RateCheck

Free rate checker

Check the FX rate before you pay.

Retail providers set their exchange rates some distance from the mid-market rate. RateCheck shows the rate you were quoted, the mid-market rate, and the gap between them as a percentage and an amount.

FreeNo signupReal market rates
How it worksFAQ
Live rates unavailable — showing reference data. The gap shown may differ from the live figure; try again shortly.
Cost at the mid-market rate
1,437.40AUD
For 1,000 USD · 1 AUD = 0.6957 USD
Enter the rate you were quoted above to see the gap from the mid-market rate.
Spot mid source: fallback · Indicative only

Popular corridors

Jump straight to a pair. The checker opens preset to that corridor, with a note on typical retail margins for it.

How it works

  1. 1
    Get quoted a rate
    Ask your bank, broker, or booking site what rate they'll give you — or screenshot the confirmation page before you click pay.
  2. 2
    Paste it above
    Pick the two currencies, then type the amount you know — what you're paying, or what has to arrive — and the rate you were quoted. We compare it with the mid-market rate in real time.
  3. 3
    See the gap
    You'll see the gap between your quote and the mid-market rate — as an amount, in whichever currency the difference shows up, and as a percentage.

Typical gaps

Indicative gap ranges by provider type. Your own quote may differ — the tool above measures it.

Airport currency kiosk
5 – 12%Gap over 3%
Australian bank, international transfer
1.5 – 3%Gap 1–3%
Credit card DCC 'pay in home currency'
3 – 7%Gap over 3%
Neobank / app-based provider (weekday)
0.3 – 0.8%Gap 0.3–1%
Neobank / app-based provider (weekend surcharge)
1 – 2%Gap 1–3%
Direct dealing account with an FX broker
0.02 – 0.1%Gap under 0.3%

FAQ

What is the 'mid-market rate'?+
It's the midpoint between the buy and sell prices in the wholesale FX market — the rate banks trade with each other at. No retail provider quotes the exact mid; the gap between it and a retail quote is the provider's margin.
Why does my bank's rate differ from what I see here?+
Retail providers add a margin to the exchange rate and sometimes a separate conversion fee. A receipt may bundle both into a single 'rate', so comparing that rate with the mid-market rate shows the total margin as one number.
Where do the forward rates come from?+
RateCheck derives forwards from covered interest parity — F = S × (1 + r_quote × t) / (1 + r_base × t) — using each currency's overnight policy rate (Fed funds, ECB DFR, BOE Bank Rate, RBA cash rate, etc.). For G10 majors this is within a handful of pips of what the interbank market actually trades. For emerging-market currencies (TRY, BRL, ZAR, INR, MXN) the gap is wider because of wider interest-rate and credit differences, so those forwards are indicative only. Real broker quotes also include bid/ask spread of typically 5–25 pips that we don't model.
How fresh are your rates?+
The mid-market rate comes from live market quotes (Yahoo Finance). The European Central Bank's daily reference rates (via Frankfurter) fill in any currency those quotes don't cover, and stand in if they are unavailable. The page refreshes the rate every five minutes, and the sources in use are shown under the result. Rates are indicative only — the rate you get depends on your provider and timing.
Is this financial advice?+
No. RateCheck is an information tool. It won't make the trade for you, and the numbers it shows are indicative, not executable. The final rate is set by your provider at the time you transact.
Do you sell my data?+
No. We don't require a signup, we don't set advertising or tracking cookies, and the check runs in your browser. There is no advertising on RateCheck today; if that changes it will be contextual (based on the currency pair on the page), not behavioural.
Embed this — put the live mid-market rate on your own page.