Skip to content
Conversionsfinance

Currency Converter

Currency conversion at a rate you supply, with the markup separated from the fee. This does not fetch live rates: it takes the rate as an input so the number is yours rather than a cached figure of unknown age.

Also called: exchange rate calculator, money converter.

Converted amount
11.3

11.3 at a rate of 88.5. The mid-market rate of 88.5 plus a 0% markup costs you 0, and the fixed fee another 0. Total cost of the conversion is 0, which is 0% of the amount.

Effective rate
88.5
At the mid-market rate
11.3
Cost of the markup
0
Total cost
0
Cost as a percentage
0
Inverse rate
0.01
On the rate
No markup applied, so this is the mid-market conversion.
How this is calculated
Method and background

How this is calculated

The conversion divides by the rate after the markup is applied to it. Separating the markup from the fixed fee is the point of the page, because providers quote one and hide the other: a zero-fee transfer at a rate three percent off mid-market costs three percent. The mid-market rate is the midpoint of the buy and sell rates in the interbank market, and it is the only rate that is not somebody's spread.

the markup is applied to the rate, which is where most of the cost of a conversion hides
A
Amount
r
Rate
m
Markup

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

a straight conversion at mid-market

Amount
1,000
Exchange rate
88.5
Markup on the rate
0
Fixed fee
0

Converted amount11.3

1000 / 88.5

Open this example

a three percent markup costs three percent

Amount
1,000
Exchange rate
88.5
Markup on the rate
3
Fixed fee
0

Converted amount10.97

boundary: the markup applies to the rate, so the cost is slightly under 3%

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • The rate you enter is quoted as units of the source currency per unit of the target.

What it deliberately does not model

  • No live rates. A calculator showing a cached rate as if it were current is worse than one that asks.
  • Card networks apply their own rate at settlement, which differs from any rate quoted at the time of purchase.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why does this not fetch live rates?
Because a static page can only show a cached rate, and a stale rate presented as current is worse than asking. Enter the rate you were actually quoted and the page shows what it costs you.
What is the mid-market rate?
The midpoint between the buy and sell rates in the interbank market. It is the reference every markup is measured against, and it is not a rate you can transact at.