Do you want a bright green card or a bluey-purple-ish one? That’s one of the questions you’ll have to ask yourself when you’re deciding between these 2 accounts.
The other difference between them here is Revolut offers a sign-up bonus of £20.
Otherwise they’re both fairly similar, with neither offering overdrafts or FSCS protection on deposits.
Round 1: App features
Visual breakdown of spending
Spending categories
15
Customisable
Set spending budgets
Set up direct debits in the app
Top up via bank transfer
Have salary paid in
Separate savings accounts
Round-ups
Customer service via the app
Customer service via a telephone line
Cheque scanning
Freeze/unfreeze card in app
Send money abroad
Fee for sending money abroad
£0.59 + 0.33% of the amount that's converted
Free in SEPA region, between 30p and £5 to send elsewhere
They both have spending categories so you can organise where your money has gone. Wise has 15 and if that isn’t enough for you, Revolut has as many categories as you care to name, because they’re customisable. Whether you need the freedom to do that is up to you and Wise might be more than enough for most people.
In other points of difference, Revolut has separate savings account and a feature to let you round up your spending to help you save the change.
Wise has in-app and telephone customer service, while Revolut only has the latter.
In terms of sending money abroad, Wise charges 59p and a percentage of the transfer amount, while Revolut transfers are free in the SEPA region or 30p to £5 outside it. It’s worth noting though that Wise generally has better exchange rates than Revolut, which can make a big difference if you’re transferring a large amount.
There are fairly similar offerings in this round, though Wise works with Samsung Pay while Revolut doesn’t. They have the same cash withdrawal limit of £200, but Revolut lets you do that in 5 withdrawals compared to 2 with Wise.
Winner: Wise, because it has Samsung Pay.
Round 3: Using the card abroad
Free foreign transactions
Yes if hold that currency on the card yet small conversion fee if not
This round is where these 2 competitors should really excel, but neither side is best in class.
Wise doesn’t charge a fee if you’re spending a currency you already have on your card, but if you spend in a different currency then you’re charged a small conversion fee.
Revolut lets you spend £1,000 a month with no fee and if you spend over that you’re charged 1% for that amount.
Both limit foreign cash withdrawals to £200 each month.
Winner: Revolut, because it has a higher monthly spending limit that isn’t related to the currency you’re spending in.
To apply for either of these you can do it quickly and easily through their respective apps.
Wise charges £7 for a card which should arrive in 2–6 working days, while Revolut charges £4.99 and it should arrive in up to 9 working days.
Revolut also has a £20 sign-up bonus, which is handy.
Winner: Revolut, because the card is cheaper and there’s a sign-up bonus.
Overall winner: Revolut
While both of these have aspirations to make managing money internationally better for customers, neither is a leader at that right now. They do offer a range of products and features that are a vast improvement on traditional banks when it comes to sending or spending money abroad, but other neobanks have better offerings.
That said, Revolut has slightly more than Wise at the time of writing. It has a wider range of account types, a sign-up bonus and higher limits for spending abroad.
Wise might shade it for sending money abroad because it generally offers a better exchange rate and its lower fees could really save you money compared to Revolut, especially if you’re sending large amounts of money.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Jason is a writer and editor. He worked as a senior subeditor for Finder for 5 years and in that time became familiar with a wide range of financial products and services. Before that, he worked for Australian Associated Press. He has a BA from Macquarie University in Australia. Jason loves to help other people find new ways to save money. See full bio
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