Please note: You should always refer to quotes you receive from transfer services themselves directly for exact amounts as they may vary from our estimates.
PayPal is one of the most well-known payment methods globally, but how do PayPal’s international money transfers fare when compared side-by-side to Xe? Let’s find out.
Xe vs PayPal (incorporating Xoom) calculator
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Finder Score for international money transfer services
To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Fees, features and customer service across the most popular international money transfer services are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the service – simple.
Read the full methodologyThe fees and rates used in this comparison are accurate as of 4 May 2021.
Quick verdict
Which has lower fees?
With Xe, you pay £3 on money transfers below £1,000. The fee is scrapped for transfers above that amount.
PayPal charges you 5% of the amount you’re sending, with a minimum of £0.99 and a maximum of £2.99. If you pay by credit or debit card, you may be charged extra.
Winner: Xe
Xe’s £3 fee for transfers under £1,000 is pretty low, while PayPal charges a 5% fee on all transaction amounts no matter how much, so Xe wins.
Let’s crunch the numbers: Sending £5,000 to Australia
Let’s compare what a £5,000 transfer to Australia looks like with both Xe and PayPal to see which provider puts more money in the receiver’s pocket.
Sending £5,000 to Australia
| Xe | PayPal | |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer fee | £0 | £2.99 |
| Exchange rate | 1 GBP = 1.902 AUD | 1 GBP = 1.89 AUD |
| Transfer speed | 1-2 days | Same day |
| Total Australian dollars received | AUD$9,509.50 | AUD 9,463.55 |
| Receiver gets | AUD$45.95 more | AUD$45.95 less |
Xe is more cost effective in this insistence, giving your recipient an extra AUD 45.95. It doesn’t charge any fees as the transfer is over £1,000, and its Australian dollar exchange rate is better than PayPal’s in this instance.
Which offers better exchange rates?
Xe
Xe adds a margin to the exchange rate. It varies across the currencies, but it’s typically between 0.5% and 2%.
Keep in mind that the exchange rate you’ll pay when using Xe is not the same as the rate displayed on Xe’s currency converter tool. That tool is a live feed of the mid-market rates, not Xe’s exchange rates.
PayPal
PayPal also adds a margin, but it’s a flat percentage markup. If you’re transferring to US or Canadian dollars, it’s 3.5%, while to all other currencies, it’s 4%.
If you’re transferring to another currency within your PayPal account and it isn’t a purchase, the margin is lowered to 2.5% – 3% (varies by region).
Winner: Xe
Both providers add a markup to the mid-market exchange rate, but generally speaking, Xe’s markup is lower. PayPal’s markup is quite high and you’re more likely to find a better rate elsewhere.
Which is faster?
Xe
The majority of Xe transfers are completed within the same day, but some transfers can take longer. When you set up your transfer, Xe will give you an estimated transfer completion date.
PayPal
How long PayPal transactions take depend on whether you’re just moving money between PayPal accounts, or between bank accounts. It can take over a week to get the money to the recipient’s bank account, but is considerably faster to send it to their PayPal account.
Winner: Xe
Xe is more consistent and faster in many situations.
General features
| Payment methods | Receiving Options | Max and Min | Transfer speeds | Currencies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xe | Bank transfer, debit card, credit card, mobile wallet | Bank account | Minimum: £1 Maximum: £350,000 | Within minutes | 130+ currencies |
| PayPal | Bank transfer, debit card, credit card, Paypal credit, mobile wallet | PayPal transfer, bank account | Minimum: £1 Maximum: $60,000 in a single transaction | Same day to other Paypal accounts only | 24 currencies |
Xe
Set up your Xe account, then get a quote for your transfer. Once you’ve agreed on the details of the transaction, you send your payment to Xe and your money will be sent on from there.
PayPal
You must have a PayPal account to transfer through PayPal. Once you’ve set it up or logged in, you go to the “send money” section and enter the transfer details. PayPal will then complete the transaction.
Bottom line
Overall, Xe is a better choice when looking to do an international money transfer. Xe provides low-fee or fee-free money transfers and its exchange rates are better than PayPal’s. By using Xe, you can save money and get more for your money.
However, if Xe doesn’t support the currency or country you want to send to, it’s most likely PayPal will have it.
Compare money transfer services
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 is provided by Defaqto. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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