FxLeakage
Hub · United Kingdom·Default payout GBP

Freelancer payout calculator for United Kingdom

The average United Kingdom freelancer leaks around £1,400 per year to FX markup, hidden fees and clumsy payout rails. Pick your weapon below.

Top platforms locally
  • wise
  • revolut
  • stripe
  • payoneer
Tax / banking note

Self-assessment: report gross invoice value; platform fees are an allowable expense.

Showing latest calculation.
The leak story
vs PayPal

You just lost £49.92 on this invoice.

That's enough to pay for…
  • 6 months of GitHub Copilot
  • 9 pints of craft beer
  • 5 months of Spotify
Over a year at this pace

You'll leak £599.04 — that's a PlayStation 5 + 3 games.

Every. Single. Year.

Plug the leak — route via Wise Business.
Know a freelancer leaking the same? Send this their way.
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PayPal
4.4% + $0.30 · 2.5% FX markup
Leaky
Fee£35.00
FX leak£18.88
Skimmed£53.87
You keep
£736.13
Stripe International
4.3% + $0.30 · 2.0% FX markup
Fee£34.21
FX leak£15.12
Skimmed£49.32
You keep
£740.68
Payoneer
3% flat · 1.5% FX markup
Fee£23.70
FX leak£11.49
Skimmed£35.19
You keep
£754.81
Winner!
Wise Business
0.5% transparent · 0% FX markup
Fee£3.95
FX leak£0.00
Skimmed£3.95
You keep
Take-home
£786.05
Open free Wise Business account →
Airwallex
1% intl · 0.6% FX markup
Fee£7.90
FX leak£4.69
Skimmed£12.59
You keep
£777.41
Revolut Business
0.4% · interbank FX (0.4% beyond plan)
Fee£3.16
FX leak£3.15
Skimmed£6.31
You keep
£783.69
WorldFirst
0% fee · 0.5% FX markup
Fee£0.00
FX leak£3.95
Skimmed£3.95
You keep
£786.05
Mercury
Free wires · ~1% FX spread
Fee£0.00
FX leak£7.90
Skimmed£7.90
You keep
£782.10
Bank Wire (SWIFT)
$25 flat · 3% FX spread
Fee£19.75
FX leak£23.11
Skimmed£42.86
You keep
£747.14
Deel
3% withdraw · 1.5% FX markup
Fee£23.70
FX leak£11.49
Skimmed£35.19
You keep
£754.81
Smart Tip

Stop the leak! Based on your parameters, Wise Business saves you £599.04/year compared to PayPal.

Switch the rail and reclaim that margin every cycle.

Per invoice
£49.92
Extrapolated yearly
£599.04
How we calculated it

Difference between PayPal and Wise Business on the same invoice, split into the two leak sources:

  • Platform fee delta£31.05
  • FX markup leakage delta£18.88
  • Per-invoice savings£49.92
  • × 12 months£599.04

Winner breakdown

0.00% better than WorldFirst
Calculation breakdown · Wise Business
Gross billed
$1,000
Platform fee %
0.50%
Total platform fee
$5.00
Conversion rate
0.7900
FX markup
0.00%
Effective rate
0.7900
Receiving amount
$995.00
Hidden FX loss
£0.00
Total loss
£3.95
Final payout£786.05

Why payouts to GBP leak more than freelancers think

Every cross-border payout hides two costs: the platform fee (visible) and the FX markup (invisible — baked into the rate). The combined damage on a single USD invoice can be 3–8%. Over a year of regular invoices, that compounds into the kind of money that quietly funds someone else's growth — not yours.

This hub uses the same engine as our global calculator, but defaults to GBP payouts and ranks providers most used by United Kingdom freelancers first.

How to use the United Kingdom hub

  1. Enter the invoice amount you're billing your client.
  2. Pick the client's currency (default USD).
  3. The calculator ranks all 10 platforms by what actually lands in your bank.
  4. Hit Track this leak to save the loss to your private dashboard.
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