Sending money home from Australia
Compare transfer fees, exchange-rate margins and delivery speed — and see the number that actually matters: the true all-in cost of your transfer. A "$0 fee" service can quietly cost more than one that charges a fee.
ⓘ Figures on this page are an illustrative cost model, not live quotes. Exchange rates move constantly — always confirm the final recipient amount in the provider's app before sending.
Different priorities produce different winners — there is no single best provider for everyone.
Best all-in cost
Freefee · +0.5% rate
Bank deposit
Zero transfer fee and the lowest exchange-rate markup (0.5%) of the group — cheapest true cost on medium and large transfers.
Watch out: Bank deposit only, $250 minimum, and 1–2 business days rather than minutes.
Model checked 2026-05-29
Visit OFXBest real exchange rate
$1.20 + 0.5%fee · Mid-market rate
Bank deposit
The only service here using the mid-market rate with no markup; the fee is small and shown upfront before you confirm.
Watch out: Bank deposit only — no cash pickup, and the recipient needs a bank account.
Model checked 2026-05-29
Visit WiseBest for cash pickup
$3.99fee · +1.5% rate
Bank · Cash pickup · Mobile wallet
Cash pickup at thousands of agent locations with express transfers arriving in minutes; first transfer usually fee-free.
Watch out: Exchange rate carries a markup, so the all-in cost is higher than Wise or OFX.
Model checked 2026-05-29
Visit RemitlyWidest payout reach
$2.99fee · +1.8% rate
Bank · Cash pickup · Mobile wallet
Bank, cash pickup and mobile wallet across a very broad country network — useful where recipients lack a bank account.
Watch out: Higher markup than Wise; less competitive on larger amounts.
Model checked 2026-05-29
Visit WorldRemit"True cost on $500" combines the upfront fee and the exchange-rate margin into one AUD figure — the honest way to rank, since the lowest fee is not always the lowest cost.
| Provider | Transfer fee | Rate vs mid-market | True cost on $500 | Typical speed | Delivery | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFX Zero fee on large transfers, dedicated dealer | Free | +0.5% | $2.50 | 1–2 business days | Bank deposit | Large transfers, Lowest cost | View |
| Wise Real exchange rate, transparent fees | $1.20 + 0.5% | Mid-market | $3.70 | Minutes | Bank deposit | Lowest cost, Large transfers | View |
| Remitly Fast cash pickup and bank deposit | $3.99 | +1.5% | $11.43 | Minutes | Bank · Cash pickup · Mobile wallet | Speed, Cash pickup | View |
| WorldRemit Cash pickup, mobile money, broad country reach | $2.99 | +1.8% | $11.94 | Minutes | Bank · Cash pickup · Mobile wallet | Cash pickup, Speed | View |
| Western Union Largest cash pickup network worldwide | $4.90 | +2.5% | $17.28 | Minutes | Bank · Cash pickup | Cash pickup, Speed | View |
Rows with a dot are the picks above. "True cost on $500" = upfront fee + rate margin, from the illustrative model. Not a live quote.
Three questions — where you're sending, how much, and what matters most (lowest cost, speed, or cash pickup). The tool filters to services that support your corridor and amount, then ranks them.
Select all that apply.
Don't use your bank's own transfer
✱ Illustrative model checked 2026-05-29 · confirm the live quote before sending
What matters: Flat fees hurt most on small sends.
A low fixed fee plus the real rate keeps the percentage cost down on $100–$200 transfers.
Start with: Wise
What matters: On big amounts the rate margin dwarfs the fee.
Zero fee and the lowest markup make OFX cheapest once you clear its $250 minimum.
Start with: OFX
What matters: Recipient has no bank account.
Reliable cash pickup in minutes; accept a slightly higher rate as the price of convenience.
Start with: Remitly
What matters: Speed over squeezing every dollar.
Express tier delivers in minutes. Western Union is the alternative for the widest cash network.
Start with: Remitly
What matters: Promotions apply once, then rates revert.
A fee-free/promo-rate first transfer is genuinely cheapest once — but compare the ongoing rate before you commit to a provider.
Start with: Remitly
Every transfer has a visible transfer fee and a hidden exchange-rate margin (how far the provider's rate sits below the mid-market rate). Add both to see what a transfer really costs.
A provider advertising no fee may bake a 2–3% margin into the rate. On $500 that margin is $10–15 — more than a service charging a $2–5 fee at the real rate.
A flat fee stings most on small transfers; the rate margin dominates on large ones. The best provider for $100 is often not the best for $2,000.
Bank-transfer funding is usually cheapest; credit-card funding costs more. Cash pickup and mobile wallet add convenience but often a higher rate. The recipient's bank may also charge to receive.
A fee-free or boosted-rate first transfer is genuinely cheapest once. Compare the ongoing rate before you settle on a provider for regular sends.
Delivery estimates are not guarantees. First transfers can be held for ID verification, and providers apply minimum and maximum limits (OFX starts at $250).
The tool runs a filter-then-score process, weighted by your chosen priority — so there is deliberately no single universal winner.
Commission is not a scoring input. Only Wise currently has an affiliate link; every other service is ranked identically on the same model. See our disclosure.
Underlying fee/markup data is currently an illustrative model pending live re-verification; figures are labelled accordingly throughout.
Bank deposit · Free fee · +0.5% rate
Strengths
Limitations
Bank deposit · $1.20 + 0.5% fee · Mid-market rate
Strengths
Limitations
Bank · Cash pickup · Mobile wallet · $3.99 fee · +1.5% rate
Strengths
Limitations
Bank · Cash pickup · Mobile wallet · $2.99 fee · +1.8% rate
Strengths
Limitations
True all-in cost from the illustrative model, checked 2026-05-29. Not live rates — confirm in-app before sending.
Cheapest all-in
$1.70Wise
vs $7.28 with Western Union — a $5.58 difference on A$100
On small amounts a flat fee is a big percentage. The real-rate provider usually wins.
Cheapest all-in
$2.50OFX
vs $17.28 with Western Union — a $14.78 difference on A$500
The "$0 fee" providers are not automatically cheapest — the rate margin is where the cost hides.
Cheapest all-in
$10.00OFX
vs $54.78 with Western Union — a $44.78 difference on A$2000
On large amounts the exchange-rate markup dominates; the fee barely matters.
Both figures are the true all-in cost of sending A$500, from the illustrative model. The service advertising the bigger fee can still be far cheaper.
Highest true cost
Western Union
Lowest true cost
OFX
On a single A$500 transfer that's a $14.78 difference — repeated monthly, roughly $177 a year.
Official provider pages. Editorial citations — separate from the transfer CTAs above, which may be affiliate links.
Fee structure and mid-market rate claim
Checked 2026-05-29
Fee, delivery speed tiers, cash pickup availability, first-transfer promo
Checked 2026-05-29
Zero-fee threshold, $250 minimum, delivery time
Checked 2026-05-29
Payout methods, country network, fee structure
Checked 2026-05-29
Cash network, fee and speed claims
Checked 2026-05-29
Written by the Arrivly editorial team
Arrivly is built by people who went through the Australian international-student and skilled-migration journey themselves. Every plan on this page was checked manually against the provider's own website or published documents.
Answer three questions and we'll rank services by the true cost of your specific transfer — the amount, the destination, and what matters most to you.
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