Currency Converter at a glance
- What it does
- Convert between world currencies using published exchange rates, and understand why the rate you are quoted for a real transfer is always worse.
- Where it runs
- In your browser, plus one request to a public exchange-rate API
- Works offline
- No — it needs a live service to answer
- Cost
- Free, with no account and no usage limit
- Category
- Converters
How to use the converter
- Enter an amount and choose the currency it is in.
- Choose the target currency.
- Read the converted figure, and note the rate used.
This tool fetches rates from a public exchange rate service, so it is one of the few here that makes a network request. The currencies and amount are sent to that service; nothing is stored by us.
The mid-market rate, and why you never get it
The rate quoted here is the mid-market rate - the midpoint between what buyers are bidding and sellers are asking on the wholesale currency market. It is the honest reference rate, and it is what Google and Reuters show.
It is not a price you can transact at. Every provider adds a margin, and the margin is usually hidden inside the rate rather than charged as a visible fee.
| Where you exchange | Typical spread over mid-market |
|---|---|
| Airport bureau de change | 7-15%, sometimes worse |
| High street bank transfer | 2-5%, plus a fixed fee |
| Credit card abroad | 0-3%, depending on the card's foreign transaction fee |
| Specialist transfer services | 0.3-1%, usually as a stated fee |
| "0% commission" providers | The margin is in the rate. Compare the rate, not the commission. |
To find the real cost of any offer, divide the amount you receive by the amount you send, and compare that against the mid-market rate. The difference is what you paid, regardless of how it is described.
Dynamic currency conversion
When a card terminal or a website abroad offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion, and the merchant's payment processor sets the rate - typically 3-7% worse than your card network's.
Always choose to be charged in the local currency and let your card issuer convert. Visa and Mastercard use rates very close to mid-market, so unless your card charges a foreign transaction fee, this is nearly always the cheaper route.
The same applies to online checkouts that helpfully display prices in your currency, and to ATMs abroad that offer a "guaranteed rate".
How current are these rates?
Rates come from a public data feed and are updated periodically rather than tick by tick. Major pairs move fractions of a percent in a normal day, so for budgeting, invoicing and rough comparison this is entirely adequate.
It is not adequate for trading, for settling a contract, or for anything where a specific rate at a specific moment is contractually binding. For that you need a rate from your own provider with a timestamp attached. Note also that many currencies are pegged or managed and their published rate may differ substantially from what is obtainable locally.
A note on invoicing across currencies
If you invoice in a currency other than your own, decide explicitly who carries the exchange risk. Three common approaches: invoice in your own currency and let the client bear it; invoice in theirs and accept the variation; or fix the rate on the invoice date and state it on the document.
Whichever you choose, state the rate and its date on the invoice. Most disputes over cross-border payments come from an amount that was correct on the day it was issued and wrong by the day it was paid.
Frequently asked questions
Because this is the mid-market rate and your bank adds a margin, usually inside the rate rather than as a stated fee. A 2-4% difference is normal for a bank; airport bureaux are considerably worse.
Periodically from a public feed, not in real time. Fine for estimates and budgeting; not suitable for trading or for any contractually binding conversion.
No. Always pick the local currency. Being charged in your home currency invokes dynamic currency conversion, where the merchant's processor sets a rate typically several percent worse than your card network's.
Use the rate your tax authority specifies - usually a central bank rate for a given date. Rates shown here are indicative and should not be used as the basis for filed accounts.
What this tool sends, and what it does not
Most OmniTool utilities make no network request at all. This one is an exception, and it is worth being precise about it: to do its job, this tool contacts a public exchange-rate API, which receives the currency pair you selected. That request goes directly from your browser to that service — we do not proxy it, and we never receive a copy of it or of the response.
Nothing else on this page is transmitted, and we keep no record of what you looked up. The privacy policy lists every tool on the site that makes an outside request, along with what our advertising partner collects.