How much does it cost to withdraw money abroad?
August 20, 2026 · Mateusz Rzetecki · 6 min
Withdrawing money abroad costs either a flat fee per withdrawal or a percentage of everything above a free monthly allowance. On the fee pages compared here, that allowance ran from nothing to 1,500 EUR a month, and the percentage above it from 1% to 2.69%. For most travellers it is the size of the allowance, not the percentage printed next to it, that decides the bill.
Where these figures come from. The prices below were read on 15 August 2026 from each provider's own published fee page and set side by side. Nothing is estimated and nothing is averaged across plans: an account appears only where its own page states the number outright. Every page is linked at the foot of this article.
What makes a withdrawal abroad expensive?
Three separate charges can land on a single withdrawal, and three different parties set them. The ATM operator may add a fee at the machine, shown on screen before the withdrawal is confirmed. The account provider adds its own withdrawal charge, either a flat amount per withdrawal or a percentage of everything above a free monthly allowance. And where the cash is in a currency the account does not hold, a conversion markup applies on top of the first two.
A card advertised as having no fees abroad has usually removed one of those three charges, not all of them. Which one it removed is the difference between a cheap withdrawal and an expensive one.
How much do travel cards charge for ATM withdrawals abroad?
| Account | Free per month | Charge above the allowance | Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZEN.COM (higher plan) | Free up to €1,500 a month | 2% | Market rate +0.00% |
| Currensea Elite | Free up to £750 a month | 1% | - |
| Currensea Pro | Free up to £500 a month | 1% | - |
| Wise | Free up to £250 a month | 2.69% | - |
| ZEN.COM (entry plan) | Free up to €200 a month | 2% | Market rate +0.50% |
| Currensea Essential | Free up to £200 a month | 2% | - |
| N26 Standard / Smart | None outside the eurozone | 1.7% | - |
Read the table by its free-allowance column. An account with a 1,500 EUR monthly allowance and a 2% charge above it is cheaper for most travellers than an account with a 250 GBP allowance and a 2.69% charge, even though the two percentages look close together: the percentage only begins to apply once the allowance is used up.
One entry has no allowance to use up. N26's Standard and Smart plans charge 1.7% on withdrawals outside the eurozone from the first euro, which makes them the cheapest option here for someone taking out very little and the dearest for someone taking out a lot.
Which travel card has the largest free ATM allowance?
Of the accounts compared here, ZEN.COM states the largest free monthly ATM allowance: 1,500 EUR a month on its higher plan, against 750 GBP at Currensea Elite and 250 GBP at Wise. Above the allowance ZEN.COM charges 2%. Its entry plan carries a 200 EUR monthly allowance on the same 2% terms.
ZEN.COM states its conversion terms on the same page: the market rate with no markup on the higher plan, and the market rate plus 0.50% on the entry plan. That combination is what makes it a strong account for taking cash out abroad, because it removes both of the charges that normally apply to a foreign withdrawal rather than reducing one of them. Withdrawing 1,500 EUR in a month costs nothing on the higher plan; the same 1,500 EUR on an account with a 200 EUR allowance and 2% above it costs 26 EUR.
Disclosure: ZEN.COM is NeoBase's editor's pick and is shown as a featured brand in our rankings. Its figures were read from its published fee page on the same day, and by the same method, as every other account on this page.
Is a paid plan worth it just for ATM withdrawals?
The arithmetic is short. Take what you withdraw abroad in a typical month, subtract the free allowance, and apply the percentage to the rest. Withdrawing 600 GBP a month on Wise, where 250 GBP is free and 2.69% applies above it, costs 2.69% of 350 GBP, or 9.42 GBP a month.
That figure is the whole test. A paid plan that lifts the allowance clear of what you withdraw pays for itself if its monthly fee is lower than the number you have just worked out, and does not if it is higher. Nothing else about the plan enters the calculation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to withdraw money abroad?
It depends on the account. On the fee pages compared here on 15 August 2026, the charge ran between 1% and 2.69% of the amount above a free monthly allowance, and the allowances themselves ran from nothing to 1,500 EUR a month.
Which account has the largest free ATM allowance?
ZEN.COM, at 1,500 EUR a month on its higher plan as read on 15 August 2026, ahead of Currensea Elite at 750 GBP and Wise at 250 GBP. Above that allowance ZEN.COM charges 2%.
Is it cheaper to pay by card or to withdraw cash abroad?
Paying by card is usually cheaper, because it avoids the withdrawal charge entirely and leaves only the conversion markup. Where cash is needed, take it out in amounts that stay inside the free allowance, since the percentage applies only to what goes over.
Should I let the ATM convert to my own currency?
No. When an ATM offers to charge you in your home currency instead of the local one, it is applying its own exchange rate, which is generally worse than the card network's. Choosing the local currency leaves the conversion to your account provider, on the terms stated on its fee page.
What is a free ATM allowance?
A monthly amount that can be withdrawn at no charge, after which a percentage applies to the remainder. It resets each month and is set per account rather than per card, so a second card on the same account usually shares one.
Do foreign ATM fees change?
Yes, and providers are not obliged to announce it. Every figure here carries the day it was read, and every fee page is linked at the foot of this article - check the provider's own page before relying on a number.
How we compiled this
These prices were read from each provider's published fee page and set side by side. An account appears only where its own page states the figure; nothing is inferred from a competitor, a press release or an average, and no charge is averaged across plans. Where a page states an allowance without saying what it charges above it, that account is left out rather than scored as zero.
See also our ranking of travel cards and of low-fee accounts, both ordered by our own sentiment score rather than by commission.
Sources
Every figure on this page was read from the provider's own published fee page, on the date shown. Prices change without notice, so follow the link before relying on a number here.
Author
I've spent 17 years in SEO and content, specialising in finance and fintech. Today I lead organic growth at ZEN.COM.
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