Corridor USD → GBP · US dollar to British pound
What does it cost to send US dollars to United Kingdom?
On 16 October 2026, the most a recipient in United Kingdom got for 1,000 USD was 750.19 GBP via Remitly: a true cost of 1.09 USD (0.11%) including fee and rate markup. The last of 6 quotes cost 4.14%.
Transfer cost receipt · USD → GBP
Most to the recipient: Remitly transfer service
- You send
- 1,000.00 USD
- Upfront fee
- 0.00 USD
- Amount converted
- 1,000.00 USD
- Rate given
- 0.750187
- Mid-market when quoted
- 0.751004
- Exchange-rate markup inside the rate
- 1.09 USD 0.11%
- True total cost
- 1.09 USD 0.11%
- Recipient gets
- 750.19 GBP
Picking the last quote in this ledger (PayPal) instead would leave the recipient 30.30 GBP short.
Snapshot indicative quotes retrieved 16 Oct 2026, 17:02 UTC. Quote collected 16 Oct 2026, 16:44 UTC. Source: Wise public comparison data.
Plain link to the provider's official site. No commission.
Every quote for 1,000 USD → GBP
Sorted by what the recipient gets. “True cost” adds the upfront fee to the money lost in the exchange rate versus the mid-market rate at the time each quote was collected.
| Provider | Upfront fee | Rate markup | True cost | Cost % | Recipient gets | vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Remitlyservice | 0.00 USD | 0.11% | 1.09 USD | 0.11% | 750.19 GBP | best |
| 2. Instaremservice | 0.00 USD | 0.68% | 6.82 USD | 0.68% | 745.88 GBP | −4.31 GBP |
| 3. Wiseservice | 10.29 USD | 0.00% | 10.29 USD | 1.03% | 743.30 GBP | −6.89 GBP |
| 4. Western Unionservice | 0.99 USD | 1.25% | 13.49 USD | 1.35% | 740.88 GBP | −9.31 GBP |
| 5. OFXservice | 5.00 USD | 1.73% | 22.26 USD | 2.23% | 734.28 GBP | −15.91 GBP |
| 6. PayPalservice | 4.99 USD | 3.66% | 41.43 USD | 4.14% | 719.89 GBP | −30.30 GBP |
| Set aside, not ranked (3): see methodology | ||||||
| WorldRemitcollected 71 h before retrieval | 1.99 USD | 2.77% | — | — | 728.78 GBP | — |
| Wells Fargocollected 73 h before retrieval | 0.00 USD | 3.04% | — | — | 728.16 GBP | — |
| Chase (US)collected 70 h before retrieval | 5.00 USD | 2.90% | — | — | 725.58 GBP | — |
Does the cheapest option change with the amount?
| You send | Most to recipient | Best cost | Worst cost | Recipient gets (best) | Gap best vs worst | Quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 USD | Remitly | 0.11% | 6.07% | 150.04 GBP | 8.95 GBP | 6 |
| 1,000 USD | Remitly | 0.11% | 4.14% | 750.19 GBP | 30.30 GBP | 6 |
| 5,000 USD | Remitly | 0.04% | 3.76% | 3,753.44 GBP | 139.56 GBP | 6 |
What the USD → GBP numbers show
- Remitly delivered the most at every snapshot amount (200.00 USD, 1,000.00 USD, 5,000.00 USD).
- At 200.00 USD, true cost ranged from 0.11% (Remitly) to 6.07% (PayPal); the recipient would get 8.95 GBP less with the last quote than with the first.
- 1 of 6 quotes at 1,000.00 USD charged no upfront fee but priced in a rate markup above 0.5%, so “no fee” did not mean free.
How does the quoted mid-market rate compare with the ECB reference?
The European Central Bank reference rate for USD/GBP on 16 October 2026 was 0.749890. The mid-market rate implied by the top quote at its collection time was 0.751004, a difference of 0.15%. ECB rates are published once per working day around 16:00 CET, so they drift from live market rates during the day; RateRunner uses them only as a cross-check, never to rank providers.
Every quote for 200 USD → GBP
| Provider | Upfront fee | Rate markup | True cost | Cost % | Recipient gets | vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Remitlyservice | 0.00 USD | 0.11% | 0.22 USD | 0.11% | 150.04 GBP | best |
| 2. Instaremservice | 0.00 USD | 0.68% | 1.36 USD | 0.68% | 149.18 GBP | −0.86 GBP |
| 3. Western Unionservice | 0.99 USD | 1.25% | 3.48 USD | 1.74% | 147.59 GBP | −2.45 GBP |
| 4. Wiseservice | 7.66 USD | 0.00% | 7.66 USD | 3.83% | 144.45 GBP | −5.59 GBP |
| 5. OFXservice | 5.00 USD | 1.73% | 8.38 USD | 4.19% | 143.90 GBP | −6.14 GBP |
| 6. PayPalservice | 4.99 USD | 3.66% | 12.13 USD | 6.07% | 141.09 GBP | −8.95 GBP |
| Set aside, not ranked (3): see methodology | ||||||
| Wells Fargocollected 73 h before retrieval | 0.00 USD | 3.04% | — | — | 145.63 GBP | — |
| WorldRemitcollected 71 h before retrieval | 1.99 USD | 2.77% | — | — | 144.59 GBP | — |
| Chase (US)collected 70 h before retrieval | 5.00 USD | 2.90% | — | — | 142.20 GBP | — |
Every quote for 5,000 USD → GBP
| Provider | Upfront fee | Rate markup | True cost | Cost % | Recipient gets | vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Remitlyservice | 0.00 USD | 0.04% | 2.11 USD | 0.04% | 3,753.44 GBP | best |
| 2. Wiseservice | 23.45 USD | 0.00% | 23.45 USD | 0.47% | 3,737.55 GBP | −15.89 GBP |
| 3. Instaremservice | 0.00 USD | 0.60% | 30.10 USD | 0.60% | 3,732.42 GBP | −21.02 GBP |
| 4. OFXservice | 0.00 USD | 0.79% | 39.43 USD | 0.79% | 3,725.41 GBP | −28.03 GBP |
| 5. Western Unionservice | 0.99 USD | 1.25% | 63.52 USD | 1.27% | 3,707.32 GBP | −46.12 GBP |
| 6. PayPalservice | 4.99 USD | 3.66% | 187.94 USD | 3.76% | 3,613.88 GBP | −139.56 GBP |
| Set aside, not ranked (3): see methodology | ||||||
| Chase (US)collected 70 h before retrieval | 0.00 USD | 2.42% | — | — | 3,664.05 GBP | — |
| WorldRemitcollected 71 h before retrieval | 1.99 USD | 2.77% | — | — | 3,649.72 GBP | — |
| Wells Fargocollected 73 h before retrieval | 0.00 USD | 3.05% | — | — | 3,640.31 GBP | — |
What to check before paying out in United Kingdom
Pounds paid out locally in the UK usually arrive over Faster Payments using a sort code and account number. A provider with a UK payout account avoids the SWIFT charges a recipient bank may deduct from an incoming international wire. Source: Pay.UK: Faster Payment System.
Read next
- How can freelancers get paid from abroad without losing 5%?
- SWIFT wire or local payout: which costs less to receive?
- What do banks really charge for an international transfer?
- What is the mid-market rate and where can you check it?
- How do exchange-rate markups work, and how big are they?
- Check the hidden markup on a rate you were offered
- How RateRunner calculates true cost
Questions people ask
- Which provider gave the most for 1,000 USD sent to United Kingdom?
- Remitly, with 750.19 GBP delivered, in the snapshot retrieved 16 Oct 2026, 17:02 UTC. Its upfront fee was 0.00 USD and its rate markup 0.11%.
- How much of the cost of sending USD to GBP is hidden in the exchange rate?
- For the 6 quotes on 1,000 USD, rate markups ranged from 0.00% to 3.66% of the amount converted. 1 quote charged no upfront fee but still had a markup above 0.5%.
- How current are these USD to GBP quotes?
- RateRunner retrieved them on 16 Oct 2026, 17:02 UTC. Each provider quote also carries its own collection time, shown in the tables, and quotes older than 24 hours are flagged. They are indicative; the price you are offered at checkout can differ.
Related corridors
Sources
- Indicative provider quotes: Wise public comparison data (retrieved 16 Oct 2026, 17:02 UTC). Wise collects quotes from listed banks and services and is itself listed.
- Reference rate: European Central Bank euro reference rates via Frankfurter (16 October 2026).
- Raw data for this page: usd-to-gbp.json