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Wise Business vs Payoneer

Both give you bank details in currencies your own bank does not offer, so a client abroad can pay you like a local supplier. They price that service very differently, and they are used for different kinds of income.

By Biel Vazquez · Rates verified

Short answer

For direct clients, Wise is cheaper on every invoice: $14.50 against $109.40 on $5,000.00 from the US into a euro account. Payoneer earns its place when a marketplace pays you through it.

Two fees against one

Payoneer charges 1% to receive a payment from a client, on the gross, before anything else. Converting the balance on withdrawal costs from 1.2%, and the published range goes up to 4%; we use the lowest rate, so your real cost can be higher. On the $5,000.00 example that is $50.00 plus $59.40.

Wise does not charge to receive most currencies by local transfer, and converts at the mid-market rate with a fee of 0.29% from dollars to euros. One line: $14.50.

Even when no conversion is needed, the receiving fee stays: a $5,000.00 payment from a US client into a US-dollar balance costs $51.50 at Payoneer. Payoneer also has an annual account fee below a yearly receiving threshold, which a per-payment calculator cannot spread.

The reason so many freelancers still have Payoneer is that Upwork, Fiverr, Amazon and many other platforms pay into it, and for some of them it is the cheapest or the only payout method. The sensible setup is often both: Payoneer for platform payouts, Wise for direct clients.

What each one takes from a $5,000.00 payment

PaymentWise BusinessPayoneerCheaper
US client → US business$5,000.00 invoice$0.000%$51.501.03%Wise Business
US client → Spanish business$5,000.00 invoice$14.500.29%$109.402.19%Wise Business
US client → UK business$5,000.00 invoice$16.500.33%$109.402.19%Wise Business
German client → US business€5,000.00 invoice€23.500.47%€109.402.19%Wise Business

All four fee layers included. Wise Business is cheaper in 4 of 4 payments, Payoneer in 0. Try your own route on the map.

Choose Wise Business if…

  • Your direct clients pay by bank transfer.
  • You want to convert at the mid-market rate with the fee shown up front.
  • You receive in several currencies and want to hold them before converting.
Open a Wise Business account

Choose Payoneer if…

  • A marketplace you work on pays out through Payoneer at little or no cost.
  • You need receiving details in a currency Wise does not offer you.
  • You already have a Payoneer balance and withdraw it in the same currency.

How each one is priced, layer by layer (account in the EEA)

Fee layerWise BusinessPayoneer
Card or receiving feenone (bank transfer)1% to receive
Cross-border surchargenonenone
Currency conversion0.28%–0.49%1.2%
Payout to bankfree1.50 (same currency)

Sources: Wise Business · Payoneer. Fixed amounts in the account currency.

Questions

Is Payoneer cheaper than Wise?

Not for direct client payments: Payoneer costs 2.19% of a US payment into a euro account and Wise 0.29%. For platform payouts the comparison depends on what the platform charges for each withdrawal method.

Why do so many freelancers use Payoneer?

Because many marketplaces pay into it, sometimes with no fee for that route. That makes it convenient for platform income even though its fees on direct client payments are higher.

Can I move money from Payoneer to Wise?

Yes: withdraw from Payoneer to a Wise account in the same currency, which avoids Payoneer's conversion fee, and convert at Wise. A small fixed withdrawal fee may apply.

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