UK and France it cost $25 to $31, because its rate there was 2% to 3% below mid-market. Where it stands out is cash: you can pay at a counter in Canada and have the money picked up in cash abroad.

Remitbee is a Canadian company based in Mississauga. In our comparison of the services that send to India on October 17, it landed within ₹12 of Remitly on $1,000, with no fee on $500 or more paid by Interac e-Transfer.

Can you use both?

Yes, and if you send money often, it’s the cheapest way to do it. Both are free to sign up for, and getting a second quote takes a minute. The cheaper one changed with the country, the amount and how you paid, so check both before each transfer. If you also keep money in another currency, keep that part in Wise.

What about the money you keep in Canada?

Whatever you send abroad, there’s also the money you keep here for rent, emergencies and the next transfer. We make Lodavo, a free app that rewards you for saving it. Every $25 in your Canadian savings or chequing account gets you a ticket in a weekly cash draw. At least $100 goes to a winner every week, and you could win up to $10,000.

Lodavo connects to a Wise account, where the Canadian-dollar balance counts, and to almost any Canadian bank or credit union, likely including the one you pay Remitly from. Your money stays where it is.

Neither Remitly nor Wise paid to appear in this comparison.

Which one should you use?

Use Remitly for your first transfer and for regular transfers to India, the Philippines, China, Morocco, the US and the UK. Check Wise first for Pakistan, Nigeria, Senegal and Haiti, and whenever you want to hold the money in another currency. On either one, pay by bank transfer or Interac e-Transfer rather than a credit card.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.