Currency Converter
Live mid-market exchange rates for 40+ travel currencies, updated daily. Convert any pair instantly — and see how much margin banks and cards really add.
- Free, no sign-up
- Works worldwide
- Instant results
How do exchange rates work when you travel?
This converter shows the mid-market rate — the fair, interbank midpoint you see on Google, updated daily. It is the baseline, not the rate you personally get: banks and cards add roughly 0.5–3%, and airport kiosks far more. Use it to convert quickly and to judge whether an offer abroad is fair.
Methodology: Rates are fetched live from a daily mid-market feed (exchangerate-api.com), cached briefly in your browser, and all conversions are computed client-side — nothing is sent to or stored on a server. The converter always shows the date of the rates in use and falls back to the last known rates (clearly labelled) if it can’t reach the feed. How we test & calculate.
A converter that’s honest about the rate
Most currency tools show you a number and stop there. The catch is that the rate they display — the mid-market rate — is almost never the rate you actually get. This converter shows that mid-market figure (the fair midpoint banks trade at, updated daily) and is upfront about the margin that sits between it and what you pay, so you can convert quickly and still make good money decisions on the road.
How this converter works
Enter an amount, choose two currencies, and the conversion appears instantly along with the exact rate in both directions and the date the rates are from. Rates are pulled live from a daily reference feed and cached briefly in your browser, so the tool stays fast and even works offline from the last update. Tap Refresh for the latest figures, and swap directions with one click.
Why the rate you get is different
Between the mid-market rate and your wallet sits a margin. A good no-foreign-fee card lands within roughly 0.5–1% of mid-market; a typical bank card adds 2–3%; and airport or hotel exchange counters can be 5–15% worse, before fees. Knowing the mid-market number turns those offers from a mystery into a simple comparison — if a desk quotes a rate far from the figure here, walk away.
Getting closest to the real rate abroad
Four habits do most of the work: carry a card with no foreign-transaction fee; always choose to pay or withdraw in the local currency, never your home currency, to avoid dynamic currency conversion (DCC); skip airport and hotel exchange counters; and take out larger amounts less often so fixed ATM fees matter less. Together these typically save several percent on everything you spend.
A quick example
Say the converter shows 1 USD = 0.92 EUR. On a €1,000 hotel bill, paying with a no-fee card costs you about $1,090; a 3% card adds roughly $33; and a counter at 8% off mid-market would cost around $90 more than necessary — for the identical purchase. The mid-market figure is what makes that gap visible.
Common mistakes to avoid
The big ones: accepting “pay in your home currency” at a card terminal or ATM (that is DCC, and it is almost always a worse rate); changing money at the airport on arrival; assuming the rate on screen is the rate you’ll receive; and forgetting that weekend rates can lag the market. Use this converter as your reference and budget the rest of your trip with the trip budget calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
No — and this matters. The converter shows the mid-market (interbank) rate, the fair midpoint you see on Google. Your bank, card or exchange desk adds a margin on top: a good no-fee card is within about 0.5–1%, a typical bank card 2–3%, and airport or hotel exchange counters often 5–15% worse. Treat the figure here as the baseline to measure those offers against.